-8-

... ZAP THEM TO DEATH WITH MASS ElECTRICAL SHOCKS

11 Feb. 46

of externination was once again in full swing. It created murder vans, gas chambers in the concentration camps, special electrical appliances for the mass murder of the doomed, crematoria, and also "Zyklon" banks.

Now, I pass over to the next section of my presentation: "Concentration camps for the peaceful population."

Inasmuch as this subject has already been extensively treated by the members of the Prosecution who presented their cases before me, I shall try to be as brief as possible; I shall limit myself either only to absolutely new information or to the tex.t of the documents which serve as an explanation to the movie films which will be shown today before the Tribunal.

I beg to draw the attention of the Tribunal to the fact that at the end of 1941 and in 1942 the scale of German fascist crimes committed in concentration camps reached vast proportions. In particular, I refer to the report of the Polish Government in con­firmation of this statement. On Page 138 of the document book the members of the Tribunal will find the testimony to the effect that in 1942 one of the most terrifying extermination camps, the Treblinka Camp Number 2, was in rapid process of erection. The Germans called this " Treblinka B." Further, I refer to the report of the extraordinary State Commission on Auschwitz. The members of the Tribunal will find the extract which I am going to quote on Page 353 in the document book, Volume II, second column of the text, Paragraph 2. I quote a short excerpt from Page 257:

"In 1941 the first crematorium for burning the corpses of murdered people was built in the Auschwitz Camp. This crematorium had three ovens. Attached to the crematorium was a so-called 'special purpose bath-house.' That was a gas chamber for asphyxiating people. "

I draw the attention of the Tribunal to the following sentence:

"In the summer of 1942 the Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler in­spected Auschwitz Camp and ordered it to be greatly enlarged and technically perfected."

I end my quotation here, and I call the attention of the Tribunal to Page 136 on the reverse side of the document book; this is from a report of the Polish Government, which shows that the Camp Sobibor was founded during the first and second liquidation of the Jewish ghetto. But the extermination on a large scale in this camp really started at the beginning of 1943. In this same report, in the last paragraph on Page 136 of the document book, we may read that Camp Belsen was founded in 1940; but it was in 1942 that the special electrical appliances were built in for mass extermination of people. Under the pretext that the people were being led to the

IMT VII

576

-9-

11 Feb. 46

bath-house, the doomed were undressed and then driven to the building where the floor was electrified in a special way; there the were killed.

U sua lly the concentration camps of German fascism can be divided into two groups: the labor concentration camps and the extermination camps. It seems to me that such a differentiation is not quite correct, because the labor camps also served the purpose of extermination.

I omit two pages of the text and I pass on to the Page 260. In confirmation of what I said just now, I refer to the report of the Extraordinary State Commission relative to Yanov Camp in the city of Lvov. The Tribunal will find this on Page 59 in the document book, Paragraph 5 of the first column of the text. But at the same time, I ask the members of the Tribunal to refer to Page 6 of the album of documents relative to the Lvov Camp. One of them is a picture of "a trench in the valley of death." The round is soaked with human blood to the death of 1 1/2 meters. On the next pages are shown the belongings taken from the executed persons. This picture was taken by the experts of legal medicine about 2 months after the mass shootings.

From the reports of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the Yanov Camp it can be seen that here in. what was officially a usual work camp, over 200,000 Soviet citizens were exterminated, according to the findings of the legal experts. I quote only the first paragraph on page of the Russian text. I begin the quotation:

" In view of the total area of burial grounds and the area of 2 square kilometers in which the ashes and bones were scattered as well the expert commission concluded that in the Yanov Camp there were exterminated over 200,000 Soviet citizens. "

I omit the next part of my presentation, which deals with the regime of starvation in concentration camps. This was already very well presented by the representative of the British Prosecution, Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe. This must be already quite clear to the Tribunal and I don't think it will be necessary to give any additional proofs. But I ask the Tribunal's permission for a presentation of evidence on a camp which was created by the German fascists only during the last stage of the war. I refer to Page 265 of my presentation.

Maidanek and Auschwitz camps served as a means of exter­mination only for those who really were sent to these camps. These two camps were not a direct menace for those people who were outside the walls of the camp; but, in the course of the war, having already suffered grave defeats, German fascism began to practice

IMT VII

577

-10-

23 April 46

then later had to learn from his testament that he, in full possession of his faculties, consciously gave the order for mass exter­mination, is confronted with a riddle. I state here ...

LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: We really don't want another long speech about the Fuhrer. Just turn over the page and look at what is being said on the 26th of March:

"The report of the Polish Government on the measures against the Jewish population is published in full in the English press. A passage reads, 'In the town of Vilna 50,000 Jews were murdered, in Rovno 14,000; in Lvov half of the total Jewish population.'

"Many details are also given about the use of poison gas, as at Chelm, of electricity in Belzec, of the deportations from Warsaw, the surrounding o f blocks of houses, and of the attacks with machine guns."

Did you read that one?

STREICHER: I do not know. However, that shootings must have occurred, of course where Jews committed sabotage et cetera, is evident during a war that is considered as a matter of course. However, the figures which are quoted here were just simply not believable.

LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: Yes. I understand you to say that now, but what I do not understand is what you meant when you said this morning that the Israelitisches Wochenblatt made no men­tion of murders and gave no figures. You didn't say that the figures were unbelievable; you told this 'Tribunal, on your oath, that the newspaper contained nothing except the hints of disappearance, with no mention of figures. What did you mean by that?

STREICHER: I have said the truth under oath, but it is possible that one might not remember everything. During an interrogation some time back I stated, based on memory, that an issue must exist which mentions the disappearance of Jews, and so on. It is in the Israelitisches Wochenblatt, and I thought I said that it was in 1943 and it is true. If one article after the other is put before me - well, even if I had seen it, how can I remember it? But that I, under oath, should have deliberately told you an untruth, that is, at any rate, not so.

LT. COL. GRIFFITH-JONES: We will deal with the article you mention in 1943 in one moment; but just before we do that, just see if you believe your own staff. Turn, will you, to 38-A, M-139. Now, on the 6th of May it so happens just after those last three extracts from the Israelitisches Wochenblatt we have looked at, within 2 or 3 months, 1 or 2 months afterwards your newspaper is publishing this article. It is headed "Children of the Devil."

IMT XII

369