AFTERNOON SESSION
THE MARSHAL: Court is again in session.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed, Dr. Sauter.
DR. SAUTER: May it please the Tribunal, the last document with which we dealt before the recess was Document No. 8, on page 23, of Document Book Lanz I. This document was submitted under Exhibit 150, and the supplementary document containing the formula of oath contained in Document Book 6 was submitted under Exhibit 151.
I now continue with Document 9 on page 26 of Document Book Lanz I. This Document No. 9 is an affidavit executed by one Albert Robers. As the proceeding affiants this one also was not one of the officers serving under General Lanz, but just one small cog in the machinery of General Lanz's corps. The proceeding affidavits had been executed by his driver and from his personal orderly, from a corporal in the staff guard. This one here is a non-commissioned officer, also a member of General Lanz's staff. He was a clerk, ans as such part of the close vicinity of General Lanz. Therefore, his statements are of particular importance. In spite of their importance I do not want to read them, in detail. The affiant describes his observations made regarding General Lanz's attitude toward the civilian population. He also comments on the negotiations between General Lanz and the Greek partisan General Zervas. In conclusion he deals with the political attitude shown by General Lanz. This is described in a similar manner as it had been described by previous witnesses, that is, completely rejecting National Socialism ideas, etc, The affidavit, as can be seen, has been duly sworn to properly certified, etc.
The next document is Document 10, on page 28 of Document Book Lanz I. Document 10 on page 28. This will be offered under Exhibit Lanz 153. This again is an affidavit executed by one Johann Popp, who was a private in General Lanz's corps.
Throughout the war he was a member of General Lanz's staff as a clerk. He makes statements mainly concerning the political attitude of General Lanz, and his statements are somewhat similar to statements made by other affiants. He also comments on the care taken by General Lanz for his soldiers, and also for the civilian population, and he remarks on General Lanz's chivalrous attitude which he showed also towards captured partisans. I recommend this document to the judicial notice or the Tribunal. I shall not read it.
The following document is Document 11 on page 30, Lanz Document Book I, and this will be offered under Exhibit 154. It is an affidavit executed by a Dr. Steeckinger, of whom other affidavits in different contexts have been read. The affiant Dr. Steeckinger was intendant of the Division, and later intendant of the corps under General Lanz. He makes comments on General Lanz's character in a similar way as has been done by various other affiants, whose affidavits have been read here. Under Paragraph 1, on page 30, the affiant desscribes the strict discipline order by General Lanz with respect to the civilian population. He also describes the exemplary attitude shown by General Lanz to his troops. On page 30 towards the bottom the affiant describes the welfare measures taken by General Lanz for the feeding of the Greek population. In paragraphs 2 and 3, the affiant gives some details to this chapter which I shall not read in detail. The affiant also emphasized the recognition which these endeavors of General Lanz found in the population, particularly how this attitude was also recognized by the authorities. In paragraph 5 the affiant stresses the correct conduct shown by General Lanz towards the captured partisans. In paragraph 7 the affiant describes how General Lanz, when withdrawing in autumn 1944, took care that nothing was destroyed that did not have to he destroyed for military reasons, and the affiant stresses that the stocks which existed at the time were distributed in the interests of the population.
In paragraph 8 on page 32, the affiant comments on the correct attitude shown by General Lanz towards the Italian prisoners, and towards the Italian wounded, and in paragraph 8 he further relates a number of examples which are to prove that General Lanz in other cases, had rejected criminal orders issued by Hitler, even accepting the danger of being put before a court marshal because of this, or being thrown into a concentration camp.
This is contained on pages 32 and 33, and towards the end, which is about the Middle of page 33, the affiant remarks in conclusion:
"Finally I should like to state that General Lanz, during the whole of the war, openly expressed his deeply religious attitude by prior to many important fights going to the Communion in front of a battalion or a regiment.
that, in all theatres of war, including Russia, he treated the prisoners in a chivalrous and human way.
that he spared his troops, as far as he could, used his influence in their favor at High and Highest Headquarters with energy and civil courage, which also caused his disgrace with the Fuehrer, and that, in the most severe form and regardless of his own person, he criticized and disapproved of Hitler, his policy and warfare and the national socialism." That is the end of the quotation, taken from the affidavit of the affiant Dr. Stoeckinger, who has signed his statements, swore to the affidavit, and the signature was certified by the mayor.
That brings us to the end of Document No. 11, and brings us to Document No. 12. This is contained in the same Document Book, on page 35. This Document will be offered under Lanz exhibit No. 155--page 35, Lanz Document Book I, Document No. 12. This is an affidavit properly certified and duly sworn to be one Hans Dietrich Humann, who was a certified engineer. He states in the introductory notes that from the fall of 1940 to the spring of 1944, almost four years, he was battalion executive officer, and company commander. Furthermore from 1944 to the end of the war, first A.D.C. in the staff of the XXIInd Mountain Corps led by General Lanz. The affiant stresses initially that as A.D.C. he was frequently accompanying General Lanz on official trips, inspections of the troops. He makes the statements contained in this affidavit on the basis of impressions gained on these occasions. In the following two paragraphs on page 35 the affiant comments on the basic and on the political attitude shown by General Lanz. And he also comments on the National Socialist method of warfare.
On this occasion the affiant mentions that Lanz had frequent debates with his superior agencies. The details can be seen in the statements made by the affiant. On page 36 the affiant Humann describes what welfare measures were taken by General Lanz for the troops and the great personal bravery shown by General Lanz. I am only going to read small excerpts from these statements -- one part which seems important to me in connection with the Italian affair. This particular paragraph is contained on page 36 in Paragraphs 2 and 3. The latter partially goes on to page 37.
I am starting to read from near the bottom of page 36, Paragraph 2:
"When, after Italy,had left the Axis, besides other actions in North West Greece the islands of Korfu and Kephalonia. had been conquered, an order of the Fuehrer demanded that all Italians captured with weapons in their hands should be shot. Only due to the personal efforts of General Lanz--made, by him, under circumvention of the channel of official procedure directly with the adjutant of the Fuehrer, Colonel Schmundt, -- it was possible to achieve that this order was not carried out, which saved the lives of thousands of Italian soldiers. In the course of these efforts General Lanz went, as far as I know, so far as to offer his resignation. 3. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed, General Lanz was, almost during the whole period in which he was German Commander in Epirus, in negotiations with the leader of the Greek right wing partisans, General Zervas, and his English liaison staff. Those negotiations entailed even the exchange of gifts and brought about, apart from few exceptions, a truce between the German troops and the forces of Zervas."
I am not going to read Paragraphs 4 and 5. In paragraph 4, on page 37, the affiant describes, in a similar manner as other affiants did before him, the good relations which existed between Lanz and the civilian population and the civilian authorities. In Paragraph 5 General Lanz' endeavors are described, which he made during the withdrawal in the fall of 1944, to avoid all unnecessary destructions, explosions. The statements of this affiant have been duly sworn to and properly certified.
The following document will be offered as Lanz Exhibit No. 156. and it is Document No. 13, page 38 of Lanz Document Book I. This affidavit also is executed by a common soldier--not by an officer. He was at the time, Corporal, and his name is Hellmut Becker. He was a member of the First Mountain Division and served under General Lanz. The affiant describes one incident which is characteristic of General Lanz and his attitude. The affiant himself experienced this particular incident. I am reading from approximately the middle of page 38, where it says, "On his way up Brigadier General Lanz passed several wounded Russian prisoners of war." ... I would like to interpolate. This is an incident which the affiant did not experience in Greece, but, instead, in 1941 in Russia, while he served under General Lanz." ....."who on account of the lasting fighting and the lasting artillery fire were not being attended to yet. In our position Brigadier General Lanz said most emphatically that the wounded Russians had to be attended to at once, and that he did not want to see anything like that anymore. The momentary danger would be no excuse for not attending to the wounded Russians." That is the extent to which I want to quote verbatim. I recommend the balance of this document to the judicial notice of the Tribunal. I read this particular excerpt because it shows the whole attitude which General Lanz showed to the prisoners and wounded of other nations.
The next document is No. 14, in Lanz Document Book I, contained on page 40, and it will be offered as Lanz Exhibit No. 157. This affidavit also has been duly signed, sworn to, and certified by the Burgomaster. The affiant Schaefer--Karl Schaefer, resident in Rosenheim, in Upper Bavaria, states in the introductory sentences that he knew General Lanz from the time of the Drench campaign, later on in Greece where he, the affiant, was adjutant of the Mountain Engineer Battalion 54, and then when he was Chief of the First Mountain Engineer Battalion. As such he was subordinate to General Lanz. In Paragraph 1 he further says: "General Lanz was the most highly esteemed and venerated of all the commanders whom we had during the long war.
His surpassing personal bravery, his strict justice, his fairness towards the enemy made him a shining example to all of us."
That is the extent of my quoting from this affidavit. In Paragraph 2 and 3 the affiant describes his experiences in detail during the time he knew General Lanz. He says he does not think General Lanz capable of having committed any crimes against humanity. He further describes details and shows under Paragraph 4 how General Lanz tried to prevent excesses towards the civilian population on the part of his troops. However, he goes on to say that where these things took place General Lanz endeavored to punish them accordingly. In Paragraph 5, on page 41 the affiant Schaefer repeats, under oath, what many affiants have confirmed before him -that is, he stresses the attempts made by General Lanz to negotiate with General Zervas and to reach and agreement and understanding with him.
Then follows Document Number 15 in Lanz's Document Book 1 on page 42 of this Document Book. This Document will be offered under Exhibit number 157. I beg your pardon, it should be 158, Exhibit 158. The document number is 15, the page number is 42, and the Exhibit number 158. This affidavit is executed by a lawyer, Friedrich Erdmann from Duesseldorf. He states initially in his statements that at the end of August 1943 he was transferred as ADC to the staff of the Corps Headquarters of the 22nd Mountain Corps, under General Lanz which was being set up at that time. He further states that he belonged to this staff until the end of the war. The affiant describes in the first paragraph his personal Impression of General Lanz. He summarizes in saying that Lanz was an out-spoken opponent of the national-socialist system which he, General Lanz, had declared to be criminal on numerous official and unofficial occasions. Hitler personally and to other leading personalities of the Third Reich.
The affiant goes on to describe several details, on the basis of his knowledge of the situation. He relates the chivalrous attitude shown by General Lanz towards the partisan groups. These statements can be found on page 42. On page 43 the affiant goes on to describe the good relations maintained between General Lanz and the civilian population and General Lanz's endeavors to prevent excesses by the troops and to achieve as good a supply as possible during the time of the occupation.
On page 44 under paragraph 2, and I am reading from this, the affiant says: "General Lanz constantly kept in touch with the local Greek authorities and the clergy, and their trust in General Lanz's justice and readiness to help was so great that they mostly contacted him with suggestions, wishes and complaints although he as commander of the troops, was not competent for this, but the military administrative headquarters as the local office of the military administration." This is my Quotation from this affidavit.
In the balance of the document, the affiant describes incident to confirm his statements, and he shows the grateful attitude of the Greek population to general Lanz and the confidence which the Greek population placed in General Lanz.
This is shown in individual examples.
In paragraph 4 on page 45, the affiant goes on to say, and I have to read this in consideration of the fact that on redirect examination I was not able to clarify one particular problem which seems of importance to me. I am therefore now reading from paragraph 4 on page 45.
"General Lanz always had all affairs examined which were brought to his attention, and if any guilt or the existence of any criminal act was proven, he asked for the most severe Court Martial penalty. In all cases of any importance he had personal reports made to him and he asked for the quickest execution of investigations he ordered. In some of the cases I had to participate as agent of the Prosecution against German members of the Wehrmacht against whom severe incriminations were brought forward. Thus in one case I had to ask for the penalty of death in the case against a corporal (the name of whom I have forgotten), because in numerous cases he had asked the rural population at the point of his gun to hand over to him donkeys which he resold in other villages. General Lanz insisted on it, that once and for all an example was to be stated. In another instance, which however, happened in Hungary in April 1944, 2 sergeants of the 3rd Company of the Corps Intelligence Staff 422 were sentenced to death, because they had robbed a Jewish couple in their home at pistol point. The whole of the proceedings was executed in 2 to 3 days. From each of the intelligence companies some members of different ranks had to be present at the proceedings, so that such events should not happen again, I myself represented the prosecution at the time. As far as I remember the 2 sergeants were later on pardoned by higher authority to 5 years penitentiary, while General Lanz had declined to pardon them, though the 2 sentenced men were old Hitler Youth Leaders."
This is the extent to which I want to read verbatim from this document.
Under Paragraph 5 on the bottom of page 45 and page 46, the affiant describes the negotiations and agreements reached between Lanz's staff and the staff of General Zervas in order to spare their own troops and also the civilian population.
In paragraph 6, the affiant deals with the procedure in which the captured partisans were to be treated, at least in accordance with directives given by General Lanz. I am reading from here merely the first pa ragraph of number 6 which makes it possible for the Tribunal to evaluate the whole problem.
It says at the bottom of page 46: "General Lanz always expressly ordered that partisans taken prisoners were to be treated as prisoners of war. According to his order we had constantly to verify whether or not all partisans reported to have been taken prisoners during combat had actually been handed in at the prisoner of war assembly points, and there were often endless inquiries if the numbers did not coincide." This is the extent to which I want to quote from paragraph 6.
I shall skip the further details given by the affiant in connection with this problem. However, I recommend paragraph 7 to the notice of the Tribunal, keeping in mind that this affiant was for a long period ADC in Lanz's staff, and therefore was a member of the closer circle around General Lanz and that furthermore he was a lawyer.
Under paragraph 7, the affiant says: "General Lanz never ordered the execution of hostages. On the contrary, he was an outspoken opponent of such measures. On his instigation all the prisoners of war who had partly been taken over from the Italians were set free again. I remember that inside a very short time more than a hundred such hostages were set free in Joannina, when it could not be ascertained that they had been proved guilty and had to be arrested."
In paragraph 8, the affiant describes the correct and chivalrous conduct shown by General Lanz on the occasion of the evacuation of the Epirus, and he states that no plunderings, no destructions, no blasting were allowed unless they were absolutely militarily necessary.
In the following paragraph, the affiant gives several details about the strict measures which General Lanz ordered if excesses of the troops became known. He furthermore comments on various individual orders which have been dealt with here in detail. I, therefore, refrain from reading those detailed descriptions, but recommend them to the judicial notice of the Tribunal without my reading them.
The next document is Document Number 16 on page 52 in Lanz Document Book 1. This will be offered under Lanz Exhibit Number 159. It is an affidavit executed by one Gebhardt von Lenthe who has in other affidavits made statements known to the Tribunal.
The affiant in the first, second, and third paragraphs, which form the introduction of his affidavit, gives a description of General Lanz's personality as he learn to know it during the years from 1943 to the end of the war. Following that, the affiant describes in paragraphs 1 and 2 on page 52 and 53 General Lanz's efforts to stay within the limitations of international law even during band warfare, and General Lanz's endeavor to make even this band fighting as humane as possible and to avoid excesses wherever possible.
In paragraphs 3 and 4 on pages 53 to 55, the affiant gives a great number of details to show how General Lanz tried to maintain discipline and order amongst his troops. In conclusion on page 55, the affiant in paragraph 5 gives a summary which I would like to read briefly.
"Everybody among the troops knew about this attitude of General Lanz. He was known especially for making the strictest demands on the officers concerning the decent behavior of their subordinates and the troops were therefore very much scared of him, in spite of the great popularity which he otherwise enjoyed with them as a leader and fatherly friend of every individual soldier. It can well be imagined that some of his sub-leaders avoided to pass on reports on excesses of that kind, if they had happened in their unit, because they were afraid that they themselves night be reprimanded and punished for having neglected their duty of supervision."
This is the verbatim excerpt. The affiant has sworn to his statements and they are duly certified.
The next document is Document Number 17 which will be offered under Exhibit Number 160. It is contained on page 56 of Lanz Document Book 1.
Court No. V, Case No. VII.
I would like now to stress that the formula of oath for this affidavit is found in a supplementary document in Document Book 6 under Document Number 17, and this supplementary document will be offered under Exhibit number 161, In this Exhibit Number 161, the affiant Petersen has sworn to the statements which are contained in Exhibit 160.
Exhibit 160 contained in Lanz Document Book 1, pages 56 and 57 was executed by one Juergen Petersen, The affiant as he states in his affidavit was a member of the Corps Intelligence Unit of the 22nd Mountain Corps and was temporarily commandeered to the staff of the Corps. In the second paragraph he says, and I quote: "During my activities at the corps staff I had on various occasions the opportunity to discuss political subjects with General Lanz, and I found every time that General Lanz was a convinced anti-national socialist." The end of the quotation.
The affiant goes on to describe in four paragraphs the details which he gives as a basis for his views. In paragraph 1, he relates how General Lanz endeavored to help the starving civilian population. The affiant says, and I quote from approximately the middle of paragraph 1 on page 56: "For this reason I had special permission from General Lanz to reduce the food rations of the German and Albanian National Wehrmacht in order to put food free at the disposal of the especially needy inhabitants of the city of Argyrokastro. Furthermore General Lanz arranged for me a trip to Tirana where I secured medicines, Diesel oil, money and food for the civilian population of that badly suffering province." The end of the quotation.
In the following paragraphs, 2, 3, and 4, the affiant describes the attitude of General Lanz in a general manner. I refrain from reading these parts, but I'd like to stress that this document has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
The next Document is Document number 18 on page 58 and which will be offered under Exhibit Number 162. This again is an affidavit executed by the attorney-at-law Gebhard von Lenthe who, since 1943, was a member of General Lanz's staffs Until the end of the war he was an officer in the closer circle around General Lanz. The affiant on page 58 relates the difficulties experienced by the troops and goes on to describe his own commissions received from General Lanz which made it possible for him to form the judgment of General Lanz and his political attitude. I am reading verbatim from a paragraph towards the bottom of page 58 and the beginning of page 59. On page 58 it says: "Since General Lanz was also eager to have his staff of co-workers composed as much as possible of persons who shared his opinions and with whom he could speak openly, the result was that his entire corps headquarters soon had the pleasure to be spied on by the SD whose members appeared everywhere where the staff of General Lanz settled down. We had clear evidence for that since it so happened that the reports sent by the leader of the security service in Joanina to his superior authorities at Athens concerning the staff of Lanz were known to us and were submitted by myself to General Lanz." End of quotation.
I would like to stress that similar comments were found in the preceding document Number 16, Exhibit 159, which coincided with these statements. The affiant on page 59 goes to describe how General Lanz's altitude was shown towards the population as well as towards his own troops and the prisoners of war.
Under paragraph 1 on pages 59 and 60, the affiant relates how General Lanz took care of the civilian population, how he supported the international Red Cross, and the affiant, who has executed this affidavit, one Gebhard von Lenthe, says that that by order of General Lanz he had to do everything possible to help the population.
I don't want to read the remainder of paragraph on page 60, for it would only repilions of statements made by other affiants, although it is described here in great detail and under great emphasis how Lanz endeavored to establish good relations between the German armed forces and the Greek authorities in interest of the civilian population.
In paragraph 3 on page 61, this affiant also confirms that during the withdrawal of the German troops from the Epirus, General Lanz ordered that all armed forces' property which could be spared was put at the disposal of the Greek authorities and of the Red Cross for distribution to the civilian population.
Under paragraph 4 the affiant goes on to relate how the civilian population appreciated these efforts of General Lanz. And in paragraph 5 this affiant also mentions that the governor as well as the mayor had expressed particularly at the time that General Lanz would always be welcome as a guest in Joanina.
I shall skip paragraph 6, and I would like to read from paragraph 7 which deals with the partisan warfare. Figure 7 on page 63. It says here:
"General Lanz' endeavors were directed especially towards limiting the guerilla war, not only in order to protect his own troops, out also in order to spare the country and its inhabitants the hardships of the war. Shortly after, in the fall of 1943, General Lanz had taken over the sector of Jannina from the Italians and had become familiar with the conditions there, he constantly endeavored to get in touch with the leaders of the national resistance movement of General Zervas in order to steer the conduct of the fight into human ways. He prepared the ground by ordering that members of Zervas' troops, as far as they were prisoners of war of the Germans or later on were taken prisoners by the Germans should be released immediately, and by further ordering that the food supply line for the troops of Zervas must be interrupted in no place.
If operations made it necessary to clear the war for the interrupted German supply lines or to clean up territories important for German troops of the enemy, the General informed the respective guerilla leaders about his plans if this was possible. After many efforts which had been fruitless in the beginning he arrived at a peaceful understanding with the forces of General Zervas at the beginning of January 1944, which was observing by General Lanz also in cases which as it happened occasionally, some individual sub-leaders when as it happened occasionally, some individual sub-leaders of General Zervas did not observe the true, but attacked German fortifications and columns. On the other hard, German sub-leaders, who attacked the troops of Zervas on their own were called to account and reprimanded.
I know those events very well, since I had to deal with those matters and had to report to General Lanz about them."
This latter remark seems particularly important.
In paragraph 8, the affiant goes on to relate the manner in which captured partisans were treated and able all that General Lanz on principle immediately had prisoners of the Zerva troops released.
In paragraph 9, this affiant, who was a member of the closest circle around Lanz and, as a jurist, enjoyed Lanz' particular confidence, states that at no time General Lanz had any hostages shot. The affiant says on the basis of his knowledge and I read from paragraph 9, on page 64.
"General Lanz never allowed hostages to be shot. It may have happened that in localities which had made themselves suspicious of having supported partisans or where it was proven that Germans had been attacked, hostages were taken in order to cause the population of that region to behave properly towards the German troops. Those persons were, however, released after a short while. I do not know of one single case where General Lanz gave the order for even one civilian to be shot."
Thus, for paragraph 9, which I read verbatim.
In paragraphs 10 and 11, the affiant goes on to describe Lanz' attitude and the attitude of his troops during the withdrawal from the Epirus.
In paragraph 11, he describes welfare measures taken by Lanz for captured Italians.
I recommend these statements to the judicial notice of the Tribunal. The statement has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
The next document which I want to offer is Document 20. I am passing over Document 19 because it has already been offered in a different connection as Exhibit 108. I am therefore now turning to Document 20 on page 73 of Lanz Document Book I which will be offered under Exhibit #163. It is on page 73 of Lanz Document Book 1, the affidavit was executed by one Matthias Starl who, as is known to the Tribunal, was Captain and Aide de Camp in the Corps Headquarters under General Lanz from September, 1943, until November, 1943.
I am not going to read this document. It describes a number of details concerning the attitude shown by General Lanz. I recommend the contents to the notice of the Tribunal, but there is one paragraph, on page 74, and it says:
"In the war against the bands, the wounded bandits got the same medical attendance as every German wounded soldier. This fact always led to the agreeable surprise of the persons affected, who were first always expecting to be 'butchered' as they had been led to believe by enemy propaganda."
This document 19 is... 20, I beg your pardon, which was offered under Exhibit #163, has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
The next document to offer is Document 21 on page 76 and it will be offered under Exhibit #164. It is Document #21. The page number is 76 and the exhibit number is 164. This is an affidavit executed by one Klaus Goernandt. The affiant says concerning his knowledge in the introductory notes under paragraph 2 on page 76:
"The following statements relate to my official positions as 1-B, General Staff Officer, of the 104th Light Infantry Division from February to June 1944; as Corps Quartermaster from June to August 1944; and as troop commander in the Delvine/Sarande Sector (Southern Albania) from August to October 1944."
The affiant initially describes that, as a consequence of his assignments, he had occasion to be together with General Lanz on various occasions and that he participated in conferences of the staff; that he repeatedly reported to him concerning supply questions, etc. He goes on to say:
"The guiding motive of all those conferences was:
"1. How is the corps fulfilling its combat assignment?
"2. How is it protecting subordinate troops from avoidable losses?
"3. How can the peaceful population be spared?"
I am reading verbatim from the bottom of page 76 and the top of page 77, where the affiant says the following:
"I never heard of any plan to terrorize the Greek population, to decimate it, or to weaken the economic and industrial potential of the Greeks.
I believe that if such a plan had existed, it could not have been concealed from me. The possible existence of such a plan could not have escaped my attention, because, as a student of the classics, I was brought up from early youth to respect and admire Greek culture, was happy to have an opportunity to become acquainted with the country, had no hatred for the Greek people and was honestly moved by its hard fate. A plan for the destruction of Greece would have met with my bitter opposition and would have been unforgettably impressed upon my memory.
"I declare expressly that apart from my official position, I was not bound by any closer ties of personal interest to General Lanz. Our temperaments and opinions were too far apart for any private relationship to have been possible.
"I consider it to be all the more my duty to describe the facts as they presented themselves to me then and now.
"It is a fact", the affiant goes on to say, "that I saw and heard nothing of a plan for destruction. I cannot remember any derogatory remarks about the Greek population and I wish to draw special attention to the fact that - as a psychological prerequisite for any possible measures for extermination -- there was, for example, no defamatory prohibition against fraternization between soldiers and the civilian population.
"On the other hand," the affiant goes on to say, "I remember the following details which denote the existence of a positive helpful basic attitude:"
Thus for the verbatim excerpt.
On page 77 through 80 the affiant describes in eight paragraphs a number of details showing the helpful basic attitude of General Lanz. The affiant makes comments similar to those made by others about the negotiations with General Zervas and about the aims pursued by General Lanz in these negotiations. The affiant further confirms the support of the International Red Cross and similar efforts made by General Lanz. I recommend these details to the judicial notice of the Tribunal without my having to read them.
The affidavit has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
On page 81 of Lanz Document Book 1 we find the next document, #22, which will be offered under Exhibit Lumber Lanz 164, which is an affidavit by one Dr. Max Zogbaum.
THE PRESIDENT: Pardon me, Doctor. Did you not mean to refer to this document as Exhibit 165? You refer to this new document as 164, and I believe we had one document by that number. In other words, this new document should be 165 instead of 164.
DR. SAUTER: Document 21, on page 76, was given Exhibit 164, and Document 22 should be Exhibit 165. That's correct, Your Honor.
The affiant, Dr. Zogbaum, fifty-two years of ago, states, in the initial sentences of his affidavit, that he was corps engineer commander under General Lanz from September 1943 until 12 December 1944. He describes a number of measures and installations ordered by General Lanz in the interests of the civilian population. This affidavit, which also has been duly sworn to and properly certified, I recommended to the judicial notice of the Tribunal without reading it.
The same applies to the following document, #23, on page 86 of Lanz Document Bock 1, which will be offered as Exhibit #166. Lanz Exhibit 166. This is an Affidavit of a physician, Dr. Lindner, who was army doctor during the period of July 1943 until October 1944, and was active in the Epirus area. He describes one particular sector from General Lanz' activities as commanding general, by which I mean his efforts in the sphere of medical welfare for the civilian population.
The following document is document No. 24 on page 91 of Lanz document book 1. This will be offered under exhibit No. 167. This is an affidavit executed by one Johann Gregor Schmidt, 53 years of age, who was company commander, as he states, from March 1941 until July 1944, as such he was with the divisional supply office of the 1st Mountain Division. He relates number of details through which General Lanz tried to mitigate the hardships of war in the interests of the civilian population.
In document book Lanz No. 1, we have the last document, an affidavit which is document No. 25 on page 93 and will be offered as exhibit 168. This affidavit was executed by one Wilhelm Ertl, who as he states served as leader of the Ambulance unit l/54 and as commander of the Ambulance Company 54, which was part of the 1st Mountain division. He served in this capacity during the period from April 1943 to December 1944. He describes action taken by General Lanz for the help and in the interests of the civilian population, i.e. help granted in the medical sphere.
I have two more documents to offer the Tribunal, these are contained in document book Lanz No. 3, Lanz book No. 3. The first one will be document No. 59 on page 1 of the document book concerned. This will be offered under exhibit No. 169, Lanz exhibit 169. This document is an affidavit executed by one Karl Heinz Rothfuchs, who has executed other affidavits which have been read here concerning other problems. In this affidavit he states that ho was 1-C with the 1st Mountain Division from June, 1942 until the end of the war. The affidavit is brief. I will read it verbatim in order to refute the incorrect statements made by a Greek witness. The affiant Dr. Rothfuchs says: "Subject: Negotiations with General Zervas," I am reading from page one: -
Somewhere about September 1943 a reconnaissance--patrol of the Grenadier Rifle Reg. 98 did not return from its sortie. Mr. Bickel, who was then the delegate of the International Red Cross and who was obviously in touch with General Zervas, gave us to understand that the reconnaissance-patrol had been taken prisoners by the Edes. As General Lanz was then anxious to come to terms with General Zervas.