MR. KING: The next Exhibit 386 will be the Document NO-156which is to be found on page 12 of the English Document Book, and on page 12 also of the German Document Book. The document consists of two letters; the first one is a letter dated the 15th of July 1940 from the General Prosecutor of Stuttgart to the Reich Minister of Justice, in which he passes on rumors that unnatural deaths have occurred in institutions for the feeble-minded. There is a note at the bottom, apparently placed there by personnel in the Ministry of Justice, which states that the matter has been discussed with Dr. Treisler; no objection is to be taken; and that the letter and the enclosures are to be kept together with other things connected with this matter.
The other letter in this document is a note from Lammers to Guertner in which Lammers says that he is the person solely responsible for the execution of the measures to be taken and that it is not necessary to have any further written explanatory instructions.
We offer as Exhibit 386, the Document NO-156.
DR. SCHILF: Schilf for the defendants Klemm and Mettgenberg. Mr. King just read the second letter of the document NO-156. He said that it was signed by Lammers. According to the German Document Book, page 12, the letter is signed by "Bouhler".
MR. KING: There is, indeed, a difference in the two books. The German book says "Bouhler" and the English book says "Lammers". Perhaps we would solve this if we looked at the original. The signature on the original is that of "Bouhler" and not of "Lammers".
With that change, we offer the document as Exhibit 386. I understand that before it is handed up that Dr. Schilf would like to examine it further.
THE: PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next document, 1524-PS is to be found on page 15 of the English text and on page 14 of the German text and will become, when introduced, Exhibit No. 387. The first letter in this document is one addressed to a Kreisleiter in Nurnberg by the name of Zimmermann, who has apparently written to another party member by the name of Hoffmann concerning the Euthanasia Program.
The letter here is signed by Martin Bormann and dated 24 September 1940. I would like to read two paragraphs of that letter, the second and third:
"It Was confirmed again yesterday that notifications to relatives are composed with varied texts. But, of course, it might happen that two families, living in close proximity, receive a letter with the same wording.
"It is self-evident that the representatives of the Christian philosophy of life object to the steps taken by the commission; it must be as self-evident that all Party Offices are to assist the commission when necessary."
The other document with the other letter in this document is to be found on page 16 in the English text and page 15 in the German. It's a rather cryptic note in the handwriting of one, Sellmer. It is dated the first of October 1940. It states that there have been hardly any failures up to now; that 30,000 have been finished; that an additional 105 to 120 thousand are waiting. The note also says that later on there will be an expansion and the notifications are to be made in a clearer or different form starting immediately. There are also instructions as to questions that are to be asked.
When defense counsel have completed their examination of the photostat original, we will offer this document, 1524-PS, as Exhibit 387.
THE PRESIDENT: Are you able to identify this Sellmer whose signature appears here?
MR. KING: No, Your honor. At the moment I am not able to identify the person Sellmer.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The document No. 621-PS is to be found on page 17 of the English text and on page 16 of the German text and will be when introduced, Exhibit 388. It is a letter of acknowledgment, signed Dr. Lammers, to Dr. Guertner, acknowledging that letters which Guertner has forwarded to Lammers concerning the death of sanitarium inmates have been received, and that these also have been passed on to the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Chief for Public health.
We offer the Document 621-PS as Exhibit 388.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next document, NO-842, is to be found on page 18 of the English text and on page 17 in the German text; end will become, when introduced, Exhibit, -- or rather when offered, Exhibit 389, This is a letter dated Berlin, 18 April, 1941: it is marked top secret, and is addressed to Dear party comrade, Dr. Schlegelberger, and signed Brack. The letter states that there are enclosed certain agreement forms to be used in the Euthanasia program, which Brack advises Schlegelberger to keep locked up. I would like to read a short portion of this letter, beginning in the English text with the sentence, "thereto."
"Thereto belong, for instance the death-notifications to the relatives of the patient. These are to be kept somehow different according to the district and kind of relatives; they must frequently be altered to avoid stereotyped texts and therefore sample letter would only irritate. I would like to call your attention especially to the card files No. 13 and 14; on their reverse sides you will find a list of authorities who are to be informed.
When reviewing the files again which you put at my disposal I found some details which ought to be clarified and settled; I would be thankful to you for doing so. Therefore I shall forward them to you individually Monday or Tuesday next week."
We offer as Exhibit 389 the Document NO-842.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: As Exhibit 390, we now introduce the Document NO-681-PS, which is to be found in the English text on page 20 and page 18 of the German text. This is a letter from Schlegelberger to Lammers, which in general terms discusses the effect on the Administration of Justice caused by the Euthanasia program. Schlegelberger encloses certain booklets which discuss in great detail the problems raised by the Euthanasia program as affecting the Ministry of Justice. I would like to read a short portion of this letter. On page 21 of the English text, beginning seven lines from the bottom, with the sentence, "It repeatedly."
That may be found at the bottom of page in the German text.
"It repeatedly happened, that condemned persons, living in a sanatorium or asylum, escaped the notice of the prosecuting authorities because they were removed from the asylums without a hearing and were subsequently liquidated. This proved especially embarrassing, if the court had to decide on a prolongation of the detention of the perpetrations according to article 42 of the Penal Code. The fundamental principles of penal procedure were seriously affected inasmuch as export physicians declared that in all good conscience they could no longer give a diagnosis in dubious cases of the increased insanity of accused persons, in order to establish a basis for their confinement in a sanatorium or asylum because such confinement, in its result, was equivalent to the execution of a death sentence with a previous trial in court."
That letter is signed: "Schlegelberger". We now offer tho Document NO-681--PS as Exhibit 390.
DR. BELLING (Assistant Counsel for Defendant Schlegelberger):
Lay it please the Court, the document which we have before us is merely a copy on the typewriter, on which the name Dr. Schlegelberger is written on the typewriter. Any handwritten signature or initials of the defendant, be it under the letter, at the bottom of the letter or any other place on the margin, for instance on the left-hand margin, is not there. The letter does not have any remarks certifying it at the bottom; no certificate on it, no stamp of the Ministry of Justice. Moreover, the letter described is a copy expressly, a carbon copy; one cannot see from the original document whether this is merely a draft or a letter which never left the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, I object to the introduction of this document.
MR. KING: I think that it is perfectly clear from the letter that it is an office copy, and it is also true that, as Dr. Behling pointed out, that there is no handwriting on tho letter; in fact, there is only one stamp on the letter, on the original, that is the stamp apparently placed there in the office of the senate, which is marked "Top Government Secret."
With that exception, there is no indication that the letter was actually delivered to the addressee; it is an office copy like so many others of the documents introduced here have been. We are not able to offer a receipt that it was delivered.
THE PRESIDENT: Consistent with the many other rulings of this Tribunal, the document will have to be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit will be, when offered, NO. 391, and will be the Document NG-525, which is to be found on page 24 of the English text and on page 22 of the German. This document is a sworn affidavit by the former private secretary of Dr. Rothenberger. I will not read any portion of the affidavit at this time. We offer it in this book because the statements given by Mrs. Frau Frohboese -- I would say it would be pronounced --- indicate that the defendant Rothenberger took an active interest in the euthenic program during the time that this woman, his personal secretary, worked with him. We offer the Document NG-525 as Exhibit 391. It will be handed up as soon as Defense Counsel have completed their examination of it.
DR. DOETZER (Attorney for Defendant Rothenberger):
May it please the Court, I do not object at the submission of the document. I only want to correct something, namely, the statements of Fran Frohboese does not cover the statements made by the Prosecutor, as it came through in German translation. From her statement one cannot see that objectively speaking the defendant Rothenberger took part in the Euthanasia program. Frau Frohboese expressly points out that another gentleman could give more exact information on this point.
MR. KING: I think that the word I used before was "interest." I think we can best leave it to the document; the document shows that the defendant Rothenberger had an interest in the Euthenic program, as indicated in the document itself.
THE PRESIDENT: The statement of counsel is more a matter of argument, and does nothing to the competency of the document. The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit will be 392, and involves the document NG 263, which is to be found beginning on page 27 of the English text and on page 25 of the German text. It is a rather long document containing many individual documents, but we will summarize these briefly, one by one.
May I first refer to an inadvertence which appears at the very beginning if the document. There we have on page 27 a document which has already been introduced as document NO. 833, which was exhibit 384, and which appears at the beginning of document NG 265. It is certainly an inadvertence, and while we aren't going to ask that it physically be removed since it is already bound, in the book and appears in the photostat copies; we are going to ask only that it not be introduced the second time, that the Court ignore that document admitting the letter, in admitting 263 in evidence.
The first letter to which we wish to refer briefly begins on page 28 of the English text and on page 26 of the German text. It is a letter to State Secretary Dr. Freisler, and it is from the General Public Prosecutor's office in Dresden. The Public Prosecutor in Dresden is passing on to Dr. Freisler a number of reports of deaths in mental institutions that came to his attention no way or another. Those case histories he briefly summarizes and asks on page 31 for instructions as to how he may best reply to these inquiries.
The letter on page 32 of the English text, is a letter from the Attorney General in Dresden, and likewise concerns a case history of an individual who died rather without notice in a mental institution.
The letter on page 34 in the English text, 35 in the German, is the same general type of letter. It is from the President of the Provincial Supreme Court in Stuttgart, and the letter is sent to the Reich Minister of Justice, and it refers to the deaths that are occuring in Grafeneck.
It refers to the fact that there is growing uneasiness among families who have members in the mental institutions, and also refers to the difficulty of conducting probative administration when no notice is given of the deaths of the individuals.
The letter on page 35 is addressed to the Reich minister of Justice, Dr. Guertner, and comes from the Bishop of Wuerttemberg. The Bishop calls attention to the fact that the institution Grafeneck is now of German knowledge and states that a continuation of this type of thing will shake the peoples faith in justice as well as in their faith in the physicians as benefactors of mankind.
Perhaps of a greater interest is the letter which the Bishop encloses, and that is a copy of one which he sent to the Reich Minister of the Interior, Dr. Frick. That letter is of some length, and I am not going to read any portion of it at this time, but I recommend its reading by the Court, by the Defense Counsel, and perhaps by the Defendants, themselves, if they have not yet seen it.
The next letter is on page 43 of the English text, page 46 of the German, and is another letter addressed by the Bishop of Wuerttemberg to the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Frick.
The letter on page 44 in the English text, page 48 of the German, is a letter of complaint; a statement of the situation from the chief of the Institution for Feeble Minded and Epileptics at Stetten, addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice, Dr. Frank.
The following letter merely refers to the letter from the institution in Stetten.
The letter on page 46 is a covering letter from Guertner to Lammers, in which he encloses a copy of a letter from the General Public Prosecutor in Naumburg. The Public Prosecutor in Naumburg has quite extensively outlined cases which have come to his attention of people who had died and were detained in mental institutions.
The letter on page 52 was written by Dr. Sucbomel, who was Chief Public Prosecutor in Linz. I believe the letter was written to the State Secretary, Dr. Freisler, and concerns inquiries which have reached him, Dr. Suchomol, of the extermination of patients in mental institutions.
On page 53 in the English text, page 58 of the German text, is a letter from Dr. Schlegelberger to all Presidents of the Courts of Appeal and the Chief Public Prosecutors, and entitled: "Extermination of useless lives."
Dr. Schlegelberger says:
"I request that in your district in all cases where the question of the extermination of useless lives if of any importance, you have each single case reported to you."
I think there is an error in the German translation. I understand the word "verbal" should be included there before "reported", so the last part of that sentence should read: "you have each single case verbally reported to you."
That note was also sent to the President of the Sureme Court, the President of the People's Court, and the Chief Public Prosecutors of the Reich.
The letter on page 55 is addressed to Schlegelberger and comes from Brack, in which Brack asks for a clarification of certain records which were put at his disposal, and the letter concerns the individual cases about which there was some question. All of them were concerned with the Euthanasia killings.
The letter on page 56 in the English text, 62 in the German text, was addressed to the attorney General in Duesseldorf . It is not clear as to who signed that letter, but it did come from the Reich Minister of Justice.
THE PRESIDENT: I did not understand what you said about the Attorney General.
MR. KING: The letter was sent to the Attorney General in Duesseldorf, and came from the Reich Minister of Justice, but it is not clear who actually signed the letter. The letter says that the writer is in agreement that the deaths of persons housed in mental institutions should be reported as promptly as possible.
The letter on page 59 comes from the Chief Public Prosecutor in Jena, and was addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice. It is a complaint by the Chief Public Prosecutor that the Public Prosecutors in his district tell him that they are not informed when a patient dies in "liquidating institutions." It causes these Public Prosecutors an unnecessary amount of work, since they continue working on cases when it becomes quite pointless to do so.
The letter on page 62 is another in the series from Brack to Schlegelberger, is marked "Strictly personal", and dated Berlin, l8th of April 1941. It is largely a covering letter for a folder of forms which the liquidation program needs for further processing a patient after he has been eliminated.
That, very briefly and perhaps sketchily summarized - is Document NG--265, which we at this time would like to introduce as Exhibit 392. May I suggest that if defense counsel wishes to examine these letters -as the Court is aware there is a considerable number of them -- that we offer defense counsel the photostat original now, and perhaps formally receive this in evidence after lunch, because, I think, to take time out now to examine them would unnecessarily delay. The prosecution would be very willing to have the final offering delayed until some later time when they have had opportunity to examine them. But that is entirely up to defense counsel.
THE PRESIDENT: If defense counsel desire to examine these documents in detail, then the matter will be postponed until after lunch, on the offering, unless you are ready to act upon them sooner.
DR. KUBOSCHOK (for defendants von Ammon and Schlegelberger): Only a small technical question: The last document which the gentlemen of the prosecution mentioned, the letter from Brack to Schlegelberger, of the 18th of April 1941.
This letter is identical with Document 84 -Exhibit Number 389. It would probably be proper that, therefore, the Document is eliminated from the new Exhibit Number, and introduced only under the original number, 389.
MR. KING: Yes, there is, as he pointed out, that duplication. I think that occurred in this way: That in many cases, apparently, more than one copy of a letter was made, and it was placed in more than one filing folder, so that when the whole folder was processed, the letter appeared again among the considerable number of documents; but, as pointed out, I am certainly in hearty agreement with him; there is no point in having it in evidence twice. May we ask the Court not to receive it in evidence -- when it is offered, page 62 in the English, page 68 in the German, of the letter dated 18 April 1941, to Schlegelberger, from Viktor Brack.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it does not seem to make very much difference. The duplication will cause no difficulty and it can't be considered twice. Whatever arrangement you desire to make will be agreeable to the Tribunal.
JUDGE BRAND: Mr. King, may I ask for information, if you are prepared now to give it. I realize you may not be now prepared. In some of these Exhibits introduced this morning, there has been reference to the fact that there was no law for Euthanasia, and that, therefore, proceedings would have to stop; and later reference to the fact -- apparent fact -that a law was ready. Now, do you know under what statute, if any, these proceedings purported to be carried on in 1941 -
MR. KING: To the best of our knowledge, your Honor, there was never a law passed, other than the decree which we first read and offered.
JUDGE BRAND: The Fuehrer's Decree?
MR. KING: The Fuehrer's Decree.
JUDGE BRAND: So far as you know?
MR. KING: That is the only authority under which the entire program operated.
THE PRESIDENT: I beg to suggest at this time, that I think I have seen an old German law on the subject of Euthanasia, and I would like to point out to the prosecution and defense counsel, when we return after lunch.
MR. KING: The fact that Guertner and others repeatedly said that there was no law, at the time the statements were made in 1940 and 1941, have made us believe that another evidence -- that if there were an earlier law, it certainly did not go to the extent that this one did, which permitted liquidations without examination before a specially constituted Board, such as is often done where people are committed to asylums and institutions under the system of law which we know. But I should be grateful for a reference to an earlier law, if your Honor can find that.
The next document, 615-PS, is to be found beginning on page 64 of the English text, and on 67 in the German text. This will be Exhibit 393 when introduced. This is a letter from the Bishop of Limburg to the Reich Minister of Justice in Berlin, and it concerns in some detail, the reaction of the populace in the neighborhood of Hadamar, to the program of Euthanasia liquidation there. It refers to the fact that school children were well aware of what was happening, and would say - in taunting their schoolmates - that, to quote: "You're crazy; you'll be sent to the baking oven in Hadamar." The Bishop goes on to give his versions of the justice, or lack of it, in the program.
We offer the Document 6l5-PS, as Exhibit 393.
DR. SCHILF (Counsel for the defendants Klemm and Mettgenberg):
I have taken the liberty of submitting the photostat to Mr. Kind. It is not legible; with the best will, it is not legible. If there is no other photostatic copy which can be submitted, the document would have to be rejected. I am asking the Tribunal themselves to look at the photostat and then to make a decision about it. I admit the possibility that perhaps there is a better photostat available. The one which has been submitted here is absolutely illegible and cannot be used for that reason.
MR. KING: I think it is true that the technical job done on this photostat is not good. However, I am not quite in agreement with Dr. Schilf that it cannot under any circumstances be read. It is difficult, but I think it is not as bad as the one the Court rejected the other day. The print appears to be fairly legible.
THE PRESIDENT: We are not able to say, but perhaps with the aid of a strong glass it may be done.
MR. KING: May I suggest that this exhibit be received conditionally, and we will endeavor to have a more legible copy produced. It appears to me that it is probably a technical slip-up in reproduction.
THE PRESIDENT: I think that would be a fair order to make. Evidently the translator thought he could do something with it. If defense counsel can make a better showing, or if the prosecution cannot show a better photostat, it will be a proper subject matter for further investigation.
MR. KING: I recognize the fairness in having a copy that the defense counsel can read in their hands. I think probably, in the first place, this one could be read, as you suggest, with a strong glass. But we will endeavor to produce a copy that is legible to the naked eye.
THE PRESIDENT: We will receive the document conditionally.
MR. KING: If Dr. Schilf has objections to the copy that he can read, of course he will not be foreclosed in making them.
The next document will be Exhibit 39-1 when offered, and is document 626-PS, which is to be found beginning on page 67 of the English text and 71 of the German text. This is a letter from the General Prosecutor in Stuttgart, dated 1 August 1940, to the Minister of Justice, Berlin. He refers to his earlier reports and again suggests that there are rumors that unnatural deaths are occurring in the asylum, and that the death notices to relatives of the deceased are strikingly similar. He again asks for instructions as to how he can supply information to the people who have inquired.
We offer the document 626-PS as Exhibit 394.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. LAFOLLETTE: If Your Honors please, in connection with the direct examination of a witness that I hope to call this afternoon or early in the morning. I would appreciate it if the Court would make an order now asking the Secretary General to deliver into the Court Exhibit 20-1, which was document NG-151.
THE PRESIDENT: Will you give us that again, please?
MR. LAFOLLETTE: Yes. Exhibit 204, which was document NG-151.
THE PRESIDENT: You formally gave the proper form for that?
MR. LAFOLLETTE: Yes. I want the exhibit which went into evidence returned by the Secretary General's office, and if the Court will note that it orders it done, I think that will be sufficient to permit Mr. Nesbit to get it, or possibly a form filled out.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal will gladly make that order, but I thought the rule required a written order.
MR. LAFOLLETTE: No, Your Honor. If you will recall, I simply suggested that it might make it easier if the Court would make a short written order and then deliver it to Colonel Nesbit. It is a purely mechanical matter. It makes it easier for him to get the document out.
THE PRESIDENT: We will make the oral order now, and follow it up with the execution of the form.
MR. LAFOLLETTE: Thank you.
MR. KING: The next exhibit number, 395
THE PRESIDENT (Interposing): We will be glad if you will clear up a little matter that seems to be troubling us here. Were you purposely omitting to offer 629-PS, or was it an oversight? That is at page 63 of the English document book.
MR. KING: I was under the impression that I had offered that as 394. Perhaps my bookkeeping is in error.
THE PRESIDENT: You offered 626-PS as 394, beginning at page 67. I thought there was some confusion.
MR. KING: Your Honor said 629? I am sorry; 629 will not be offered at the moment.
THE PRESIDENT: That clears up the situation.
MR. KING: Exhibit 395 will be document 619-PS, which is to be found beginning on page 69 of the English text, 73 of the German. This is a letter from the General Public Prosecutor in Stuttgart, dated 12 October 1940. It is addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice, and it refers again to the rumors and reports of unnatural deaths which have come to his attention. He ventures to suggest, in the closing paragraphs of his letter, that the whole program will create a profound mistrust not only against local authorities who are directly involved, but also against the jurisdiction which is not able or does not dare to prevent or at least punish such things. He also refers to the fact that a Catholic institution operated in the vicinity might use the difference in treatment for propaganda purposes. The note is signed by Wagner.
We offer the document 619-PS as Exhibit 395.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be received in evidence.
MR. KING: The next exhibit, 396, is document 618-PS, which begins on page 73 of the English text and on 76 of the German text. The letter comes from the General Prosecutor of Dresden and is addressed to the Reich Minister of Justice.
The letter itself contains a statement that certain individuals in the area of Dresden have been eliminated in the euthanasia program, and he encloses a list of 22 excerpts from letters which his office apparently had received from relatives of individuals who had been liquidated.
We offer the document 618-PS as Exhibit 396.
THE PRESIDENT: The document will be receive d in evidence, and we will take the usual noon recess beginning at this time.
(A recess was taken until 1330 hours.)
AFTERNOON SESSION (The hearing reconvened at 1330 hours, 28 April 1947.)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
THE PRESIDENT: I promised a little information at the convening of the Tribunal this afternoon, and it is not very valuable, but nevertheless I am making good.
Section 216 of the Criminal Code is on the subject of euthanasia, very brief.
"If one is induced to kill another by the latter's own expressed and earnest demand, he shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years."
Apparently that enactment was amended May 29, 1943, RGBL 1, 340, where it says the attempt is punishable. Of course, that is the other way around. To kill anyone by his own consent -would be punishable. Of course, the real definition of euthanasia is very far from the subject that has been introduced here. The real definition is, it is an act of inducing; death painlessly or as a relief from pain.
Now, since I promised something, I am making good on it. It doesn't mean much.
Before resuming the session, we note with some satisfaction that the defendant Rothaug is again in court. It seems proper to inquire what we can learn about the defendant Engert.
DR. LINK (Counsel for Defendant Engert): To this question of the high Tribunal may I say that this noon I was informed by the doctor, the woman doctor, that the defendant Engert will not be able to attend the sessions for a considerable time. He is still in the City Hospital, Nuremberg, and until now nothing is known that he should be transferred to any other hospital.
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal requests at this time that we have a medical report concerning Engert's condition.
MR. WOOLEYHAN: Your Honor, I assume you want the Prosecution to arrange for that in the form of oral testimony?