The Jews who will become available as a result of the employment of Polish labor will be deported on a shuttle system. This will apply first to Jews engaged in menial work since they can be exchanged most easily. The remaining so-called "qualified" Jewish laborers will be left to the industries until their Polish replacements have been made sufficiently familiar with the work processes by a period of apprenticeship to be determined for each case individually. Loss of production in individual industries will thus be reduced to the absolute minimum.
I reserve the right to issue further instructions. Please inform the labor offices concerned accordingly.
I transmit the foregoing copy for your information. Insofar as the removal of Jews (still) in employment concerns your area (Bezirk) too, I request that you take the necessary measures in cooperation with the competent offices of the Chief of the Security Police and of the SD."
407-PS, the next document I believe is not in your Honors' Document Book. So, the next one is 1063-PS-D, page 100 of the Document Book, Id, first page. I believe this is the last time we will have to run over from one book to another but in the event we do I shall certainly see than an index is prepared for both volumes. It will make it easier, I realize, to work. 1063-PS-D becomes Exhibit No. 21. This is an order of Mueller signed 17 December 1942.
"For reasons of War necessity not be discussed further here, the Reichsfuchrer SS and Chief of the German Police on 14 December 1942, has ordered that until the end of January 1943; at least 35,000 prisoners qualified for work, are to be sent to the concentration camps.
"In order to reach this number, the following measures are required:
"1) As of now (so far until 1 Feb. 1943) all eastern workers or such foreign workers who have been fugitives, or who have broken contracts, and who do not belong to allied, friendly or neutral states are to be brought by the quickest means to the nearest concentration camps. For this, the most necessary formalities, as listed under No. 3) must be observed."
Skipping down now to paragraph No. 2.
"All prisoners qualified for work, if it is essentially and humanly possible, will be committed at once to the nearest concentration camp, according to the following instructions, for instance also if penal procedures were to be established in the near future. Only such prisoners who in the interest of investigation procedures are to remain absolutely in solitary confinement can be left there.
Every single laborer counts "The checking must be taken up at once.
All withholding of prisoners qualified for work is prohibited. My approval is required for exceptions."
Turning over to the next page, the 4th paragraph from the end.
"In regards to eastern workers, that is to say for such workers who have to wear the insignia "EAST", it is sufficient to give the total number of the arrested."
The next document is 018-PS which is a letter from Rosenberg to Sauckel, dated 21 December 1942. This if offered as Prosecution Exhibit No. 22. Starting in the middle of the second paragraph where he is speaking about acquisition of new laborers.
"This would always be the case, where the acquisition of new laborers is uncertain in a way which intimidates the population. The reports I have received show, that the increase of the guerilla bands in the occupied Eastern regions is largely due to the fact that the methods used for procuring laborers in these regions are felt to be forced measures of mass-deportation; so that the endangered persons; prefer to escape their fate by withdrawing into the woods or going over to the guerilla bands. Add to the occasionally unfavorable news regarding the treatment of the Eastern laborers in the Reich, that experience with the labor procurement authorities, then the result can only be a strengthening of the number and fighting: spirit of the hostile troops. This development is further aided by the return of tons of thousands of useless Eastern workers from the Reich (sick, cripples, etc.)" To this point I should like to add that my repeated plea to establish sick camps in the Regional Labor Office District, that is in mass deportations of the Easterners who are incapable of work has so far not been answered.
Then, going down toward the end of that same paragraph, it starts out, "Even if I do not close my eyes to the necessity that the numbers demanded by the Reichsminister for weapons and ammunition as well as by the agricultural economy justify unusual and hard measures, I have to ask, due to the responsibility for the occupied Eastern territories which lies upon me, that in the accomplishment of ordered tasks such measures be excluded, tho toleration and prosecution of which will some day be held against me and my collaborators."
Dr. Bergold, do you have two additional pages on that exhibit, one headed, "Extracts From the Secret Report on Morale by the Foreign Hail Censorship Post, Berlin"?
DR. BERGOLD (Counsel for Defendant Hilch): Yes.
MR. DENNY: And another one, parts from two letters, right after that? It may run right along with it. There should be three paragraphs.
DR. BERGOLD: Yes.
MR. DENNY: Turning over, then, to page 104, which is page 3 of that document, "Extracts from the Secret Report on Morale by the Foreign Hail Censorship Post, Berlin":
"Horrifying picturizations of compulsory measures by the administrative authorities for the seizure of Eastern laborers form a major part of the news from home to their relatives working in Germany. The disinclination to answer the call to work in the Reich has evidently grown steadily, not only due to the reports of Eastern workers which fled home and their workshops or have been dismissed.
In order to secure the required number for the labor transport, men and women, including youngsters from 15 years on up, are allegedly picked up on the street, from the market places and village festivals and carried off. The inhabitants therefore hide themselves in fear and avoid any appearance in public. After public beating during the month of October, so available letters state, came, the burning down of homesteads and of whole villages as retribution for failure to comply with the demand for the appropriation of labor forces directed to the communities. The execution of the latter measures is being reported from various villages."
Turning ever to the next page, skipping the next paragraph, and then the last long paragraph which starts, "On October 1 a new conscription of labor forces took place.
From what has happened, I will describe the most important to you. You can not imagine the bestiality. You probably remember what we were told about the Soviets during the rule of the boles. At that time we did not believe it, and now it seems just as incredible. The order came to supply 25 workers, but no one reported. All had fled. Then the Herman militia came and began to ignite the houses of those who had fled. The fire became very violent, since it had not rained for two months. In addition the rain stacks were in the farm yards. You can imagine what took place. The people who had hurried to the scene were forbidden to extinguish the flames, beaten and arrested, so that seven homesteads burned down. The policemen meanwhile ignited other houses.
The people fall on their knees and kiss their hands, but the policemen beat them with rubber trunchions and threaten to burn down the whole village. I don't know how this would have ended if I, Sapunkany had not intervened. He promised that there would be laborers by morning. During the fire the militia went through the adjoining villages, seized the laborers, and detained and brought them under arrest. Wherever they did not find any laborers, they detained the parents, until the children appeared. That is how they raged through the night in Bielosirka. The workers which had not yet appeared till then were to be shot. All schools were closed and the married teachers were sent to work here. while the unmarried ones go to work in Germany. They are now catching humans like the dog-catchers used to catch dogs. They are already hunting for one week and have not yet enough. The imprisoned workers are locked in at the schoolhouse. They can not even go out to perform their natural functions, but have to do it like pigs in the same room. People from many villages went on a certain day to a pilgrimage to the monastery Potschaew. They were all arrested, locked in, and will be sent to work. Among them there are aged, lame, and blind people."
The next document is 1726-PS, which becomes Prosecution Exhibit 23. We pass 556 PS at this time, Your Honor. Do Your Honors have 1726 in your book.
THE PRESIDENT: That is the statement of the Netherlands Government?
MR. DENNY: Yes, sir.
-81.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
MR. DENNY: I dislike to bother you about it, but are there several pages or just one?
THE PRESIDENT: There is just one page.
MR. DENNY: We will have to pass that at this time, because I notice that this document contains six pages, whereas the one they have bound has only one. However, in that we have tentatively assigned number 23 to that, we will just withdraw the offer at this time, the number having been written on the exhibit, and we will proceed by marking the next one 24, if that is agreeable.
The next document is 3003-PS, which will become Prosecution Exhibit 24. This is a partial excerpt from a report on a lecture by Lieutenant Haupt, giving the situation in the Netherlands on the war economy.
"Cooperation between civilian and military agencies so far has been thoroughly satisfactory. Page 109 in the English book. The commander of the Fwi 0 who had been active for many years in Holland, was able to eliminate through personal contact in any difficulties that might have arisen. There had been some difficulties with the Arbeitseinsatz, i.c., during the man catching action (Kenchenfang Aktion) which became very noticeable because it was unorganized and unprepared. People were arrested in the streets and taken out of their homes. It had been impossible to carry out a unified release procedure in advance, because for security reasons, the time for the action had not been previously announced. Certificates of release, COUT NO.
2 furthermore, were to some extent not recognized by the officials who carried out the action.
Not only workers who had become available through the stoppage of industry, but also those who were employed in our installations producing things for our immediate need. They wore apprehended or did not dare to go into the streets. In any case it proved to be a great less to us.
Document 1526-PS, which is offered as Prosecution Exhibit Number 25, being a letter in February 1943, written by Professor Kubijowytach to the Governor General, Frank. The first page and the first section deal largely with the restoring of private property. However, the third page, which is page 111 in your Honor's document book, has under Roman Numeral II measures for finding Labor.
"The general nervousness is still more enhanced by the wrong methods for foreign labor which have been used more and more frequently in recent months to find labor.
"The wild and ruthless man-hunt exercised everywhere in towns and country, in streets, squares, stations, even in churches, at night in houses, has badly shaken the feeling of security of the inhabitants. Everybody is exposed to the danger of being seized anywhere and at any time by members of the police, suddenly and unexpectedly, and being brought into an assembly camp. None of his relatives knows what has happened to him; or months later, one of the others gives news of his fate by a postcard.
"I beg to mention some instances with their respective proofs "a.) During such an action a pupil in Sokol lost his life and another one was wounded.
"b) Nineteen Ukrainian workers from Galicia, all provided with identity cards, were assigned in Cracow to a transport of 'Russian prisoners-of-war' and delivered into a punishment camp in Graz.
"c) Ninety-five Ukrainians from Galicia, recruited for work in Germany by the labor offices in the middle of January, were sent to Pskow in Russia, via Eastern Prussia, where most of them died as a result of very hard conditions.
"d) Seizure of workers under pretext of military recruitment; kidnapping schoolboys during school time."
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Denny, this letter was written from Cracow?
MR. DENNY: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: It purports to describe conditions in Cracow, Poland?
MR. DENNY: In Poland, generally; yes, sir. Apparently, again, the pages have been torn out of this book. This exhibit should have -- oh, I see how they've done it.
PRESIDENT: Runs through page 123, does it not?
MR. DENNY: Yes, sir. There's a blank page bound in here. Turning now to page 115, "The Events at Sokal." That's enclosure number two of the letter.
"On 24 October 1942 between 13 and 14 hours, when the school-boys went home from school, they were stopped by detachments of military police on the street, and together with other people were formed in one unit. There was a panic as nobody knew what was going to heppen to these people. People began to flee from the streets. A school boy, Jaroslau MEDA, who was just passing with his father, the secretary of the collective community of Parchacz also started to run. The father tried to calm him and called him back as there was no danger. A military policeman, however, saw him fleeing and shot at him, wounding him fatally, so that he died in the local hospital half an hour later.
"At the same time two military policemen went into the Ukrainian hostel for schoolboys and took away some boys. The others were at lunch in the dining room and therefore remained unnoticed. In front of the schoolboys' hostel, a school boy Wassyl ZRAWTSCHUK was caught by a military policeman and wounded so seriously in the upper thigh by a bayonet that he had to be taken to a hospital.
"Osyyp KARAWAN student of theology was severely beaten until he fainted."
"Michael DULIBA, Public school teacher, was beaten publicly."
"It is to be stressed that nobody knew that this action of collecting people was to procure workers to load carrots at the station. When the headmaster of the German school informed the manager of the local labor office by phone and asked for his help, the latter replied he had no time to spare for this matter at the moment. Thereafter, the headmasters of the Ukrainian schools informed the director of the local Labor Office that they would put their boys at the disposal of the authorities in every case where there was -85a work to be done in the Town, which was unforeseen and could not be delayed, after having received fair warning, provided no other labor was available."
Turning then to page 117, which is enclosure number 5, first paragraph:
"In November of last year a mustering of all males in the age groups 1910 to 1920 was ordered in the area of Zaleschozyki. After the men had appeared for inspection, all those who were chosen were locked up at once, loaded into trains and sent to the Reich. Such recruiting of laborers for the Reich also took place in other areas of this district. Following some interventions, the action was then stopped."
Turning now to page 121, which is part of Appendix 12, enclosure 12, it starts:
"On 18 January 1943, 14 persons were shot who were unfit for work together with 80 Jews and were buried together in a ditch. Among these 14 were old men and invalids."
The next document is 1130-PS, which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 26, the outer cover being a letter of enclosure of a speech by one Koch, made in Kiev, concerning the treatment of the civilian population in the Ukraine. Page 2 of the document which is page 125 of Document Book No, 2, the second paragraph under Roman numeral heading No. I:
"I will draw the very last out of this country. I did not cone to spread bliss. I have come to help the Fuehrer. The population must work, work, and work again....for some people are getting excited, that the population may not get enough to eat. The population cannot demand that. One has only to remember what our heroes were deprived of in Stalingrad...We definitely did not come here to give our Manna; we have come here to create the basis for Victory."
"We are a master race, which must remember that the lowliest German worker is racially and biologically a thousand times more valuable than the population here."
407, Roman numeral 2 - PS, which is the next one, I believe -- well, although they have included it, we will pass that at this time.
019-PS' which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit No. 27, the letter of March 17, 1943, from Sauckel to Rosenberg, concerning the draft of workers from the east, the third paragraph of the letter:
"Especially the labor supply for the German agriculture, and likewise for the most urgent armament production programs ordered by the FUEHRER make the fastest importation of approximately 1 million women and men from the Eastern Territories within the next 4 months a must. Starting 15 March the daily shipment must have reached 3000 female and male workers respectively, while beginning of April this number has to be stepped up to 10,000. This is a requisite of the most urgent programs, and the spring tillage, and other agricultural tasks are not to suffer for the detriment of the nutrition and of the armed forces.
"I have foreseen the allotment of the draft quotas for the individual territories in agreement with your experts for the labor supply as follows:
Daily quota starting 13 March 1943:
from General Commissariat WHITE LUTHENIA 500 people Economic Inspection CENTER 500 people Reich's Commissariat UKRAINE 3 000 people Economic Inspection SOUTH 1 000 people TOTAL 5 000 people "Starting 1 April 1943 the daily quota is to be doubled corresponding to the doubling of the entire quota.
"I hope to visit personally the Eastern Territories towards the end of the month? and ask you once more for your kind support."
"HEIL HITLER!"
Signed: SAUCKEL The next document is 3012-PS which we offer as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 28.
This is an order signed by - just a moment, if the Court please, - There is an error in the index, your Honors, it says it is signed by Christians. It should be signed by Stapf. The paragraph in the middle of the page which starts just after the daily quota of workers which was distributed:
"In consideration of the extraordinary losses of workers, which occurred in German war industry because of the developments of the past months, it is now necessary, that the recruiting of workers be taken up again everywhere with all emphasis. The tendency, momentarily noticeable in that territory, to limit and/or entirely stop the Reich recruiting program is absolutely not bearable in view of this state of affairs. Gauleiter Sauckel, who is informed about these events, has because of this, turned immediately to General Feldmarschall Keitel on 10 March 1943 in a teletype, and has emphasized on this occasion, that, as in all other occupied territories, there, where all other methods fail, by order of the Fuehrer a certain pressure must be used."
The last sentence but one in the next paragraph:
"As far as the quotas cannot be filled by voluntary enlistments, they are to be filled by conscription. For the realization of the service obligation, in the individual case, compulsion may be used if necessary."
Then the last paragraph:
"I request to direct at once with the consent of the competent headquarters, that disturbance of the Reich recruiting program is stopped, and that the latter is assisted in every respect by the military agencies." Signed by Stapf, Lieutenant General (General der Infanterie).
2220-PS which is a report of Lammers to Himmler concerns the situation in Poland, dated April 17, 1943, is offered as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 29.
The particular part here occurs on the last page in paragraph 2 entitled "Utilization of Manpower." The last two sentences occurs on page 136 of your Honors' document book. It is a comment by hammers on the utilization of manpower. At the end of the paragraph next to the last paragraph:
"As things were, the utilization of manpower had to be enforced by means of more or less forceful methods, such as the instances when certain groups appointed by the Labor Offices, caught Church and Movie-goers here and there and transported them into the Reich. That such methods, not only undermine the people's willingness to work and the people's confidence to such a degree that it cannot be checked even with terror, is just as clear as the consequences brought about by a strengthening of the political resistance movement."
The next document is 407-V-PS which is a report from Sauckel to Hitler dated April 14, 1943. I should like to call the court's attention in passing that on the last page, which is page 139, it is noted that Reichsmarshal Goering received a copy of this. The particular things to be noted start with -- well, perhaps it would be well if I read the first paragraph as well -
THE PRESIDENT: Is this Exhibit 30?
MR. DENNEY: Yes, Sir, the document has this number: 407-V-PS, which the prosecution offers as Exhibit 30.
"As you have been told by Lt. General Gruppenfuehrer Bormann already, I am going to the Eastern territories on April 15th in order to secure in the coming months one million workers from the East. The result of my last trip to France is that after exact fulfillment of the last program another 450,000 workers from the Western territories will come into the Reich, by the beginning of summer. With the probable use of about 150,000 workers from Poland and from the other territories, it will then be possible, to put five to six hundred thousand workers at the disposal of the German agriculture again and 1,000,000 workers at the disposal of the armament and other war industries; this will be done by summer.
I ask for your approval to have the new French workers come into the Reich under conditions similar to those of the last group. I have negotiated with the High Command of the army. Since the big majority of the Belgian civilian workers and of the prisoners of war is doing a very satisfactory job; I ask you to approve a statute for about 20,000 Belgian prisoners of war similar to the one you have granted to the French. That great concession of your has made a big impression upon Laval and the French ministers. Laval asked me again and again to give you, my Fuehrer, his sincerest thanks for that. After having been active as Plenipotentiary for the Arbeitseinsatz for one year, I have the honor to report to you that -- the figure says on the copy which your Honors have five million and it should be three million - "3,638,056 new foreign workers have been added to the German war economy between April 1st of the last year and March 31st of this year. (Generally speaking these workers have done a satisfactory job. Their feeding and housing is settled and their treatment regulated in an undisputable way. In that respect, too, our national socialist Reich presents a shining example compared with the methods of the capitalist and Bolshevik world. Of course, occasional mistakes and blunders cannot be avoided. I shall always try with the greatest energy to keep them at a minimum.") Then dropping down at the end he says:
"Besides the foreign civilian workers, another 1,622,829 prisoners of war are employed in the German economy."
And in paragraph 2 he has a breakdown of the way that the 3,638,056 workers are employed; armament, 1,588,801; and he gives the figures for mining, construction, transportation, agriculture and other branches of the economy.
Now, for the moment we would like to pass - No, I beg your pardon. I am sorry. The next Exhibit is a series of pictures which we offer as one exhibit, being 3027-PS and 3028-PS, and we would ask that they be assigned as Exhibit No. 31. The captions which appear on the document itself, 3027-3028, are self-explanatory. They show Russian prisoners of war engaged in various occupations that have to do with the furthering of the German war effort such as loading ammunition trains, carrying ammunition, stacking ammunition, transferring ammunition from freight cars to trucks.
2280-PS, a letter of May 3, 1943, from the Reich Kommissar in the -90a East concerning the recruitment of manpower in the Baltic countries for Reichs territory is offered as Prosecution's Exhibit No. 32.
It provides in part, starting at the beginning:
"Recruiting of Manpower from the Eastern territories for the Reich territories here: New quotas based upon the agreement with GPA Gauleiter Sauckel on 21 April 1943. Following the basic statements of the Plenipotentiary General for manpower, Gauleiter Sauckel, on the occasion of his visit to Riga on 21 April 1943, it was decided in view of the critical situation and in disregard of all adverse considerations, that a total of 183,000 workers have to be supplied from the Eastern territories for the Reich territory. This task must absolutely be accomplished within the next four months and at the latest must be completed by the end of August. The following sub-quotas have been established: White Ruthenia: 30,000 adolescent workers and 100,000 workers including families. Of the families only members capable of productive work will be counted. All persons 10 years old and up are considered as productive manpower. Lithuania: 15,000 female workers, 15,000 male workers, 10,000 productive workers from about 2 to 3000 families, Latvia: 10,000 female workers, no male workers. Estonia: 3,000 female workers, no male workers."
Then dropping down another paragraph:
"All permissible means shall be used to obtain manpower from White Ruthcnia. Do not hesitate to apply extraordinary measures."
407, IX Roman numberal Nine, PS, is a letter of June 3, 1943 from Sauckel to Hitler concerning the foreign labor situation. At the beginning of the letter:
"I beg to be permitted to report to you on the situation of the Arboitseinsatz for the first 5 months of 1943. For the first time the following number of new foreign laborers and prisoners of war were employed in the German war industry."
Then he gives the figures for the first five months with a total of 846,511. This is Prosecution's Exhibit No. 33. He goes on to state that:
"I may remark that this number of 850,000 was reached only after greatest difficulties were overcome which had not existed during the pre vious year; all those who have worked for the Arbeitsoinsatz, particularly in the occupied territories, did so with the greatest fanaticism and devotion.
Unfortunately quite a number of our officials and employees were victims of murders and attacks by partisans. Besides those labor forces recruited for work within the Reich, several hundred thousand laborers were recruited in the occupied territories through the agencies for the Arbeitseinsatz as well as through the OT which refers to the Organization Todt and the factories working in the East and the West for the German war industry. Furthermore the Wehrmacht received a large number of laborers as well as labor volunteers."
The next document, 3000 PS, which we offer as Prosecution Exhibit 34, which is a report from Chief of Main Office III with the High Command in Minsk to Ministerialdirektor Riecke, which has particularly to do with the conditions in White Ruthenia.
On page 3, which is -- sorry Your Honor, this document book doesn't have this. We will have to withdraw the offer. I beg your pardon, it is in here in part, the only part which we are offering at this time. Page 4, which is on Page 147 of your Honors' document book, "Everything you do for Germany is right, everything else is wrong."
"The recruitment of labor for the Reich, however necessary, had disastrous effects. The recruitment measures in the last months and weeks were absolutely manhunts, which have an irreparable political and economic effect. From White Ruthenia, approx. 50,000 people have been obtained for the Reich so far. Another 130,000 are to be obtained. Considering the 2.4 million total population these figures are impossible." ...
The next quotation, which is on Page 5?
"Due to the sweeping drives (Grossaktionen) of the SS and police in November 1942, about 115,000 hectar farmland is not used, as the population is not there and the villages have been razed..."
The next document is 263-PS, which is a memo of an oral report of one Leyser to Rosenberg on the situation in his district. This will be Prosecution's exhibit 35.
Page 149 of your Honor's document book, sixth paragraph in the document book, about half through the paragraph which starts "In the foreground stands, at the moment the mobilization of the ****" "With this our propaganda became for the greater part illusory.
But as the Chief Plenipotentiary for the mobilization of labor explained to us the gravity of the situation, we had no other device. I consequently have authorized the commissioners of the areas to apply the severest measures in order to achieve the imposed quota. The deterioration of morale in conjunction with this does not necessitate any further proof. It is nevertheless essential, to win the war on this front too! The problem of labor mobilization cannot handled with gloves.