"a brief report on security measures of the main working group of the Ukraine during the retreat of the Armed Forces."
It was presented to the Tribunal by our American colleagues on the 18 December 1945. Characteristic peculiarity: the document testifies without decorum to the looting; it is clear to any one that reference is made to a group of robbers, although the Hitlerites still persist in calling robbery work; the most valuable exhibits of the Ukrainian Museum they shipped to Germany as "Miscellaneous Textiles."
The report begins with description of creating a safe corner for Einsatzstab establishments, for the purpose of which inhabitants of a whole district were thrown out of their flats and apartments and then follows a list of removed booty from plundered museums of Kharkov, Kiev, archives and even house libraries, and private libraries.
I shall quote only one brief excerpt from this document, which deals with the materials of the Ukraine and prehistorical museums of Kiev. You will find this excerpt on page 368 in the document book. I read:
"1. October 1943. Materials of the Ukrainian Museum in Kiev.
"On the basis of the General evacuation orders of the city commissioner, the following were found by us and loaded for shipment to Krakau:
Textiles of all sorts Collections of valuable embroidery patterns Collections of brocades Numerous items of wood, etc.
"Moreover an essential part of the prehistoric museum was transported away."
The second document, No. 1109-PS, is entitled, "Notes for leading group P4" and is addressed to von Mile Schreden. This document was also presented to the Tribunal by the American delegation on 18 December 1945, but it wasn't read into the record. Therefore, with your permission, I shall quote what is really a short excerpt. This excerpt you will find on page 369 of the document book. I read.
"2. The Removal of Cultural Property.
"A great deal of material from museums, archives, institutions and other cultural institutions was taken out of and away from Kiev in the autumn of 1943 in the proper way.
"These actions to safeguard the material were carried out by the Special Purpose Staff RR -- " Here I must point out Einsatzstab Rosenberg in some document is also referred to as the Staff of Penetration.
Those initials mean Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
"These actions to safeguard the material were carried out by the Special Purpose Staff RR as well as by the individual institute directors etc. at the instigation of the Reich Commissar.
"At the beginning a great deal of the evacuated property was taken only to the rear areas; later on this material was forwarded to the Reich. When the undersigned, towards the end of September, received the mission from the cultural division of the Reich Commissar to take out of Kiev the remaining cultural effects, the most worth while materials from the cultural point of view has already been removed. During October some 40 carloads of cultural effects were shipped to the Reich.
"In this case it was chiefly a question of valuables which belonged to the research institutions of the national Research Centre of the Ukraine. These institutions are continuing their work at the present time in the Reich and are being directed in such a manner that at a given moment they can be brought back into the Ukraine. The cultural valuables which could not be promptly safeguarded were plundered. In this case, it was always a question, however, of less valuable material, as the principal valuables were taken away in accordance with orders.
"In October 1943 factory, workshop, etc. plants were taken out of Kiev by order of the Military Commander of the town, but to what place they were removed I do not know.
"At the time of the entry of Soviet Russia there was nothing valuable in this respect left in the city."
May it please Your Honors, from the documents submitted by the Soviet Prosecution, the Tribunal has already learned about the criminal conspiracy between Hitler and Antonescu. As a reward for supplying Germany with cannonfodder, oil, wheat, cattle, etc., Antonescu's criminal clique received from Hitler's government an authorization to plunder the civilian population between the Bug and the Dniestr. German and Rumanian invaders plundered and destroyed many objects of cultural value, health resorts, and medical institutions in Odessa. The Hitlerites plundered, with Antonescu's clique, and they also plundered by themselves. To prove this, I will now read into the record a few excerpts from the report of the Extraordinary State Commission, presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit USSR-47. These excerpts are taken from page 372 of your document book. I omit one paragraph and begin:
"The German Military Command plundered the museums of Odessa, carrying away hundreds of unique objects," and so forth.
I omit here two paragraphs, and I refer to the last line of the page:
"According to their plan drawn up long in advance, the German Fascist conspirators destroyed or blew up 2290 of the largest buildings of architectural and historical value. Included in this were the House of Pushkin, the Saban barracks, built in 1827, and other representative monuments of the material cultural of the beginning of the 19th century.
"The German-Rumanian invaders destroyed in Odessa: The first hospital for contageous diseases, the second district, the somatological, the psychiatric and two children's hospitals, a children's out-patient clinic, seven well-baby clinics, 55 cribs, two maternity homes, a tuberculosis sanatorium, one leprosarium, six out-patient clinics, and the following research institutes: for the study of tuberculosis, for research into health resorts, and others. They destroyed 29 sanatoriums lovated around Odessa."
The Hitlerites committed crimes on an exceptionally large scale in the Stalino region.
I omit the rest of this page and pass to page 68. The report of the Extraordinary State Commission, which was presented by the Soviet Prosecution as Exhibit USSR 2, relates an neormous number of facts. I shall not quote all of those, Your Honors, but I shall confine myself only to several excerpts from the above mentioned document which have not been read into the record by my colleagues. They can be found on pages 374 and 375 in your document book.
"At their retreat from Stalino, the Hitlerites completely destroyed 113 schools, 62 kindergartens, 390 shops, the winter and the Summer Theatres with 1,100 seats, the Palace of the Pioneers, radio-theatre, the Museum of the Revolution, the Picture Gallery, Dzerjinsky Club and several other of the best town buildings.
"Special detachments of engineers went from one school to another, spreading incendiary liquid and setting fire to them. The Soviet people who tried to extinguish the fires were shot on the spot by the Pascist bandits.
"Irreparable damages were caused by the occupation authorities to the medical establishments of the town."
I omit three paragraphs of the report, and I quote the two last paragraphs on this page:
"The destruction of the hospitals was carried out under the instructions and with the participation of the Chief Medical officer of the Military Hospital, Trommer, and the Deputy of the City Commandant, the Military Advisor, Narouschat. The Medical Institute, a first class scientific establishment for 2,000 students, was plundered on the orders of the Oberfeldartzt Roll, the Chief Medical Officer, Belindorf, and the Chief Physician Kuchendorf.
"530,000 volumes of the total 600,000 books of scientific and art literature, were burned by the Hitlerites."
In all the industrial cities of Stalinsky province, the Hitlerites burned down schools and theaters, destroyed creches and hospitals and even churches.
I shall not enumerate it all. The facts were enumerated in a document which, as provided by Article 21 of the Charter, is irrefutable evidence, and in accordance with the Tribunal's ruling, does not have to be read into the record in full, but I must draw your attention to the fact that Stalinsky province, the Hitlerites burned down schools, and theatres destroyed creches and hospitals, and churches. Thus, in the town of Gorlovka:
"They destroyed 32 schools, attented by some 21,649 pupils, burned down the town hospital, five polyclinics, a church and the Palace of Culture."
I omit the next paragraph of the report.
In the city of Konstantinovka:
"The occupation authorities blew up and burned all the 25 city schools, two movie theatres, the principal city library with 35,000 volumes, the club of the pioneers," Before their retreat from Mariupol:
"The German occupation authorities burned down all the 68 schools of the city, 17 kindergartens, the Palace of the Pioneers."
I now pass on to quoting a few excerpts from the document which was presented to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 45. These excerpts can be found on page 378 in the document book. The document deals with the Hitlerite crimes in Revno and the Revno region. I omit part of page 69 and pass on to page 70.
The city of Revno was especially important. It was the residence of the Reichsminister Erich Koch, closest collaborator of the defendant Rosenberg. Numerous conferences of the Hitlerite leaders for working out in detail the Plan: for the enslavement of the Ukrainian people, took place in this city.
The above mentioned report of the Extraordinary State Commission establishes the following:
"On the Ukrainian territory seized by them, the Hitlerite bandits endeavoured to establish a regime of slavery and serfdom and to annihilate the Ukrainian culture and exterminate the leading representatives of Ukrainian art and science who fell into their hands."
I omit two paragraphs, and 1 quote:
"The German Fascist aggressors closed down nearly all the cultural and educational establishments in Revno. On 30 November 1941 the closing down of schools in the General-Kommissariat of Volyn and Podo was officially announced by the newspaper 'Volyn'."
I omit the ending of page 70, and I quote the last paragraph of this document, which appears in the text of my presentation, page 71:
"The fact that all these crimes were committed in the residence of the former Reichskommissar for Ukraine, Erich Koch, serves as additional proof that all the crimes of the Hitlerite bandits were perpetrated in execution of a plan for the extermination of the Soviet people and the devastation of the Soviet territories temporarily occupied by the Hitlerites, a plan which had been conceived and worked out by the Hitlerite government."
Destruction and Plunder of Cultural Treasures of the Capital of Byelorussian Republic, the City of Minsk:
In Section 5 of his opening statement, General Rudenko, the Chief Prosecutor for the USSR, quoted an extract from a letter in the documents of the German commissar for Beylorussia Kube, addressed to the defendant Rosenberg.
This document is a typewritten letter, signed in ink by Kube. It has several notations in pencil, evidently by the hand of Rosenberg, and it has a stamp. "Ministerial Bureau", and the date 3 October 1941. This document, which is identified as 1099 PS, I present to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 374 as proof of the enormous proportions of the plunder of historical treasures by the Hitlerites.
I shall quote in addition several other extracts from the document which also discloses the fact that the plundered treasures were shipped not only to Germany, but were also stolen by individual generals of Hitler's army.
Kube's letter reveals also the existence of a previously worked out plan for the plunder of cultural treasures of Leningrad, Moscow and the Ukrainian cultural centers. The vandalism of the Hitlerites reached such proportions that even Kube, this hangman of the Byelorussian people, protested. He was afraid to miss some chance of profit and negotiated with Rosenberg for a compensation I quote the second paragraph from the beginning of the letter:
"Minsk had a large, in part very valuable, collection of art treasures and painting, which were removed almost in their entirety. On an order of the Reichsfuehrer SS, Reichsleiter Heinrich Himmler, most of the paintings, some still during my term of office, were packed by the SS and shipped to the Reich. They are worth several millions of marks and were all taken from the general district of Byelorussia. These paintings were supposedly sent to Linz and to Koenigsberg in East Prussia. I beg to have this valuable collection, insofar as they are not needed in the Reich, again placed at the disposal of the general district of Byelorussia. In any case, however, to have the money value secured for the Ministry of the Occupied Eastern Territories."
Kube, as well as the defendant Rosenberg, also decided that the right to the stolen treasures was his monopoly and complained that--and I quote the second part of the second paragraph of this letter:
"General Stubenrauch has taken a valuable part from Minsk with him up to the front. 'Sonderfurheres' whose names have not yet been reported to me, have carried away furniture, paintings and art objects in three trucks."
Having robbed, together with other Fascist leaders, the people of Byelorussia, having taken a direct part in mass ill treatment and extermination of the Soviet propulation, Kube hypocritically declared -- and I quote the last paragraph of this letter:
"Byelorussian, already rather poor, has suffered a heavy loss through these actions."
And Kube recommended to Rosenberg:
"It is possible that specialists should be appointed beforehand for directing these measures in Leningrad and Moscow, as well as in some of the ancient Ukrainian cultural centers."
That is where their desires were directed. It is now universally known what meaning the Hitlerites gave to the word "measures" as applied to the occupied territories. It meant a regime of bloody terror, violence and unrestricted plunder and despotism.
Having burst into Minsk, the capital of the Byelorussian Republic, the German Fascist plunderers tried to annihilate the culture of the Byelorussian people and transfer them into obedient German slaves.
As has been established by special investigations, the Hitlerite military authorities, acting on direct orders, from the German government, destroyed relentlessly scientific research institutes and schools, theaters and clubs, hospitals end polyclinics, kindergartens and creches.
I am reading into the record an excerpt from the document which was presented by the Soviet Prosecution as USSR Exhibit 38.
"For three years the German Fascist invaders set themselves systematically to destroy the scientific research institutes, institutions of higher education, libraries, museums, institutions of the Academy of Sciences, theatera and clubs of Minsk.
"The Lenin library in Minsk was the creation of more than twenty years.
In 1932 the construction of a new building with a large, well-equipped bock depository was completed.
The Germans carried away from the library to Berlin and Koenigsberg one and a half million most valuable volumes, including many on the history of Byelorussia."
I omit the remainder of the page.
"In the effort to eradicate the culture of the Byelorussian people, the German-Fascist invaders destroyed all the cultural and educational institutions in Minsk."
"The libraries of the Academy of Sciences, of the State University, of the Polytechnic Institute, the Scientific Medical Library and the Pushkin City Public Library were all carried away to Germany.
"The Hitlerites destroyed the Byelorussian State University, the Zoological, Geological-Mineralogical, and Historic-Archaeological Museums, and the Medical Institute with all its clinics. They demolished the Academy of Sciences with its nine Institutes."
I omit the remainder of this paragraph.
"Likewise they destroyed the State Art Gallery and carried away to Germany canvasses and sculptures by Russian and Byelorussian masters. They plundered the State Byelorussian Theatre of Opera and Ballet, the First Byelorussian Drama Theater, the Hose of Folk Art, and the Houses of the Unions of Writers Artists and Composers.
"The Fascists destroyed in Minsk 47 schools, 24 kindergartens, the Palace of Pioneers, two lying-in homes, three children's hospitals, five city polyclinics, 27 nurseries, four children's welfare centers and the Institute of Infant and Maternity Welfare."
The Prosecution has at its disposal document No. 072-PS, which is a report of the German corporal, Abel, on Minsk Libraries. This corporal had examined all Minsk libraries and says in his report that almost all were destroyed. I present it as documentary evidence as USSR 375.
I consider that it will be sufficient to read into the record separate excerpts from this report. There is no necessity for reading the whole report on page 75 of my presentation.
"The Lenin library was the central Byelorussian library. It is difficult to draw up an exact inventory of the volumes, but the number of books was approximately 1,500,000.
The book shelves are in a sad state."
I omit two paragraphs of my presentation, and I read further:
"The library of the Polytechnical Institute, which was in the basement of the left wing, was considerably plundered and put into disorder, as well as a great number of laboratories."
The report concludes with the followings sentence, which I quote:
"The purpose of this report can only be reached by presenting it for consideration to the Supreme Command which would issue appropriate orders forbidding clearly the German soldier to behave in future like a barbarian."
But such orders were never issued--could never have been issued, because fascism is inseparable from barbarism; in fact, fascism means barbarism.
THE PRESIDENT:What were you proposing to do after the adjournment this afternoon?
COLONEL RAGINSKY:After the presentation, I would like to present several written documents pertaining to the destruction of cultural monuments of Lithuania, Esthonia and Latvia, and later, with the permission of the Tribunal, I intend to present a documentary film, toward the end of the session. All of my presentation of evidence would be finished.
THE PRESIDENT:How long will the film take?
COLONEL RAGINSKY:The presentation of the documentary film will take about 30 to 35 minutes.
THE PRESIDENT:Don't you think that after the vast amount of damage and spoliation to which you have drawn our attention in some detail, that it would be sufficient if you were to summarize by telling us the countries in which similar spoliation had taken place?
It is difficult to assimilate all this vast amount of detail.
COLONEL RAGINSKY:I have in mind, Mr. President, to present to the Tribunal the documents which will serve as a resume, where all the general totals will be given.
THE PRESIDENT:Very well. We will adjourn now for ten minutes.
(A recess was taken.)
COLONEL RAGINSKY:I wish to draw the attention of the Tribunal to the fact that before presenting the conclusion of this document I would like to quote a German document referring to the subject.
Having occupied the Lithuanian, Esthonian, and Latvian Soviet Republics, the German-Fascist invaders attempted to turn the Soviet Baltic Provinces into a German colony, and to enslave the people of these republics.
The criminal design of the Hiterite government found its full expression in universal plunder, general ruin, ciolence, and mockeries in mass murder of old men, women, and children.
In order to germanize the people of the Lithunian, Esthonian, and Latvian Soviet Socialist Republics, the Hitlerites destroyed by every possible means the culture of the peoples of these Republics.
I skip the remainder of this page, page seventy-seven, page seventy-eight, and on page seventy-nine I quote only one paragraph.
The capital of Soviet Latvia, Riga, was declared by the occupants the capital of "Ostland" (Eastern Territory) and the seat of Rosenberg's Staff. Among the documents presented to the Tribunal by the Soviet prosecution as USSR Exhibit 7, USSR Exhibit 39, and USSR Exhibit 41, there are a number of facts and documents which establish the crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerites in the Soviet Baltic provinces. Among these crimes against the peoples of the Baltic provinces, --I read page eighty-one of the statement.
The Defendant Rosenberg played a major part.
Defendant Rosenberg, the former Reichsminister, for the Eastern territority even at a time when it became evident that Fascist Germany was facing defeat, when the hour of just and stern redemption approached, the defendant Rosenberg pursued his plunderings.
As late as the end of August 1944, Rosenberg organized and executed the plundering of cultural resources of Riga and Revel, Derpt, and a series of other towns of the Estonian Republic.
I draw the attention of the Tribunal to document No. 161-IS, dated the 23rd of August 1944, entitled "instruction" and signed by Rosenberg's Chief of Staff, Utikal.
This document is submitted to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 376, which the Tribunal will find on page 400. I quote:
"On the 21st of August, 1944, the Reich leader, Alfred Rosenberg, summoned from the headquarters of the Chief of Staff, Friedrich Schiller, to report on the existing possibilities for the evacuation of culturaltreasures from the Eastern territories.
On the basis of this report, the Reich leader decided that the most precious cultural riches of the Ostland could still be evacuated by his staff, insofar as it is possible without detriment to the needs of the field troops.
The Reichsleiter considers the following specially important:
"From Riga - the City's archives - the state archives (the major part in Rawalene)."From Reval - the City's archives - the Esthonian Library Society, small articles from the town hall.
"From Dorpat - items from the Evangelical Lutheran consistory and the church of St. Nicholas - the University library.
"From Esthonian treasures - items which were in Erlen, Wodya, Weissenstein, Lachmess, - the removal operations are entrusted to the Chief of the Mobilization Department, Schiller, as the future nead of the main oprational group 'Ost' of Rosenberg's Staff.
"He is advised to maintain special contact with group 'North' in order to coordinate the execution of the tasks imposed by the Reichs leiter with the transportation requirements of the field forces."
I would like to draw the attention of the Tribunal to another peculiar circumstance.
In this case the looting was carried out by Rosenberg together with high command and even in the fall of 1944 future chiefs of staff of Rosen berg's were selected.
An analysis of all these circumstances allows us to reassert categorical by that destruction and looting of cultural treasures was inspired.
directed, and carried out by one central organization, and that this central organization was the criminal Hitlerite Government and the High Command, the representatives of which, in the persons of all the Defendants before this Tribunal should suffer punishment in accordance with Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal.
May it please your Honors, when we deal with a system of wholesale destruction and plunder it is impossible and hardly necessary to enumerate all the facts, even if these facts are in themselves of great importance.
In the occupied territories of the Soviet Union the Hitlerites carried out precisely such a system of wholesale and many-folded destruction and plunder of cultural treasures of the peoples of the USSR. At this moment it is not yet possible to draw up a final balance of the Defendants' crimes.
I will, with the permission of the Tribunal, quote a document containing data which, although only preliminary, is absolutely accurate, and which bears witness to the tremendous damage inflicted by the Hitlerites.
I have in view the Report of the Extraordinary State Commission, submitted to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 35. This document is on pages 404 and 405 of the document book. I will quote from this only a single excerpt concerning the subject which I am presenting, and which has not yet been read into the record. Destruction of Cultural and Communal Institutions, Social Organizations and Co-operatives.
I skip one paragraph and quote only the numerical data. They destroyed over 87,000 industrial buildings belonging to co-operatives, trade unions, and other social organizations; 10,000 residential buildings, and 1,839 cultural institutions. They evacutated to Germany about 8,000,000 books--volumes.
From the property of the trade unions the German invaders completely destroyed 120 sanatoria and 150 convalescent homes, in which more than 3,000,000 workers, engineers, technicians, and other employees received treatment and rest every year.
Of this total figure they destroyed 59 sanatoria and convalescent homes, with 11,900 beds in the Caucasian tourist centers; 32 sanatoria and convalescent houses in the Leningrad area; 88 sanatoria and convalescent homes in the Ukraine.
The German-Fascist invaders destroyed the buildings of 46 pioneers' and children's summer camps belonging to the trade unions. They destroyed 189 clubs and palaces of culture.
I skip a paragraph and quote the last paragraph of this page.
In that territory of the Soviet Union which was occupied by the Germans, there were, at the beginning of 1941, 82,000 elementary and secondary schools with 15,000,000 pupils. All secondary schools possessed libraries, each with from 2000 to 25,000 volumes, many schools possessed physics, chemistry, biology and other classrooms. The German Fascist usurpers entirely or partially destroyed 334 universities at which 233,000 students were studying, and evacuated to Germany the equipment of the laboratories and lecture rooms and the rarities from the collections of the universities and institutes, as well as the libraries.
Great damage was inflicted to the medical colleges. The occupants destroyed or looted 137 pedagogical and teachers' institutes. They removed from the special libraries historical archives and old manuscripts, and stole or destroyed in the public libraries over 100 million volumes.
I skip the next paragraph altogether.
They destroyed 605 scientific research institutes.
I skip the end of the page and the first paragraph of page 86.
Enormous damage was inflicted by the Germans to the spas of the Soviet Union. They destroyed or plundered 6000 hospitals, 33,000 polyclinics, dispensaries and ambulatories, 976 snatoria and 656 convalescent homes.
I skip the next paragraph and quote that part entitled, "Destruction of Museums and Historical Monuments."
The German Fascist usurpers destroyed 427 out of a total of 992 museums of the Soviet Union.
I skip the end of this page and quote the beginning of page 87.
The Germans also destroyed the museum of the peasant poet
S. D.Dreshshin in the village of Zavidevo, the museum of the popular poet I. S. Nikitin at Voronesh and the museum of the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz at Novegrudek in the White Russian S.S.R. At Alagir they burned the manuscripts of the Ossetian popular singer, Kosta Khetagurov.
The Fascist German intruders destroyed 44,000 theatres, clubs and so-called "Red Corners."
Now, with the permission of the Tribunal, I would like to submit a documentary film and a certificate certifying to the documentary character of this film.
The film is entitled, "The Destruction of Works of Art and of Museums of National Culture Perpetrated by the Germans on the Territory of the U.S.S.R." This film, and the documents which certify the documentary character of these reels, are submitted to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 98.
In this film, besides documentary photographs which were taken from 1941 to 1945, there are also extracts out of a film which was made in 1908 and which shows the estate of Tolstoy and his wife; and further pictures show what the Germans did to the monuments of culture of the Soviet people.
May I proceed with the presenting of the film?
(The film entitled, "The Destruction of Works of Art and of Museums of National Culture Perpetrated by the Germans on the Territory of the U.S.S.R." was shown by the Soviet Union.)
I must now dwell, your Honors, on one more category of crimes committed by the Hitlerites--the spoliation and destruction of churches, convents, and other places of religious observances.
Whilst destroying monasteries, churches, synagoges and Moslem places of worship, the German usurpers sadistically mocked the religious feelings of the people.
These blasphemous crimes were systematically perpetrated on the whole of the territory temporarily under German rule.
Soldiers and officers organised bloody orgies in places of worship, kept horses and dogs in churches, put on church vestments, and made bunks for sleeping out of ikons.
I won't read all the numerous documents which are at the disposal of the Soviet Prosecution, and shall only dwell on some of them, in particular, documentary photographs. I present an album of those photographs, as document number USSR-99.
In the statement of the People's Commissar, V. K. Molotov, of 27.IV 42, which has already been presented to the Tribunal as document number USSR-51/3, and extracts from which I have already quoted, it is stated--page 321 of the document book:
"The Hitlerite invaders do not spare the religious sentiments of believers among the Soviet population. They have burnt, looted, blown up and defiled hundreds of churches on Soviet territory, including several irreplaceable monuments of ancient church architecture."
I skip two paragraphs.
From the village of Iklinskoye in the Moscow region, the Reverend Amvrosy Ivanov writes:
"Before the arrival of the Germans the church was in complete order. At the command of a German officer I had to take everything out of the church ... The troops arrived at night, occupied the church, brought their horses in ... Then they began to smash and break everything in the church and to build bunks. They throw out everything: the altar, the holy doors and banners, the vestments. In a word, the church was turned into a thieves' den."
I skip a paragraph at page 88, page 89 In the village of Gosteshevo the Germans plundered the church, smashed the holy banners, threw the books about, robbed the Reverend Mikhail Strakhov and led him off with them to another district.
In the village of Kholm, near Mozhaisk, the Germans robbed and beat up an 82-year old local clergyman. In retreating from Mozhaisk the Germans blew up the Church of the Ascension, Trinity Church and the Cathedral of Nicholas the Miracle Worker. As a rule, before their retreat, the Germans would drive part of the population of villages that they had destroyed by fire into houses of worship, lock the people up in them and then set fire to these buildings."
I am now quoting a short excerpt from USSR Document No.312, submitted to the Tribunal.
In a side-altar of the Znamensky Cathedral, the Germans set up a lavatory for the soldiers who lived in the crypt of the Cathedral.
"The Church of the Prophet Elijah in the Slavna was transformed into a stable.
"The following Pskov churches were also transformed into stables: Bogoyavlenie on Zapskovie, Kozma and Demian on the Gremiatchy Hill, Constantin and Helen, and the Church of St. John the Evangelist."
The document, Exhibit USSR 279, which is presented to the Tribunal, describes facts of blasphemous mockery which took place in the town of Gjatsk where the churches were transformed by the Germans into stables and warehouses.
The German-fascist invaders completely destroyed or partly damaged 1670 churches, 69 chapels, 237 Roman Catholic cathedrals, 4 mosques, 532 synagogues and 254 other ecclesiastical buildings.
I will now read into the record an excerpt from this document:
"No monetary compensation by the Germans can ever make good the destruction of ecclesiastical buildings, the most ancient historical monuments, as the majority of them can never be restored.
The old Borisoglebsky cathedral in Chernigov, built at the beginning of the XIIth century is largely destroyed. In the same town the church of "Paraskeva-Piatnitza at the Market " -- the most precious monument of XIIth century Russian architecture, is completely destroyed. The Germans set up an observation post in the Uspensky cathedral of the XIIth century of the Eletsky monastery and cut embrasures into the walls of that ancient cathedral.
The Spaso-Preobrashensky cathedral in Chernigov, built in 1070, was damaged by enemy bombardment.
The Polotzky cathedral of the Efrosinyev monastery, built in 1160, was badly damaged by explosions and bombardment by the Germans.
Enormous, almost irreparable destruction was caused to the famous Novo-Ierusalimsky and Iossifo-Volokolamsky monasteries in the Moskow region. The former was founded by Patriarch Nikon in 1656 and its founder intended it to be the symbol of the political power, the peculiar culture and the independence of the Russian state. The second was founded at the end of the XVth century. Both monasteries were not only destroyed, but looted as well.
An indescribable devastation was caused to the Tikhvinsky monastery in the Leningrad region. Three ancient churches and five wings of the monastery were blown up, to conceal the traces of plunder.
Such antiquities as the cathedral of the Kirillov monastery, built in the XIIth century, the church of Nikola "at the Lipka" built in the XIII century, the Church of the Annunciation "at the Gorodistche" dating from the XIII century, were completely destroyed by aimed artillery fire.
Enormous destruction was caused by Germans to the five churches, which were part of the Pskov-Pechersky monastery, the most precious monuments among the ancient Russian monasteries, reflecting in themselves the period of development of the Pskov architecture built in the XVIth century by serf labor.
Many ancient churches, monuments of olden days, were destroyed by the German invader in Byelo--Russia; Then in the town of Vitebsk was destroyed the church of Nativity, an interesting monument of Byelorussian architecture of the XVIIth century. Completely destroyed were the wooden Bogoslovskaya and Nikolskaya churches, built in the XVIIIth century.
In the Church of the Annunciation the Germans set up a slaughter house for cattle:
The document which I am now presenting to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 246 is a report of the Extraordinary State Commission and contains general data as to the churches, chapels and other buildings of religious worship which have been destroyed or damaged. This document states the German Fascist invaders completely destroyed or partly damaged 1670 churches, 69 chapels, 237 Roman Catholic cathedrals, four mosques, 532 synagogues and 254 other ecclesiastical buildings and buildings of religious worship.
You will find in the document submitted to the Tribunal as USSR Exhibit 305, further data on the subject. I will not quote the document in full, but I would like to quote a few very short excerpts from this paper:
"Material or monetary compensation by the Germans can never make good the destruction of ecclesiastical buildings, the most ancient historical monuments, for the majority of them can never be restored."
Skipping the remaining part of the page, as well as the first four paragraphs of page 91 of the statement, I read the last paragraph of page 91:
"Many ancient churches, monuments of an older day, were destroyed by the German invader in Byelo-Russia. Then in the town of Vitebsk was destroyed the Church of the Nativity, an interesting example of Byelo-Russian architecture of the XVIIth century. Completely destroyed were the wooden Bogoslovskaya and Nikolskaya churches, built in the XVIIIth century.
"Irreparable damage was done to the Voskresensko-Zarutonly church which was built in the 18th Century.
The architecture of this church was an interesting example Bxelo-Russian classicism. The Germans also destroyed there, in the town of Vitebsk, a Roman Catholic church which was built in the 18th century.
"The Germans burnt in the town of Disna, in the Polotsk region, a roman Catholic church founded in the 17th century an plundered the property which it contained.
"Timoshel Rudolf, the German Garrison Commandant of the town of Roznmiatov, in the Stanislav region, used three synagogues for barracks and later on destroyed the buildings after having plundered the property contained therein."
I skip the next paragraph.
"Before destroying buildings of religions worship the Germans plundered and destroyed all their equipment. A great number of icons and church-plate was removed to Germany.
"The Yossifo-Volokolamsky monastery was plundered and the ancient shrouds of the monastry and the personal belongings of Joseph Wolotsky, the founder of the monastry, have desappeared.
The Germans tore off the gold plate from the icons of the Tikhvinsky church, removed all vessels all crosses, crowns, miters and tabernacles."
"In 1941 German soldiers and officers stole from the Staritzki Church all the vessels, altar crosses, crowns, miters, and tabernacles.
"In the town of Dokshitz in the Polotzk region, the Germans looted and took away all the property of the local mosque. The same fate was shared by nearly all the churches in the territory occupied by the Germans.
"Everywhere the Germans plundered Greek orthodox and Roman Chatholic churches, synagogues, mosques and other buildings of religious worship. The Hitlerite conspirators did not only actually plunder, torture and murder, but they also tried to humiliate believers morally, to rob them of spiritual riches."
This is the documentary evidence concerning the crimes against culture, which were committed by Rosenberg, Frank, Goering, Ribbentrop, Keitel and the other members of the conspiracy.