TNA Catalogue Reference: FO 371/57630 [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19240] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19241] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19242] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19243] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19244] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19245] [sharedmedia=gallery:albums:413] [sharedmedia=gallery:albums:185]
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:19869] Franz Xaver Schwarz (right) CONFIDENTIAL S C H W A R Z, F R A N Z X A V E R Reich Treasurer of the Party (Reichsschatzmeister) Reichsleiter S.S. Oberstgruppenfuehrer Member of Reichstag IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1875 - Born at Guenzburg Donau Became Verwaltungsinspektor (Inspector of Administration) 1922 - Joined the Party and after revolt of November 9, 1923, became Treasurer of the illegal party organisation. 1925, March 28 - Appointed Reich Treasurer of the Party by Hitler when the latter reconsitituted the Party legally. Administered the large secret funds which the big industrialists placed at Hitler’s disposal. He held therefore one of the most confidential posts in the whole Nazi organisation. 1931 September 16 - Was given specific power-of-attorney (Notarielle Vollmacht) by Hitler to act as general pleni-potentiary in all financial and property matters of the Party. (Sources: ‘Die Verwaltung der NSDAP’ by Dr. Anton Lingg, Eher Verlag 1939, p. 71 and ‘Das Deutsche Fuehrerlexicon 1934/35’, pp. 448-9. 1942 April 20 - Schwarz was made SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer on the day this rank was created. PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMON PLAN OR CONSPIRACY. Count I (a) As Reich Treasurer and Reichsleiter, Schwarz held a key post in the internal organisation of the Party, sharing full responsibility for all policies enforced by the Party machine in the Reich and in the occupied territories. As SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer, he must be regarded as having identified himself, at the highest level, with the activities of the SS. Himmler alone was his superior in rank in the SS. The official TAGEBUCH AUS POLITIK, KULTUR UND WIRTSCHAFT 1941 states, in its entry under November 27: “Reich Treasurer Schwarz stands at the head of the Party and financial administration of the NSDAP. As plenipotentiary of the Fuehrer in all matters concerning Party property, he holds a most responsible post, supported by the unlimited trust of the Fuehrer.” By a special order published in 1935, Hitler instructed “all State authorities to give every possible assistance to the Reich Treasurer of the Party and his nominees in carrying out their responsibilities and to conform to any request made by the Reich Treasurer as a result of this order” (REICHSGESETZBLATT, 1935, Teil 1, pp. 502-503). When interrogated on 25th June 1945, Schwarz stated that on 1st September 1939 he ordered the transfer of the funs of all the manifold Party organisations to the Central Party Treasury. These had to submit a detailed monthly budget and Schwarzt hen allocated funs to them. He thus had personal financial jurisdiction over a vast number of organisations; for instance: The Propaganda Office (Reichspropagandaleitung) Office for Questions of Germanhood (Reichsamt for Volksstumfragen) S.A. General SS Hitler Youth Schwarz also had supervisory control of Winter Relief Funds (For full list see Interrogation Report) Count I (c ) By his own admission Schwarz identified himself, with the view of his Party colleagues that war was inevitable. In an article in the ‘Voelkischer Beobachter’ of Nov. 25/26th 1944 he wrote: “Was war, which in point of time broke out under the National-Socialist leadership, avoidable and could we have saved ourselves these almost intolerable burdens? No! These things are forced upon us by history - but they all have their place in our scheme of victory... We have never tried to circumvent destiny. On the contrary we have given destiny its scope... We will carry the responsibility in our individual names and in the face of whatever may come afterwards.” WAR CRIMES Count III (F ) Schwarz can be charged with complicity in war crimes in that as Reich Treasurer he sanctioned the use of Party funds to de-nationalise Allied nationals in occupied territories on the grounds that these were of German descent. In September 1941 for example, he visited Jihlava (Iglau) in the former territory of Czechoslovakia to address a number of former Czech nationals who had been Germanised in this way and ‘gave a promise that, as in the other reconquered territories, the Party work would be pushed forward here as well with all available resources’ (Der Neue Tag, German-controlled paper in Prague, 4 September 1941). Note by RDFO: 7th Army Interrogation Centre reported on 25th June 1945 that the most important of Schwarz’s personal files are in wooden crates in Haus Schoen, Berchtesgaden. 19th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:21976] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:19870] Kurt Daleuge CONFIDENTIAL D A L E U G E, K U R T Colonel General of the Police SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer Member of Reichstag IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1897 - Born at Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia. Trained as engineer at Berlin Technical High School. 1916/18 - War service as volunteer in assault division. 1922 - Member of NS Party and leader of a unit of notorious Rossbach Freikorps. After suppression of NSDAP in 1923 he was functionary in or head of various Nazi groups. 1926/28 - Commander of Berlin SA and as such closely associated with Goebbels in political “fight for Berlin”. 1930 - Transferred to SS and until 1933 Commander of SS units in Eastern Germany. 1933, 30th January - Commissioner for special tasks in Prussian Ministry of the Interior 1933, May - In charge of Police Division of that Ministry and Commander of all Prussian Police Forces. 1934 - SS-Obergruppenfuehrer. 1936 - Head of German Ordnungspolizei and Chief of its High Command. 1942, May (after Heydrich’s death) - Deputy Reichsprotektor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He did not however relinquish his post as head of Ordnungspolizei in Germany. During his interrogation he stated that he had no control over Ordnungspolizei in the Protectorate. 1943, August - Daleuge’s provisional post as Deput Reichsprotektor came to an end as Frick was appointed Reichsprotektor. 1943, September - Daulege received Knight’s Cross of War Merit Cross with Swords. 1943, September - Daulege was succeeded as head of Ordnungspolizei by Alfred Wuennenberg.* PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY Count I (D ) 1. His biography shows that he was a “born Nazi” and that since 1920 he practised and fully supported Nazi doctrines. Although he did not receive as much publicity as the two other Police Leaders, Himmler and Heydrich, he must be considered equally responsible for the organisation and work of the Police under the Nazi regime. As head of the Police Department in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior since May 1933, and in the combined Reich and Prussian Ministry of the Interior since 1934, he was directly responsible for the crimes committed by, or with the connivance of, the Police, or Auxiliary Police Forces, against opponents of the Nazi regime in 1933 and 1934. In the December 1935 issue of “German Justice” Daluege claimed that preventive custody, introduced under Hitler, had curtailed offences in Germany by 60 per cent. He said, “The police and judicial system have freed themselves from the fetters of exaggerated ideas regarding the individual rights of a social people”. (Source: Manchester Guardian, 23 December 1935). WAR CRIMES Count II (A ) Murder and ill-treatment of Civilian Populations of or in Occupied Territory and on the High Seas. Daleuge shares responsibility for the subjection of and crimes against the peoples of occupied countries. In a speech of 15th February 1941, transmitted by “Deutschlandsender”, Daluege mentioned the formation of active service battalions and said, “These were recruited partly from the regular police and partly from the Police Reserve, all of whom had passed through their military training. They entered Poland with the Army, and under its command, and their task consisted mainly in combing out, and in maintaining order in, the country after its conquest by the Army. They had to deal ruthlessly with the ‘hedge warfare’ organised by Polish criminals, and were themselves involved in fighting in the wake of the storming armies”. Immediately after his arrival in Prague on 28th May 1942 Daluege issued a decree threatening to execute the entire families of persons involved in the shooting of Heydrich and anyone without adequate identity papers (Prague Home Service, 28 May 1942). On 30th May 1942, when addressing members of the Protectorate Government, Daluege said that “those who, in the present great fight, behave only as passive onlookers will be considered enemies and treated accordingly. This principle applies to individuals as well as to whole nations and national groups. Those who ware only sitting on the fence and watching this decisive struggle are also enemies, and they will be treated as enemies ... there are still individuals among the Czech nation whose extermination must be the foundation for any further development in Bohemia and Moravia ... The Fuehrer expects from you active fighting for the destruction and extermination of all those in your nation who oppose our determined struggle for Europe”. (Source: Official communique broadcast by German radio.) In July 1942, Daluege “decreed that anybody sheltering, assisting or failing to denounce any person whom he knows or supposes to participate in anti-Reich activities, is liable to capital punishment. Anyone who forges or falsifies identity cards or transmits or hands our such cards is also liable to capital punishment.” (Source: “Der Neue Tag”, the official Nazi paper in Prague, 3rd July 1942). This decree was reprinted three times, the last time on 4th December 1942. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Count IV (B ) Persecution on Political, Racial and Religious Grounds. Proof of Daluege’s guilt under this heading is supplied by a decree signed by him on 2nd November 1942 (Reichsgesetzblatt Part I of 11th November 1942), under the terms of which Czechoslovakian Jews who have left the country lose their Czech nationality and their property in Czechoslovakia. 19th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office. [hr] * Daleuge suffered from congenital syphilis, and was close to insanity at the time he was more or less forcibly retired from his post as Chief of the Ordnungspolizei in May 1943. He took the malaria cure for syphilis at this time and retired on Himmler’s orders from further participation in political life.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:19868] Otto Dietrich (right) CONFIDENTIAL D I E T R I C H, O T T O Secretary of State in the Reich Ministry of Propaganda Reichspresschef of the NSDAP and of the Reich Governmen Reichsleiter SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Member of Reichstag IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1897 - Born in Essen and educated at Essen Grammar School (Gymnasium). 1914 - Volunteers for military service with Field Artillery Regiment No. 7. Promoted to Lieutenant. 1919 - Studied Philosophy and Economics at Freiburg, Munich and Frankfurt. Took degree in Economics. Assistant to Chamber of Commerce, Essen. Economic Adviser (Syndikus) to firms of the iron industry and to Steel Syndicate. Economic Editor of Essener Allgemeine Zeitung. 1928 - Chief economic Editor of Muenchen-Augsburger Abendzeitung, a Nationalist paper. Munich correspondent of Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten, Hannoverscher Kurier, and Rheinisch-Westfaelische Zeitung. Joined NSDAP and established close connection with Reichsleitung. 1931, February 1 to August 1 - Editor in chief of Essener Nationalzeitung. Later was appointed Reichspresschef of NSDAP. Became member of Hitler’s permanent entourage. Became Reichsleiter. 1932 - Founded ‘Nationalsozialistische Parteikorrespondenz’, a daily news service commenting on all topical events - the mouthpiece of the Nazi Party. 1933 - SS-Gruppenfuehrer; Chairman of ‘Reichsverband der Deutschen Presse’ until he was appointed Vice President of Reich Press Chamber. 1937 - Secretary of State in the Ministry of Propaganda and Reichspresschef of Reich Government. 1939 - Attached to Fuehrerhauptquartier. 1941 - SS Obergruppenfuehrer. Dietrich was the son-in-law of Reismann-Grone, the publisher of the ‘Rheinisch-Westfaelische Zeitung’, who was a leading member of the Pan-German League. Author of ‘Mit Hitler in die Macht’ 1933 ‘Die philosophischen Grunlagen des Nationalsozialismus’ 1934 ‘Des Wirtschaftsdenken des Sieges’ 1939 ‘Geistige Grunlagen des neuen Europe’ 1941 PARTICIPATION IN THE CENTRAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY THE ACQUIRING OF TOTALITARIAN CONTROL OF GERMANY: POLITICAL. Count I (D ) Ever since 1928 when he became a member of the Party, Dietrich actively contributed to its rise to power: in that year he introduced Hitler to important Ruhr industrialist Kirdorf who had charge of the political funds of the ‘Bergbaulicher Verein’, an association of the Ruhr Coal Industrialists, and of the North-West German Iron Industries Organisation. From these funds Hitler later obtained large subsidies which enabled him to carry out his propaganda campaign for the NS Party in 1928/29. This campaign changed the whole political complexion of Germany and pave the way to the Party’s final advent to power. In his book ‘Mit Hitler in die Macht’ Dietrich gives a detailed account of the Party’s fight for power; he was throughout these years one of Hitler’s closest collaborators. DOCTRINAL TECHNIQUES OF THE COMMON PLAN OR CONSPIRACY. Count I (C ) As is evident from his biography Dietrich has been most actively engaged in the spreading of Nazi principles and doctrines. In his capacity as Reichspressechef, i.e. after 1937, his powers in this respect were equalled only by those of Dr. Goebbels. Dietrich did, in fact, transform the German press into a tool of N.S. political ideology and aims. The ‘Volkischer Beobachter’ in an article written on the occasion of Deitrich’s tenth anniversary as Press Chief of the Party (1st August 1941) confirmed this by saying:- “Dietrich inaugurated and carried out the political alignment of the German press and created an uncompromising German journalism.” and the ‘Koelnische Zeitung’ of even date:- “To him the soldier’s and the journalist’s profession are complementary.” Dietrich is also answerable for the moral deterioration of the German press. The ‘Volkischer Beobachter’ 1st August 1941 said of him: “He laid the foundation of a new Press morality” A case in point is that Dietrich used the press for inciting the public by campaigns against groups of political opponents, by attacks against the Church, the Jews and such countries as Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, to whom he denied the very right of existence. According to the ‘Koelnische Zeitung’ of 1st August 1941, Dietrich described the duty of the press as follows:- “The Press has to shoot at the enemy’s positions until they are ripe for storming before they can be overpowered by politics.” A circular letter, dated May 1943 based on Dietrich’s directive on the treatment of anti-Semitism by the Press, says: “It has been demanded officially that the German press not only writes anti-Semitic articles, but that it should become an anti-Semitic Press.... To this end it is essential for you to obtain anti-Semitic material to enable you to ride a 100 per cent attack against Semitism... Just as I had to have an incident like Katyn to launch an anti-Bolshevism campaign in order to reveal the true face of Bolshevism - with the aid of all the tricks of the trade - so a peg must be found on which to hang anti-Semitism...” The following quotations from Dietrich’s writings prove his support of certain Nazi doctrines: Leadership principle Before the election of Hitler as Reich President: “What is happening today in the inner-political development of the German people and what the people are constructing by their own action is the complete realisation of the unity of People and State, the final fulfillment of the organic Fuehrerprinzip within a Nation.” (Dietrich’s article in ‘Volkischer Beobachter. of 16th August, 1934) War a noble task “This victory of destruction (in Poland) was not only the prize of cool courage, it was not merely the successful end of a daring strategy. This marvelous stroke of the sword of National-Socialist Germany was the wonderful reward of an enormous amount of preparatory work. It was the first tangible military result of titanic works of construction extending over many years.” (Page 9 of ‘Auf den Strassen des Sieges’.) Glorification of Wars of aggression “This will for victory was the foundation of his (Hitler’s) successes from the Saar to the Rhine, from the Sudentland to Memel, from Vienna to Prague. This will the Fuehrer also mobilised in the Polish campaign.” (Page 184, ‘Auf den Strassen des Sieges’.) “The Fuehrer as Supreme Commander has created this unique Army of National-Socialist Germany... With it he has won in two gigantic victorious campaigns the battles of Kutno and Warsaw, of Flanders, on the Seine and in Alsace-Lorraine... What Germany’s Army achieved under the command of this genius has shaken the whole world. This miracle can only be grasped if two conditions are taken into account ... the best soldiers of the world were led by the most able and energetic Commander.” (Otto Dietrich in ‘Gloria e Lavoro’, August 1940.) 19th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:19872] Otto Thierack CONFIDENTIAL T H I E R A C K, O T T O Reich Minister of Justice SS-Brigadeuehrer President of the Academy of German Law Leader of Nazi Lawyers’ Association IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1889 - Born at Wurzen, Saxony. Studied Law and Economics. 1914/18 - War Service. 1920 - Passed his final examination 1921 - Public Prosecutor, Leipzig. 1926 - Public Prosecutor at Oberlandesgericht, Dresden 1933, March - Acting Minister of Justice of Saxony 1933, May - Minister of Justice of Saxony 1934 - After unification of the administration of Justice and the closing-down of the Ministries of the Federal States, Thierack was put in charge of incorporating the regional administrations into that of the Reich. 1935 - Vice-President of Reichsgericht 1936 - President of the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof) 1942, August 20 - Reich Minister of Justice, and as such, member of the Cabinet. Thierack was a member of the SA and reached the rank of Gruppenfuehrer on 30th January 1938. Later he transferred to the SS, where he finally held the rank of Brigadefuehrer. PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Thierack acquired membership of the Nazi Party at an early date. This fact and his appointment to ministerial rank in 1933 prove that he was firmly established within the Party Machine. The trust put in him was confirmed by his appointment as President of the People’s Court in 1936. DOCTRINAL TECHNIQUES OF THE COMMON PLAN OR CONSPIRACY. Count I (C ) 4: It was left to Thierack to deal with all cases considered grave offences against the security and principles of the Nazi State. By the number of sentences of death or long-term penal servitude passed against anti-Nazis, he gave full support to the Nazi policy of elimination ruthlessly all resistance to their aims of preparing for war and world conquest. A Secret report submitted by Thierack to Friesler (President of the People’s Court) on the activities of the People’s Court in 1942 and 1943 contained the following statistics:- 1942 Total Number of persons sentenced - 2572 of these, no. sentenced to death - 1192 of these, no sentenced to concentration camps - 45 other sentences - 1135 persons otherwise dealt with - 495 1943 Total Number of persons sentenced - 3338 of these, no. sentenced to death - 1162 of these, no sentenced to concentration camps - 42 other sentences - 634 persons otherwise dealt with - 723 When in 1942 Hitler ordered an overhaul of the legal machinery, Thierack appeared the obvious person for bringing the administration of justice into line with the requirements of Nazi terrorism. On Thierack’s appointment as Minister of Justice Hitler issued a decree, on 20th August 1942, giving him special powers, viz: “A strong administration of law (Rechtspflege) is required in order to fulfil the tasks of the Greater German Empire. I therefore charge and empower the Reich Minister of Justice to build up a National Socialist administration of Law and to take all steps demanded for it according to my instructions (Richtlinien und Weisungen) in agreement with the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery and the Leader of the Party Chancellery. He many deviate from existing law.” (Source: Reichsgesetzblatt Part I, 29th August 1942.) At a press conference soon after his appointment Thierack defined his duties as follows:- 1) To build up a strong NS administration of Justice, in order to fulfil the enormous present and future tasks of the Greater German Reich. 2) To bring this strong National-Socialist administration of justice ... into line with the ideas of National Socialism, the ideology of which must also permeate all judgments. (Source: DNB, 9 September 1942.) At a public meeting of the Presidents of the Oberlandesgerichte and the Chief Public Prosecutors Thierack made a speech in which he denounced the independence of judges and emphasised that “the State can and must lay down the general line which the judge must follow”, because it is his duty “to give direct assistance to the State Leadership”. (Source: Nachrightendienst Deutscher Zeitungsleger, as subsidiary of DNB, 17 October 1942.) On 25th March 1944 Thierack stated in a broadcast on German Justice in War Time, “Any misplaced consideration would be an unpardonable weakness.” (Source: Grossdeutscher Rundfunk and DNB of same date.) The foregoing example prove that Thierack was determined to adapt the administration of justice unreservedly to the Nazi system, to abolish the remnants of pre-Nazi conception of law and to subordinate it completely to the political demands of the Nazi regime. WAR CRIMES MURDER AND ILL TREATMENT OF CIVILIAN POPULATIONS OF OR IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY AND ON THE HIGH SEAS. Count III (A ) In his capacity as Minister of Justice, Thierack shared responsibility for the execution of the notorious “Nacht und Nebel” decree of 7th December 1941, which officially dealt with the “prosecution of offences against the Reich or the Army of Occupation in Occupied Territories”. But under this decree a procedure was adopted, with the sanction of the Minister of Justice, that arrests sanctioned by the Military Authorities took place in complete secrecy and the arrested simply disappeared. (Source: Secret files of the Reich Ministry of Justice, May 1943-44.) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY PERSECUTION ON POLITICAL, RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS GROUND Count IV (B ) Thierack was one of the signatories of the order in execution of the law of 1st July 1943, “Dreizehnte Verordnung zum Reichsbuergergesetz” which provides for the withdrawal of the few rights still left to the Jews of Germany and the Protectorate. Under the order, criminal acts committed by Jews were to be punished directly by the Police which, in practice, meant by the Gestapo. By a secret agreement Himmler and Thierack decided in 1942 that Poles and other peoples from the Eastern territories, Jews and gypsies, should, as from 1st January 1943, no longer be protected by ordinary legal proceedings, but dealt with by the Police. (Source: Secret letter dated 5th November 1942 circularised by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt.) 18th November, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:7424] Hans Heinrich Lammers [sharedmedia=gallery:images:7357] CONFIDENTIAL L A M M E R S, H A N S H E I N R I C H Reichminister and Chef der Reichskanzlei SS Obergruppenfuehrer IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE 1879, May 27 - Born at Lublinitz (Upper Silesia). Studied Law. 1912 - Judge (Landrichter) at Breslau 1914/18 - Officer on Eastern Front and, later, worked under Director of Administration at Warsaw. 1918/19 Head of “Abwicklungsbehörde des Verwaltungschefs Warshau” Berlin (Office for the Settlement of Matters connected with Warsaw Administration) 1920 - Oberregierunsrat in Reich Minister of the Interior 1922 - Met Hitler for the first time; was sympathetic to National Socialist Party during the twenties and became member in 1932. 1931 - Took part in the Harzburg meeting in October of National Socialists, Deutschnationale and affiliated organisations. 1933, January 30 - Appointed Under-Secretary of State (Staatssekretar) in Reich Chancellery. 1937, November 27 - Promoted to Reich Minister, full title being “Reichsminister and Chef der Reichskanzlei” 1938, February 4 - Made member of Secret Cabinet Council (Geheimer Kabinettsrat) and acted as its Secretary. 1939, August 30 - Appointed member of Reichsverteidigungsrat (Reich Defence Council). Lammers received the Golden Party Badge on 30th January, 1937; was promote to SS-Obergruppenfuehrer in July 1940. PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Lammers was one of the closest collaborators of the Fuehrer from the first days of the latter’s regime. Powers were vested in him which far exceeded those of an ordinary Minster. But the main charges which can be levelled against him are to be sought in the fact that he was co-signatory of all Hitler laws and decrees after November 1937. He had, accordingly, quite exceptional authority for the direction of State legislation and can be held responsible for policies adopted by the German Government involving crimes under Counts I, II, III and IV of the Indictment. In general his tasks were described to be:- ‘DNB’ on 25th May 1944:- “The immense new tasks which the National Socialist Policy undertook in all fields demanded a refor of the Reich Chancellery. Dr. Lammers turned it from a slow-working Civil Servants’ apparatus into a rapid (schlagfertig) instrument of home policy in close co-operation with the Fuehrer.” ‘Das Reich’ of 7th May 1944:- “His own particular task is to keep Adolf Hitler informed on questions of policy, administration and legislation. He submits drafts ready for decision. His job and position are consolidated by the fact that all Bills and Decrees of the Fuehrer in the Reichsgesetzblatt are countersigned by him.” Decrees countersigned by Lammers involving offences against Count I of the Indictment include:- Decree of 4th February 1938, by which the German Armed Forces were brought directly under the command of Hitler (Erlassueber die Fuehrung der Wehrmacht), Reichsgesetzblatt I, of 5th February 1938. Decree of 4th February 1938, for the appointment of a Secret Cabinet Council, whose duties were to advise the Fuehrer in the framing of his foreign policy (Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I of 5th February 1938). Decree for the formation of a Council for the Defence of the Reich, 30th August 1939 (Reichsgesetzblatt Part I, 31st August 1939). Decree regarding the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia of 16th March 1939, dealing with its incorporation in the Reich (Reichsgesetzblatt Part I of 16th March 1939). In particular he can be held responsible for the following offences:- DISSEMINATION OF THE NS DOCTRINE OF LEADER PRINCIPLE Count I (C ) 2 and 4 From his early career he specialised in Constitutional Law. Under HItler he became leader of German Administrative Academies (Deutsche Verwaltungsakademien) and in this capacity gave a number of lectures on the subject of the leader principle in the Civil Service, both in Germany and Austria, where similar Academies were opened. He also lectured on this subject and the general idea of the NS State, in Budapest (December 1936). Count I, (D ) 2 He denied support to the Weimar Republic. Politically Lammers was “strongly opposed to the November System” (Weimar Republic). He repeatedly committed disciplinary offences and managed to evade swearing the oath of allegiance to the Weimar Constitution in spite of the fact that he was officially an Expert on Constitution (Verfassungsreferent).” (Archiv fuer publizistische Arbeiten, 11 May 1944.) FOUR YEAR PLAN Count I, (E ) 5 Lammers was definitely concerned in the preparation for war, as in 1936 he was made member of the “Kleiner Ministerrat” to advise Goering on the Four Year Plan and acted as liaison between the Council and the Fuehrer and Government (‘DNB’ quoted by Frankfurther Zeitung of 30th October 1936). CRIMES AGAINST PEACE PREPARATION FOR FOREIGN AGRESSION During his visit to Budapest, 3rd to 7th December, 1936, Lammers was received by Admiral Horthy. He also went to Italy with Hitler in May 1938 when the “Axis” was endorsed. WAR CRIMES The following officers were directly responsible to the Reich Chancellery: the Governor-General in Cracow, the Reichs Commissioners for the Occupied Norwegian and Netherlands territories, the Chiefs of the Civil Administration in Alsace, Lorraine, Luxemburg, Lower Styria and in the occupied territoris of Carinthia and Carniola. Lammers therefore shares responsibility for all those war crimes which were based on NS legislation, e.g. forced labour, introduction of German legislation in occupied territories contrary to International Law, for all violations of law and crimes committed in these territories. To name only a few of the decrees countersigned by him:- a) Decree of 15th February 1942 appointing Professor Speer as successor to Dr. Todt as Minister for Arms and Munitions, Inspector General for German Roads etc. In this capacity Speer became responsible for the so-called Todt Organisation which during war years developed into an army of fortification workers, mostly foreigners. (Reichsgesetzblat I, 17th February 1942.) b ) Decree of 21st March 1942, appointing Fritz Sauckel as Minister responsible for mobilising manpower, including foreigners and prisoners of war in Germany, the Protectorate and Government-General and the occupied territories, for the German War Industry (Reichsgesetzblatt Part I of 21st April 1942). c ) Decree of 7th May 1942, appointing a State Secretary for Security (SS) in the Government-General (Staatssekretariat fuer das Seicherheitswesen). (Reichsgesetzblat Part I of 15th May 1942.) CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND DEPORTATION OF JEWS Count III (A ) By his own admission during interrogation, Lammers was “responsible for making decisions concerning petitions and complaints”. He must have been aware of conditions in concentration camps, and of the conditions under which Jews were deported. Inter alia he received reports from: a ) Amtsgerichtsrat Reimann, Breslau, on 22 December 1939, who was a member of the Special Court at Petrikau in Poland, on the plight of Jews deported from Lodz and b ) Ministerialrat Feuerlein, 23rd December 1939, of the Reich Ministry of Transport on the same subject. (Source: File of Reich Chancellery entitled: “Verhaeltnisse in GG. Polen und Danzig-West-Preussen und Posen”, documents 4 and 5.) Early in 1934 he visited a concentration camp in Breslau and found conditions there “rather unfavourable”. Lammers was present at a meeting on 6th March 1942 at which a plan was formulated for the treatment of Jews and half-Jews which was to form the basis of Hitler’s decision. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY These follow from Lammers’ part in the Common Plan of Conspiracy, of which he approved by promoting Nazism long before 1933, even before he was a Party member; from his co-operation in all legislation and Cabinet meetings, and his daily contacts with Hitler which continued until late in the war (Lammers stayed during most of the war in the Fuehrerhauptquartier), and from his responsibilities for atrocities in six occupied countries, as “superivsor” of the respective Governors, Reich Commissioners and Chiefs of the Civil Administration. 18th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office. http://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/0000/adr/adrhl/kap1_5/para2_14.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRS90sQUH4Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9_9W7S4nHA
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:20882] Walter Buch, left CONFIDENTIAL B U C H, W A L T E R Supreme Party Judge Reichsleiter SS Obergruppenfuehrer SA Obergruppenfuehrer Member of Reichstag Member of Academy for German Law IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1883 - Born at Bruchsal, Baden, as son of a Judge Joined Army Cadet Corps. 1904 - Lieutenant 1913 - First Lieutenant 1914 - Captain 1914/18 - Served in the war as Company and Battalion Commander 1918 - Resigned from the Army and worked at ex-Serviceman’s Association, Baden. 1922 - Joined Nazi Party; Leader of SA in Franken, later in Munich. 1923, November 8 - Took part in Beer Cellar Putsch. 1923, November 13 - Was appointed Leader of SA by underground Party directorate. 1925 - After reconstitution of Nazi Party appointed Leader of SA in Gau Upper Bavaria Swabia 1927 - Head of Investigation and Arbitration Committee of Reichsleitung of Nazi Party. 1928 - Member of Reichstage. 1934 - Head of Supreme Party Court; Reichsleiter 1934, November 9 - SS Obergruppenfuehrer. Author of:- “Neidergang & Aufstieg der Deutschen Familie” published by Eher Verlag 1932 and contributor to press and periodicals. PARTICIPATION IN THE CENTRAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Buch was little known to the German people. It was only on rare occasions that his name appeared, but it is no exaggeration to say that he wielded enormous power inside the Party Directorate and was one of the pillars in the structure of the Nazi system. Clear evidence of Buch’s participation in the Party’s acquisition of totalitarian control of Germany is given in the following paragraphs:- Count I (D ) Buch’s career shows that he was a thorough Nazi: he joined the Party not later than 1922 and became SA Gaufuehrer in the following year. It is obvious that his qualifications for work of a subversive nature were considered to be beyond doubt, otherwise the underground Party Directorate would not have appointed him Leader of the whole SA at a time when the party and all its organisations were illegal. As he made a success of the task allotted to him, he was promoted to the very important post of Head of the Investigation and Arbitration Committee. This Committee was a kind of Super-Gestapo inside the Party. After the Party had gained control over Germany, the Committee was reconstituted as Supreme Party Court, and Buch was given the task of building up a Party Administration of Justice to deal with all disputes between Party members, and with offences of Party members against the principles or orders of the Party. In his capacity Buch had the power to pass sentence over Party members and was thus instrumental in turning them into a mass of obedient followers. The Party Administration of Justice existed side by side with the Administration of State Law and was practically a modernised edition of the mediaeval Fehme Courts. Party purge of 30th June 1934. There can be no doubt that Buch was deeply involved in the carrying out of the blood purge, although accounts differ on the part Buch played in it. (See literature on the subject:- Weissbuch ueber die Erschiessungen des 30 Juni, (pp. 80/81 and 136) ‘Die Deutsche Bartholomaeusnacht’ by Dr. Otto Strasser (p. 122). ‘Adolf Hitler, das Zeitalter der Verantwortungslosigkeit’ by Konrad Heiden (pp. 230, 443, 403, 445, 446). The purge resulted in establishing the SS as supreme authority and on November 9th of the same year Buch was given the rank of SS Gruppenfuehrer, having previously held the rank of SA Gruppenfuehrer. Count I, (D ) Buch shares responsibility for disseminating Nazi doctrines, as is evident from his book and articles in the press and periodicals (his was a contributor to such journals as ‘Deutsche Justiz’ N.S. Monatshefte, etc.):- MASTER RACE PRINCIPLE. “If the Teutonic race, if the German people were taken away from the history of mankind, the earth would be an empty desert. Men wold live like savages in Africa, not much different from superior animals.” (Page 44 of his book ‘Niedergang und Aufstieg der Deutschen Familie’. FUEHRER MYTH. “One of those rare men was given to the German people in the hour of its deepest depression, who emerges only in ages of terrific events.” (Page 11, ibid) “Throughout centuries the German people had no outstanding Fuehrer ... The National Socialist must not waver in his faith for he stands next to the Heaven-sent image which appears on earth only once in thousands of years - he stands nearest to the Fuehrer.” Extract from a speech made before Germans from abroad (Auslandsdeutsche) at Erlangen on 4 September 1936. (Source: Amtliches Miteilungsblatt des Obersten Parteigerichts der NSDAP, Munich, 1 December 1936. TOTALITARIAN CONTROL OF PARTY. “The young German will learn on the Wehrmacht above all obedience and a sense of duty ... It is only for this the NSDAP waives its claim for total control over the soldier, a claim which it demands in the case of all other State institutions.” (From “Das Archiv” Nachschlagewerk fuer Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur, 1935, page 658.) UNITY OF PARTY AND ARMY. “By the cradle of the Labour Service and the re-born Wehrmacht stands the NSDAP, which can consider those two as its very own children; for there would be neither Labour Service nor Wehrmacht in their present form without the NSDAP... Let us not forget: the Fuehrer is Supreme Commander; the Wehrmacht belongs to him.” (Source: ibid page 658). MISINTERPRETATION OF LAW. “German law is what serves the German people; what appears to be harmful to its life is wrong.” From a speech before the Reichsrechtsamt of the Nazi Party quoted in Voelkischer Beobachter of 22nd August 1937, Nord-Deutsche Ausgabe. WAR CRIMES. Count II (C ) In his capacity as Reichsleiter, Buch was informed of the OKW’s order to shoot captured Italian officers, under Martial law, who had resisted the Germans actively or passively and made common cause with the enemy or partisans. This order contravenes international law. (Source: Letter dated 28th September 1943 by Bormann, Head of Party Chancellery, to Reichsleiters and Gauleiters, PID document No. 133). No evidence had been found, however, that Buch participated in executing this order. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Count IV (B ) Buch was a member of the Advisory Board of Experts on Population and Racial Policy, attached to the Ministry of the Interior, and in this capacity must have been aware of and supported the Nazi policy of persecution on racial grounds. 15th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:20881] Phillipp Bouhler CONFIDENTIAL B O U H L E R, P H I L L I P P Reichsleiter of the N.S.D.A.P., Head of the Fuehrer’s Chancellery SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Member of the Reichstag Head of the Party Censorship, Committee for Protection of NS Literature IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1899, September 11 - Born in Munich, comes from a family with military traditions Educated Bavarian Cadet School. 1916 - Joined 1st Bavarian Heavy Artillery Regiment 1919/20 - Studied at Munich University. 1921 - Joined publishing firm of “Voelkischer Beobachter” 1922 - Deputy Manager of N.S.D.A.P. 1923, November 9 - Took part in the Beer Cellar Putsch. 1924 July - Manager of “Grossdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft” the substitute for the banned N.S.D.A.P. 1925, February - Manager (Reichsgeschaeftsfuehrer) of the reconstituted N.S.D.A.P. 1933, March - Member of the Reichstag and SS-Gruppenfuehrer 1933, June - Reichsleiter 1933, August - Political Adviser to Reichsstatthalter of Bavaria 1934, April - Chairman of the Party Censorship Committee for the protection of N.S. Literature. 1934, August - Police President, Munich 1934, November - Head of the Fuehrer’s Chancellery 1936 - SS-Obergruppenfuehrer; member of Reichskultursenat 1939, December - Announcement that Bouhler will attend meetings of Ministerial Council for National Defence. Author of:- “Adolf Hitler, das Werden einer Volksbewegung” (1932) “Kampf um Deutschland. Ein Lesebuch fuer die deutsche Jugend.” (1938) “Napoleon. Kometenbahn eines Genies” (1941) Bouhler was a member of “Oberste Nationale Sportbehoerde” for motoring. PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Bouhler was one of Hitler’s earliest associates. He held managerial posts in the first Nazi Party, in the clandestine organisation of 1924-25 and in the reconstituted party. Although he was not in the limelight, he was the nerve center of the Party Management from 1925 to 1934. His functions did not include policy-making, but it is obvious that a Party’s policy cannot be framed without the co-operation and consent of the Chief Manager. Bouhler, therefore, shares responsibility for undermining and capturing the German Government and seizing totalitarian control over Germany. Count I (D ) 1 In his book “Kampf um Deutschland”, he describes the methods practised by Party men at political meetings:- “When a handful of National-Socialists interrupted the empty talk of an opponent and when Ordnungsmaenner tried to interfere, then fur flew. Bloody heads were a matter of course. Yet, woe to the opponent who dared to interfere in our own meetings.” (Page 45) After the N.S. Party had gained control in Germany, Bouhler continued to belong to the leadership of the Party as Reichsleiter, the highest Party rank. He must, therefore, be regarded as one of the Nazi conspirators who put forth, disseminated and exploited N.S. doctrines. Count I (C ) As Head of the Fuehrer’s Chancellory Bouhler belonged to the group of men who were in close contact with Hitler. Owing to his high Party rank he attended meetings of the Reich Defence Council almost from the beginning. This body, which might be more accurately described as a War Cabinet, took decisions on questions of Administration, Economics, Finance and Labour. Count I (E ) 5 Bouhler’s post as head of the Party Censorship Committee for Protection of N.S. literature (Parteiamtliche Pruefungskommission zum Schutz des N.S. Schriftttums) and his membership of the Reichskultursenet gave him wide powers for the supervision of cultural affairs. The former exercised the sovereign right of the Party to decided what is ‘National-Socialism’ and what is not. All books of a political, economic or generally ideological character had to be submitted to it, as well as all historical books dealing with the Party or biographies of Nazi leaders. The Reichskultursenat was an Honourary Committee appointed by the Chamber of Culture and only persons of outstanding cultural attainments were asked to serve on it. Through his book “Kampf um Deutschland” which is described as a reader for German Youth and therefore presumably used in schools, Bouhler influenced German youth by disseminating N.S. principles e.g. “Never again will Youth who passed through N.S. Youth Organisations, through Labour Service, Army and Party, become the carrier of pacifist or class warfare ideas.” (Page 99). “By reuniting Austria and Germany Adolf Hitler has become the creator of the Greater German Reich. HIs action has again joined Austria’s march of destiny which had been separated from that of the greater Fatherland, to that of Germany. Thereby the Fuehrer had completed Reich and the development of Germany’s future.” (Page 100.) “By issuing laws for the protection of race and blood the Fuehrer prevented for all time the propagation of hereditary idiots for whose maintenance the nation has so far had to pay more than 200 million RM. annually. By issuing the Nuernberg Laws of 15th September 1935 he prevented a further bastardisation of the German people through inter-marriage with jewry which is foreign to German nature.” (Page 97.) WAR CRIMES At the meetings of the Defence Council Bouhler must have become aware of, and may have been instrumental, in shaping the Government’s policy on the deportation of foreign labour to Germany. Count II (B ) Bouhler was on of the recipients of a letter dated 28th September 1943 by Bormann, Head of the Party Chancellery, to all Reichsleither and Gauleiter on the subject of the treatment of Italian military internees. This letter contained instructions for the shooting under martial law of Italian officers who had resisted the Germans actively or passively and made common cause with the enemy or partisans and for the deportation as forced labour to the Eastern territories of Italians of other ranks. (Source: PID documents No. 133). This document proves that Bouhler at least had cognisance of orders issued by the OKW in contravention of International Law. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Count IV (B ) It has been confirmed by Meissner that Hitler’s Chancellery, of whom Bouhler was the head, had been given the special assignment of eliminating incurable mental cases and idiots. Bouhler’s complicity in the so-called ‘mercy’ killings is also evident from a letter written by Bormann to the Kreisleiter Zimmermann, Nuernberg, on 24th September 1940. In it Bormann states that the ‘Commission which operates at Neuendettelsau (note by RDFO: a lunatic asylum in Bavaria) is under Reichsleiter Bouhler’s control or works on his orders’. (Source: PID document No. 122 of 28th October 1945). 15th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:20884] Sepp Dietrich CONFIDENTIAL D I E T R I C H, J O S E P H (SEPP) SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer Generaloberst (Col. General) of Waffen SS Member of Reichstag IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1892 - Born Hawangen (Bavaria) Elementary school education; trained as agriculture worker. Worked as “boots” (Hausknecht) in small hotels and inns in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Holland. 1914/18 - Took part in the 1914/18 War and was demobilised with rank of Sergeant. 1919 - for a short period in Bavarian Police. 1919/20 - Employed as porter by “Sterneckerbraue”, Munich, where the Nazi Party Headquarters were. It is said that his main jobe was to turn out drunken or disorderly guests. 1920 - Joined NSDAY and Free Corps “Oberland”. 1923, November 8/9 - Took part in the Beer Cellar Putsch. 1924/30 - Employee of “Volkischer Beobachter”. It is reported that his work was principally, packing parcels, as he was not capable of carrying out any more complicated duties ! 1928 - Joined SS and promoted to Fuehrer of SS-Standarte 1 “Muenchen” in the same year. He became Head of Hitler’s personal Security Service, and during the following years, accompanied Hitler on his propaganda tours through Germany. 1929 - Fuehrer of SS-Brigade “Bayern”; promoted SS-Oberfuehrer Sued. 1930 - Member of Reichstage. 1932 - SS-Gruppenfuehrer of SS-Gruppe Nord. 1933 - Commander of “SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler” and SS-Gruppenfuehrer of SS-Gruppe Ost. 1934, June 30 - Dietrich took part in the purge; as a reward he was appointed SS-Obergruppenfuehrer on 4th July 1934. During the following years took a leading party in building up the Waffen-SS. 1938 - Dietrich led “Leibstandarte” into Austria, into Sudeten German districts and 1939 - into Czechoslovakia; took part in Polish Campaign 1940 - also in Dutch, Belgian and French campaigns. 1941 - In the Balkans and in the Soviet Campaign until 1944. He was particularly mentioned for his part in the re-conquest of Kharkov in March 1943. 1944 - In France; promoted Oberstgrueppenfuehrer and Colonel-General of Waffen-SS on 18th August, 1944. 1945 - Commander of Vienna. Dietrich received:- Knight’s Cross of Iron Cross (1940) Oak Leaves to Knight’s Cross (1941) Oak Laves with Swords to Knight’s Cross (1943) Oak Leaves with Swords and Diamonds to Knight’s Cross (1944) PARTICIPATION IN THE GENERAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Count I, (A) (C ) and (D ) His liability to the charges under these points cannot be doubted. Dietrich joined the Party in the year of its foundation; he took part in the Beer Cellar Putsch; he was a member of a Freikorps and held a high rank in the SS before the advent to power of the N.S. Party. He was accordingly guilty of conspiring against the Weimar Republic and of assisting in the acquisition of totalitarian control of Germany. Dietrich played a prominent part in the 1934 blood purge and is therefore further guilty of crushing by force opponents to the National-Socialist regime. There are reports that Dietrich personally shot Roehm in the latter’s cell. WAR CRIMES Count III, (A ) He took an active part in the creation, organisation and training of the Waffen-SS and cannot therefore escape responsibility for the misdeeds and atrocities committed by units of the Waffen-SS, such as the massacre of Oradour. Dietrich is included in the official Austrian War Crimes list which was issued on 4th December 1945. He also figures in the war criminals list of the Soviet Russian Government for having committed atrocities at Kharkov. (Source: Pravda 13th December 194; ‘Times’ 25th July 1944.) 15th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:20888] Konstantin Heirl CONFIDENTIAL H I E R L, C O N S T A N T I N Reich Minister Reich Labour Leader Reichsleiter Member of Reichstag IDENTITY, PERSONAL HISTORY AND PLACE IN THE NAZI MACHINE. 1875 - Born at Parsberg, Bavaria, as son of a Judge. 1893 - Joined Cadet Corps of Bavaria Infantry Regiment No. 11. 1902 - Studied at Bavarian War Academy. 1902/4 - In Bavarian General Staff 1907/9 - In Prussian General Staff 1911/14 - Major in General Staff of 6th Army 1915 - On Staff of 10th Bavarian Infantry Division 1917 - Chief of Staff of 1st Bavarian Reserve Corps 1918 - Chief of Staff of 19th Army 1919 - Formed Free Corps ‘Detachment Hierl’ and took part in fighting Bavarian Communists. Later served in Reichswehr. 1920 - Established contact with Hitler. 1922 - Promoted to Colonel; in Reichswehr Group Command, Berlin and in Reichswehr Ministry. 1924 - Placed himself at Ludendorff’s disposal to assist in organising the latter’s Tannenberg Bund, a forbidden organisation and left the Reichswehr. 1925/27 - Worked with Tannenberg Bund. 1929, April 20 - Joined NSDAP. 1929 - Called to Party Headquarters. Was appointed Head of ‘Organisationsleitung II’ (Agriculture, Rural Settlement) and adviser on military matters. Published a pamphlet on Labour Conscription (Arbeitsdienstpflicht). 1930 - Member of Reichstag 1933 - Secretary of State for Labour Service. 1936 - Reichsleiter of NSDAP. Promoted to Major-General. 1943 - Labour Service, previously a department of the Reich Minister of the Interior, was made a separate Central Government; Hierl was appointed Reich Minister. Hierl received the Golden Party Badge in 1936 and on his 70th birthday in 1945 he was awarded the highest order of the Nazi Reich - the Golden Cross of the German Order with Oak Leaves and Swords, ‘the first living German’ to receive it. PARTICIPATION IN THE CENTRAL PLAN OF CONSPIRACY. Hierl’s career leaves no doubt that he is liable to charges set out in Count I, (A), (B ), (C ), (D ), (F ):- Hierl’s association with the Party dates back to 1920. He was present at its foundation meeting at Munich on 24th February 1920. (Source: ‘Constantin Hierl’, biography by Freiherr Grote and Erb, Berlin 1943, page 39). He was also in correspondence with Hitler in that year and received a letter from him on 3rd July 1920 in appreciation of one of his articles in the Muenchen-Augsburger Abendzeitung, a violently Nationalist paper. To this paper Hierl contributed frequently in spite of the fact that he was an officer in the Army of the Weimar Republic. Hierl did not enter the Party in 1920 because, he said, “formal membership was not possible, as i had remained an active officer in the Reichswehr which, in my opinion, was the only way of saving the military skill of the old Army for a politically better future.” (Source: Hierl’s illuminating article in Voelkischer Beobachter of 20th April, 1939). Count I (B ) and (C ) His above mentioned biography supplies ample proof that Hierl incited others to join in the N.S. conspiracy and overthrow the German Government, to violate the Versailles Treaty to destroy opponents within the country and to prepare for another war:- “We are still in the midst of World War and World Revolution and we shall be in this state for many years ... All the whining about ‘Reconciliation’ and ‘Reconstruction’ is nothing but cowardice and miserable lack of decision. The point is to regain our independence as a free nation, everything else takes second place. Therefore, down with the men of Spa ! Down the the Government and Parliament behind them ! We demand a plebiscite !” (Source: Muenchen-Ausburger Abendzeitung 12th July 1920, quoted by Grote-Erb, pp 37/38.) After agreement had been reached at Spa on Germany’s disarmament, Hierl, still a major, wrote in the same paper (ibid p.38.) “Everybody who hands over a weapon ... commits a sin against his people. Those compatriots, however, who give treacherous service to foreigners should suffer the fate of traitors ... We appeal to the German people ... to take their destiny into their own hands ... The present Reich Government is not capable of leading - it must be led.” At the Party Congress in 1920 Hierl spoke on Military Policy (Wehrpolitik). HIs demands included the following (ibid, pp. 51/55). “We want an armed State (Wehrstaat) as only such a State can secure the life and future of the German people ... People and Stage must be systematically prepared for the tasks of war in peace-time ... Schools must educate youth for military preparedness both physically and mentally.” As a leader of a Freikorps in Swabia and Bavaria Hierl gained experience in conducting civil warfare with voluntary organisations and in 1923 published a pamphlet entitled ‘Warfare with improvised Armies’ (Verlag Offene Wrote Berlin). (Source: Hierl Biography, pp. 31/21). This manual can only be regarded as a guide for Nationalist organisations bent on conquering the State by violence. At the time the pamphlet was published Hierl was still a regular officer in the Army of the Weimar Republic. Count I (F ) 2a In his capacity as head of the Labour Service Hierl shared responsibility for imbuing German youth with a determination to wage war and strive for German domination by force of arms. This compulsory Youth Service was organised in 1933. Hierl described its main tasks as ‘education in National-Socialist ideology’ (DNB 21st March 1944). At first National--Socialists emphatically denied that the Labour Service was also a paramilitary organisation, but from accounts given by German boys from all parts of the country, it has been established that it did, in fact, supply military training even during the first years of its existence. Later it did so to an increasing degree, as admitted by Hierl in a speech on 27th June 1940; when he said: “Two and a half million of young men in the field went through the school of Labour Service. Our Army has thereby received recruits better prepared physically and mentally for the noble tasks of a soldier in war than the recruits of any other Army in the World.” (Source: DNB of 27th June 1940 quoted from ‘Frankfurther Zeitung’). In the same speech Hierl paid tribute to the Labour Service’s contribution to Germany’s war effort: “When the war came, 550 detachments marched into Poland to pave the way for and to help the soldiers ...All Reich Labour Service Detachments ... are occupied with Wehrmacht tasks during the war ... The female Labour Service is also used during the war to accomplish war tasks.” A broadcast on the eve of Hierl’s 70th birthday (EDZ 21st February 1945) disclosed the fact that members of the Labour Service were used for actual fighting (manning of guns in Silesia). 16th February, 1946. Research Department, Foreign Office. http://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/0000/adr/adrhl/kap1_1/para2_250.html
