"Many prisoners were transferred to the camp after spending one, two or even three months in solitary confinement cells in prison. These men bore the appearance of skeletons; some suffered from tuberculosis, others had been driven half-made.
"Loneliness, despair, and the constant fear of execution wore on men's nerves and broke the strongest constitutions. One afternoon, during the period allowed for prisoners in solitary confinement to circulate in the yard before the prison buildings, we suddenly saw one man leaving his place in line, and coming towards the camp, gesticulating wildly. The unhappy man had obviously suffered a mental breakdown. He had not had time to advance a few steps when the sentry at the opposite end fired, and the prisoner dropped to the ground. The Governor, being notified arrived and searched the prisoner's clothes, after which he finished the man off with his revolver and departed, after kicking the lifeless body. For several hours the victim lay unburied on the step where he had been assassinated.
"Another man cut his own throat with a razor, while we were lined up before the Governor. In the women's wards, a woman cut her wrists and was allowed to bleed to death, the doctor not being permitted to attend her.
"The camp rule was that all prisoners should have their hair shaven close. No one was exempted, not even Greek Orthodox priests, despite the protests of the Archbishop.
"The Germans had turned some of the camp buildings into workshops. Here the prisoners repaired furniture - confiscated from Greek homes - and manufactured goods which were intended for various services of the SS or were shipped to Germany.
"All the prisoners in the camp were considered as hostages, and were liable to execution in reprisals for any act committed against the Forces of Occupation. For every German soldier killed, fifty prisoners of Haidari were executed. During the nine months of my stay in the camp about two thousand prisoners were executed at various intervals.
Among those executed were 25 women.
"During the last months I worked together with other prisoners in a storeroom where the Germans brought goods stolen from Greek homes and shops to be sorted and made into packages. This storeroom was situated near Building 15 of the prison, and from the storeroom windows, we were able to witness the gruesome scenes taking place before that building.
"Those who were to be executed, and whose names were usually called out at morning roll-call, were taken to the ground floor of the building, A little later, one or two cars full of soldiers, and another empty truck stopped before the main entrance. The Governor stood at the door and called out the names of the prisoners who, halfnaked and barefoot, emerged one by one and mounted the truck, During the short distance from the door to the car, the doomed men were mercilessly beaten by their guards, and covered with blood they were packed face downwards in the truck and driven to the place of execution. We witnessed this scene many times. On the following day, the clothes of the executed men were turned over to our storeroom to be sorted and stored away.
"Sometimes the proceedings followed a different pattern. Thus, one evening, there was an extra roll-call. Thirteen names were called out, and the men answering to them were informed that they were to be released on the following morning. The men passed the night in singing and celebrating their coming liberation, but, on the next morning, they were taken to a hill outside the camp and executed. At another time, the Governor invited those who were in need of antisyphilitic treatment to report to him, as they were to be transferred to the Syngros Hospital. Several men presented themselves, among which there were some who were not sick, but who found this a good opportunity to get some rest in the Hospital. This group, too, was executed outside of Haidari.
"During the first days in May, about four hundred prisoners were executed.
Of these, one hundred were rounded up one evening at an extra roll-call and spent the whole night awaiting their doom in the company of jeering guards, who cheered them with the words "Morgen kaput".
"Other prisoners of Haidari were used as hostages on German trains. In groups of fifty they were penned up in open wagons, which were placed before the locomotive ready to be blown up in case of a partisan attack on the train.
"In the month of April 1944, the Governor of Haidari decreed that all prisoners should undergo a thorough medical examination, and that a list should be made of those in good physical condition. He did not explain the purpose of these measures.
"A few days later, at a special assembly, the prisoners were all ordered to sit down on the ground. In the sentry boxes were double rows of guards with machine-guns aimed in our direction. Noting our anxiety, the Governor hastened to state that this was not to be a wholesale execution, it was merely a question of transferring a certain number of prisoners to another camp. He then proceeded to call out the names of 1200 men prisoners, to which were added those of one hundred women. It dawned on us suddenly that these men and women were to be sent to Germany. Sure enough, on this very same day, these "enthusiastic workers" were piled into trucks waiting before the camp entrance, and shipped as they were, without extra clothing or shoes, to Germany, where they were put to work regardless of profession or social status. So far as I know, none of them has ever been heard of again.
"Another way of "recruiting" workers was through the famous system of "blocks", i.e. the wholesale rounding up of citizens in various sections of the capital. Hundreds of these men were led to Haidari, subject to a physical examination, and, following a few days stay in the camp, were packed off to Germany. Those who were not considered physically fit, were released. This "block" system went on all during the Summer.
Its purpose was to make up for the failure of voluntary presentation of workers. From the provinces the Germans also brought to Haidari hundreds of women, especially young peasants, who were sent to Germany, I ignore for what purpose.
"Then came the Jewish drama.
"Thousands of men, women, and children were tom from their homes in the provinces and later in the Dodecanese, and taken to Haidari, where, after being stripped of all their belongings, they were mercilessly beaten and subjected to unspeakable torture, and whence they were finally shipped to Austria and Czechoslovakia. The women, especially, were subjected, during the search on their persons, to the most atrocious humiliations.
"From early morning to late at night, these unhappy victims of German brutality were forced to remain out of doors, without food or water. When they had at last been checked and listed, they were shut up in unfinished, roofless buildings, and packed, in groups of five or six hundred, into rooms where there was barely space for two hundred. They were not permitted to circulate in the yard; medical care was denied them; those who were ill died. The other prisoners were strictly forbidden to hold any intercourse with them, and those who attempted to approach them and offer them a little water were beaten by the guards. During the listing of these Jews, the soldiers robbed them of their luggage, of their money, of all their valuables, and many of the prisoners threw away their money or buried it in the earth to avoid handing it over to the Germans. Following the departure of the Dodecanesian Jews, we beheld the soldiers, with the Governor at their head searching about for hours to retrieve the abandoned money and jewelry. Thousands of gold pounds were picked up from the ground on that particular day.
"From our cell windows we were able to watch the whole Jewish drama. We saw the terrible beatings, the transporting of sick or dying old men in blankets, the crushing of small children. We saw the German soldiers beating the women with the butts of their guns and stripping them of their clothes.
We saw the Governor of Haidari, Karl Fisher, using his whip against little children, who writhed on the ground in an agony of pain, with one hand, while caressing his dog with the other.
"A number of Haidari prisoners who had been sent to the Rouf Railroad station to prepare the wagons which were to transport the ill-fated Jews, described, on their return, the terrible conditions under which they were to travel. One hundred prisoners were to be pened in wagons containing barely room enough for half the number.
There were no windows to the wagons, and the only food given the transporters was a handful of raw broadbeans. The wagons were so crowded that mothers bore their babies on their shoulders to save them from suffocation.
"The International Red Cross commission was not permitted to approach these unfortunate people, who - as is well known - were never to reach their destination.
"Any prisoner who spent a term at Haidari, especially during the governorship of the notorious Major Rademski, can testify that all the facts I have reported are an understatement of reality.
"I might add that those arrested by the SS had no means of defense, and were never tried. They were sent to Germany, shot, or released, without further formality. Many prisoners were never examined, and some were executed never knowing the reasons for their arrest.
. . . . . . . . . .
"On the 13th of February 1944, that is about four months after my arrest, I was taken from Haidari to Marlin Street for questioning. But the examiner did not turn up that day, and I had to stand motionless from morning to night in one of the corridors with my face turned towards the wall. I was given no food, and, to my plea that I be given a little water at least, I received the answer that there was none. I was returned to Haidari that evening, and was summoned to Merlin Street two days later.
Until that time I was ignorant of the reasons for my arrest. A few days later my wife was also summoned for questioning. We were both charged with pro-British feelings, espionage, making out lists of collaborators, writing articles for the Underground press, and, in general, with hatred against the conquerors. Let it be noted that the search in my apartment had yielded no evidence whatever to support the above claims, and that the examiner had assured us that we should be set free in a few days. We were, nevertheless, kept at Haidari six months longer.
"On the 22nd August 1944, after almost 10 whole months of imprisonment we were finally released. Not, however before signing a statement that we would divulge nothing of what we had seen or heard of Haidari, on penalty of death.
"We later heard that at the beginning of September, a few days before the SS left Greece, the Germans had executed in the basement of the Merlin Street building, all those prisoners of Haidari suspected of espionage.
"When I returned home, I found the furniture intact, but most of my household effects had disappeared........
CONSTANTINE VATIKIOTTY."
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, I must ask for an explanation on the part of the Prosecution. Against whom is this unofficial report meant, and against whom is it being submitted?
MR. DENNEY: If your Honors please, that's part of the report against the Defendant Spiedel, as Military Commander Greece, against the Defendant Weichs, as Commander in Chief Southeast, at that time, and Commander in Chief of Army Group F, and against the Defendant Foertsch, his Chief of Staff.
DR. LATERNSER: As defense counsel I would like to contradict this, and I would object to bringing this report in connection with the said defendants. I am looking forward to the proofs to be submitted.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed. May we request the Interpreter to speak somewhat more loudly, please?
INTERPRETER: Yes, sir, your Honor.
MR. DENNEY: The next is 499A for identification, is offered as 499/2, this being an interrogation of the Witness Athanasios Kavamanos at Tripolis on 5 May 1945.
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, I object to the submission of this document as well. There is no connection of this document with any of the defendants.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: For the same reason assigned by the Tribunal for Document No. 499-A-1, it will be received for what it may be worth.
MR. DENNEY: I don't think it will be necessary to read this into the record, Your Honors; however, it is offered against the Defendants Weichs and Foertsch -- the Commander in Chief Southeast and the Chief of Staff at that time, and also against the Defendant Felmy, whose troops were in command in this area.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: I think the Tribunal should point out that it lacks very many of the elements necessary to constitute valid proof.
MR. DENNEY: And the next is 499-A-3, for identification, the decision of the Special Court martial for War Criminals, which is offered as 499/3. The first page contains a recitation of the composition of the Court, and the second paragraph sets up its being "convened in public sitting in accordance with Const. Act 90.1945 at the Central Hall of the Court of Appeals at Athens," and it convened on 23 October 1946, holding in custody the listed defendants: "1 Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller - General of the Infantry; 2. Bruno Oswald Braeuer - General of the parachutists; 3. Fritz Schubert Sergeant. The above-mentioned were sent to this Tribunal by Decision No. 16/1946 of the Judicial Counsel composed according to Const. Act No. 73/1945, to be tried for the acts enumerated in the Decision, i.e. murders, arson, rape, systematic terrorism, torture etc. The President called the names of the accused and the following two were present and without handcuffs. They answered as follows to the questions concerning their identity put to them by the President.
Because the accused declared that they had no knowledge of the Greek language; their answer was communicated through interpreters nominated according to Law." And then there is the personal information with reference to the Defendant Braeuer and with reference to the Defendant Mueller. "The President called the names of the lawyers, appointed by him ex-officio, according to the rules of Const. Acts for each of the defendants." And then the list of the lawyers -- two for the Defendant Mueller and three for the Defendant Braeuer.
"The defendants refused to accept these persons as counsels, stating that they requested the Ministry of Justice by written demand, to appoint as their counsels the lawyers used in the trial of War Criminals Ravalli and Caltsef. Finally they demanded the lawyers of Athens, Const. Tsoukalas, Ilias Microuleas, George Tsilithras, St. Ioanidis and George Antoniades, as their counsels. Oroly G. Tsilithras and St. Ioanidis were present and said they accepted their nomination as defense counsels for the defendants.
"The President, to complete the number of defense counsels required for each of the defendants nominated the lawyers of Athens, Ath. Krystallis and John Zygalakis as defense counsels for the defendants.
"The defense counsels said that they would perform their duty faithfully and conscientiously and the President asked the King's Counsel express his opinion regarding the defendant F. Schubert who was absent. The King's Counsel proposed that the case the defendant F. Schubert be separated from the present trial according to Law.
The defense counsels said that they had no objections to this. The Court discussed the matter secretly and. decided unanimously as follows: Where as, according to art. 7 B of Const. Acts 13/1945, it is not permissible to try War Criminals in absentia, if on the occasion of a trial some of the accused are absent; the case of those absent must be separated and only those present must be tried. THEREFORE, the Court orders that the case of the absent Fr. Schubert be separated, and the trial proceed with the case of the defendants who are present, namely, B. Braeuer and W. Mueller.
"Following this, the President ordered the secretary to read decision No. 16/1946 of the Judicial Committee. Thereupon, the following persons gave notice that they would be represented in the trial to ask indemnity for moral pain.
And thereafter is listed the names of the people and the indemnity which they requested: the first "for the murder of her husband and the burning of her home," the next "for the execution of his brother and the burning of his house," the next "for the execution of his father, two brothers, and the burning of his home," the next "for the murder of his father," and the last "for the shooting of his brother." And then in the next paragraph on Page 4:
"The defense Counsels speaking in turn asked for the rejection of the a.m. demands for indemnity. The lawyers of those demanding indemnity, asked that objections of the Defense Counsels be rejected.
"The King's Counsel demanded that the objections of the Defense counsel be rejected.
"The Court discussed the matter and decided as follows: "Whereas it has been ordered by Law 1699 every person sustaining damage as the result of a punishable act, has the right to ask for indemnity from a Criminal Court for the moral pain which he suffered from the act. The Court Martial, according to art. '40 of the Military Penal Law, does not have the right to decide on this indemnity as ruled by Law 1699. Whereas, by art. 932 of the Civil Law it is ordered that a pecuniary indemnity for moral pain, is a civil matter which does not have the character of a punishment. According to art. 240 of Law 2803 the Courts Martial try only criminal acts and never civil matters, and the civil demands are sent to the civil Courts. Therefore the pecuniary compensation cannot be tried by the Court Martials.
And then there is further recital with reference to that. And the last, the next paragraph on Page 5, gives the list of the witnesses. I think then we can turn over to Page 8.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: I think we'll take the usual recess at this time.
(THE TRIBUNAL RECESSED AT 1100)
THE MARSHAL: The persons in the Courtroom will be seated.
The Tribunal is again in session.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed, Mr. Denney.
MR. DENNEY: May it please your Honors, this starts at the top of page 8 in the English. I am sorry I don't have the German page. However it is -- I guess I can find it. It seems to be on German page 9.
"Where is is accepted internationally that some restrictions should be observed in the attitude toward the population of the occupied country. Though it is true that the war crippling the resistance of the enemy yet the belligerents do not have an unrestricted right with respect to the choice of means whereby damage is to be done to the enemy, as is formally stated in art. 22 of the Hague agreement to which Germany has acceded. In instances, where no provision is made by International treaties, the population remains under the protection of the general principles of International Law as they emanate from their international customs, from the Laws of humanity and the demands of public conscience, as is stated in the preamble of the Hague Convention. But art. 46 of this agreement declares that life and property of the population should be spared. And though these were no sanctions provided by international treaties, except by the Treaty of Washington of Feb. 6, 1922, yet it is in accordance with an expressed international conscience and with the spirit of Justice that the transgression of the fundamental principles of humanity should not remain without punishment. It follows from the above that in so far as such transgressions come under the heading of crimes as provided by the Penal Codes of civilized countries, transgressors can be subjected to trial on the basis of the local laws of the country in the territory of which he is found, which determines establishment of competent Tribunals and their procedure.
they are then considered as having violated the common Penal Code and simultaneously by virtue of their deeds as having transgressed the rules of International Law."-- Then a reference to Art. 3 of the Treaty of Washington -- "Besides this the declaration of the United Nations of Jan. 13, 1942 specifies that transgressors of the Rules of International Law will be punished by the Organs of International Justice. This declaration is a principle of justice, at least, as regards the competence of the Courts of the countries occupied by the Axis forces.
Whereas it is contended that the defendants have committed in Greece, contrary to the International Law, acts punishable by our Criminal Cone, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Greek Courts in accordance with art. 1 of the Penal Procedure which states that the Greek Criminal Courts are competent to judge all crimes committed in Greece either by Greek, or by foreigners.
Whereas the defendants Braeuer and Mueller Generals of the German Army have served as military commanders in Crete (Greece) during different times of the period 1941-1945 when Greece was in a state of war with Germany and occupied by its forces, and the crimes they are charged with, of murder, terrorism etc. are among those acts which are considered as war crimes by art. I par. 2 of the Const. Act. 73, and consequently it is lawful that they should be tried by this Tribunal.
Whereas the following appears from the depositions of the witnesses and the affidavits of the witnesses who were not present, and especially from the orders and notifications of the defendants published in the newspapers "Herald of Crete" of Heraklion and "Spectator" of Chania, which were the official organs of the German Command, and from the pleas of the defendants:
"The defendant Braeuer went to Crete at the head of his regiment of Parachutists during the operations aiming at the capture of the Island(Crete) in the last days of May 1941; he did not leave Crete before 4 June 1941.
He then returned to Crete on September 1942 as Military Commander and then as Commander of the Fortress Crete, remaining there until June 1944. This late date is evident from his proclamation of June 29, 1944. Defendant Mueller went to Crete as C.O. Of the 22nd Division in Archanes (Crete) on October 1942, he was away from October 43 to January 1944 and then again from the middle of March to the beginning of June 1944. From June 25, 1944 to the end of October 1944 he was the Commander of the Fortress Crete.
Whereas in the first days of the occupation of the Island on the Hersaklion area, the German parachutist killed many (over 100) Greek civilians, among whom the names of Aschimaendrite Theodosskis and Prefect Tsatsaronakis are included. Many articles of furniture and clothing were stolen from the houses of Heraklion. Some of these crimes such as the murder of Tsatsaronakis were committed after 4 June 1941 during the absence of Braeuer and consequently he must be not held responsible for these.
As for the rest it has not been proved that they were ordered by him and therefore he is not responsible for same. The other defendant Mueller, not being in Crete at that time, bears no responsibility for these crimes. Consequently both defendants must be considered of these crimes.
1. On 5 July 1943, by order of the Commander of Fortress Crete 40 people detained in the Prisons of Heraklion, Rethymnon and Hania were shot to death. A proclamation relating to this was published by Braeuer Comm. of the Fortress of Crete, in issue 520 of the Newspaper "Spectator" of Hania.
2. On 24 August 1944, 25 persons detained in Agia Prison were shot to death.
3. On 16 September 1944, 50 persons detained in Agia Prisons were shot to death, and a proclamation relating to the incident was published in issue 940 of the Newspaper "Cretan Herald" by Braeuer.
These shootings of 5 July 1943 were ordered by Braeuer and the rest by the then Commander of Fortress of Crete, Mueller. In all three cases the shooting was ordered as reprisals for acts of sabotage against the German Army. The victims were all innocent of these acts.
4. After a fight which took place in Symia (Vianos) between German troops and the unit of Captain Badouvas on 10-12 Sept. 1943, the 67th Regt. of Mueller's Division started on Sept. 13 an enterprise against the villages of Vianos and Ierapetra areas; they surrounded the villages and on 14 Sept. and the days which followed they arrested all the inhabitants of the villages. All the arrested men were shot to death, except the 147 men arrested in the village Sycologos; a total of 471 men and few women were shot, their names were mentioned by the witnesses examined." --And then follows the names of the witnesses examined and the numbers of persons mentioned--."The remainder of the arrestees, mostly women and children were detained for some days in the Concentration Camp in Rethymnon and then were sent to other areas. At the same time the Germans took away all the cattle and whatever else they could carry and then set on fire the houses and buildings destroying them totally. The following villages were completely destroyed." And then they list the villages which were destroyed and some which were partly destroyed.
"During the burning down of the afore-mentioned villages, several women were burnt alive in their homes; these deaths could have been foreseen and prevented by the Germans. All the aforementioned enterprises and crimes were on such a big scale that they could not have been done without orders of the Commander of Fortress Crete, Braeuer admits having issued such an order and Mueller admits having suggested and executed this order.
They both pretend that this enterprise was a military one against armed forces of the resistance during which the Germans suffered 4-5 casualties, but the depositions of the witnesses and the way the enterprise was carried, exclude such a claim. With reference to this, a proclamation of the Commander of Fortress of Crete was published in the newspaper "Cretan Herald" on 5 September 1943, saying that a measure of reprisal a certain number of communities ceased to exist. This publication bears the date 12 Sept. but was published on 15 Sept. and refers to the aforementioned events, because at that time there were no other similar happenings. The publication of the proclamation at the same time that the reprisals were carried out proves that they were premeditated.
5. On 4 September 1943, ten persons were arrested by Germans in the area of the village Agios Mamas Mylopotamou and were shot to death on the spot, under the pretext that they were arrested on forbidden areas. The next day 20 persons with a priest, went to that spot to bury the murdered people; the Germans seeing them opened fire and killed them all.
6. On 3-5 May 1944 units of the 22nd Division went to the villages of Heralkion District "And then the villages are listed. "-and shot in Camares 5 men and arrested another 15, they arrested in Margaritari 11 men, in Sachtouria 28, and in Icchia they arrested 8 and shot 2. Fifteen of the arrested men were shot in September and the rest disappeared. At the same time they took away all private property and destroyed completely all the houses and buildings of the aforementioned villages by fire and explosives. A proclamation for these events was Published in the newspaper "Cretan Herald" on 6 May 1944."
At that time, Mueller was not in Crete and consequently is not responsible for these crimes. But the Tribunal is convinced that those crimes were ordered by the Commanding Officer of the 22 Dw., on Braeuer's orders, who Braeuer confesses that he had given to his Divisions a general order to act on their own initiative in cases like the present one, accepting in advance, the measures of mass executions, arrests, looting and executions of hostages which were the German system.
"On 7 May 1944 a German unit kidnapped from the village Dougi Monofatsiou, 9 men who have since disappeared.
"On 9 May 1944 a German unit kidnapped from the village Samona 3 men who have since disappeared; the village was looted and then completely destroyed by artillery fire. One child was killed. The Tribunal thinks that (these two cases, i.e., 7.8. cannot be attributed to Mueller who was absent from Crete nor to Braeuer because it was not proved that he ordered them).
"In August 1944 units belonging to the Division of the Fortress of Crete surrounded the district of Kissamos. By 27 August they arrested and shot 60 men in the village Malthyrou, 26 in Kakopetron, 19 in Palea Roumata, 11 in Kalathenes and an as yet undetermined number in the villages Kouneni -Syrikari. At the same time they set on fire the villages of the same district Limni, Elos and Floria. They burnt part of the villages Kouneni where three children were burnt alive.
"In the same month, August 1944, the German Division of Heraklion surrounded the district of Amarious, they arrested all the men they found in the villages, and they shot 46 men in the villages Gourgouthi, Kardaki, Dryges, Vrysses, Smidai, 42 in Ano Meros, 55 in Gerakari, 35 in Krya Vryssi and they deported the rest of the population to other areas.
At the same time they looted completely all the aforementioned villages and completely destroyed by fire end explosives all their fountains, buildings, houses, churches, schools, and cemeteries.
"On 17th of the same month another German unit went to the village Sokara, destroyed a large part of it and shot 27 men.
"On 13 August 1944 a strong German unit went to the village Anogia, arrested all the inhabitants who happened to be there, shot 50 men, sent the women and children to other areas and the men to prisons and then completely destroyed the 940 houses of the village. Next day they shot in the village Gergessi 18 men, and in the village Pyrgos 4.
"On 14 August 1944 another German unit shot 11 men and 20 women in the village Skourvoula.
"On 13 August 1944 another unit arrested 35 men in Sarchos, shot 15 of them, used the others for forced labor and later shot them.
"On 14-19 August another unit shot 12 persons in the village Gonjes Malerizou, 7 men in Kalesia and 4 in Moni; on 20-22 Aug. they shot 7 in Digortynow and 22 in Asteraki.
"On 21 August 1944, 34 persons were shot in Damasta and 109 houses of the village were destroyed.
"At the same time, while the German troops were retreating to the West of the Island, the village Thrapsanos was set on fire and a woman and a child were burnt alive.
"With respect to all these crimes committed on August 1944, a proclamation was published in the newspaper "Spectator" on Aug.
27, 1944. It was issued by the then Commander of Fortress Crete Mueller and stated that 489 persons were killed, 599 arrested and many thousands deported to other areas. Relative to these is the order of Mueller 13 August 44 for the destruction of Anogia, the issue of which he does not deny, saying only that he ordered the execution of 30-50 men only (this order is in the file). All these crimes of murder, arson, looting and deportation were executed by the Heraklion Divisions on the basis of orders issued by Mueller. Braeuer not being in Crete at that time is not responsible for these.
"On orders of Braeuer Commander of Fortress Crete, a unit comprising many criminals (German and Greeks) was constituted in 1943 under the orders of Warrant Officer Fritz Schubert. Schubert was ordered to pursue the criminals and search for arms. By this order Schubert was allowed to use whatever means he chose. In the Execution of this order Schubert committed murders of more than 200 men; Schubert went also to village Callikrati Sfakiou where he arrested and shot to death on 8 October 1943, 24 men and 9 women, whose named were stated by the witnesses. Braeuer, knowing the previous criminal activities of Schubert and learning of their continuation by the commission of atrocious crimes, approved and kept him in the job to which he had appointed him.
"The defendants say in their defense that they had to obey orders of the Supreme German Command whereby they were obliged to order reprisals against the non combatant population for every act against the German Army.
But mass execution of innocent people not charged with any concrete act, and the arson on masse of towns and villages, are acts which are contrary to humanitarian feelings and cannot be justified even by an order of a supreme authority; such orders could not even be considered as orders in line of duty. And what is worse, the unlawful character of these orders is proved by the fact that the recipients of these orders were advised to destroy them immediately after reading them. Besides the Court is satisfied that even if these were such general orders for applying reprisals, the defendants had the discretionary right to choose the kind of means and to determine whether or not they should be applied. But no such means were applied by the Commander of Fortress Crete, when 17 Germans were killed in Omales after a fight with the Andantes, nor when in Nescla 7 members of Schubert's unit were slain, nor when General Kreipe was kidnapped. The defendants not daring to try to justify themselves for the mass executions, suggest that all these deaths of Greek people occurred during fights between Germans and Greek resistance groups. The excuse of military necessity could be justified in case other means were applicable as reprisals, but under no conditions for the killing of innocents. It is true that the Germans in Crete felt that they were living in hostile surroundings and that it was in their interest not to be disturbed by the population in case war activities were to be extended on Cretan territory. They aimed therefore at crippling the morale of the population in order to enhance their security; therefore, they used inhuman means such as mass execution and the systematic burning down of villages thus changing whole areas into a desert.