Chapter XLV: Part V (1)

Subject: Tentative plan for the coordination of the German and Italian operations against Yugoslavia. Dated: March 28, 1941

The Chief of the operational staff of
the Armed Forces of the Supreme Command
of the Armed Forces.

Berlin, March 28, 1941

[in pencil] Handed over to Gen. von Rintelen on March 28, 1941 at 4 P. M.

Only for general officers

To be transmitted by officers only

KW/W F St [Stamp] [several pencil marks]

Tentative Plan for the coordination of the German and Italian
operations against Yugoslavia.

1. In the event that the political development requires an armed intervention against Yugoslavia, it is the German intention to attack Yugoslavia in a concentric way as soon as possible, to destroy her armed forces, and to dissolve her national territory.

2. For this purpose, the following units are being formed:

a. One assault group South of Sofia for the advance in direction Skoplje and South, in order to occupy the Southern part of Yugoslavia as basis for the combined attack against Greece and to remove the danger for the rear of the Italian front in Albania.

b. One assault group which will be deployed around Graz and under certain circumstances also in the Southwest Hungary, in order to penetrate into Yugoslavia later in the direction Belgrad and Westward.

c. Probably an Hungarian attack group reinforced by German forces which will be committed in the general direction towards the Danube on both sides of Belgrad.

3. If the weather situation permits, the operation against Greece will start on April 2nd or 3rd. In this operation, the right flank will move across Yugoslavian territory. In the beginning, its aim will be limited to the occupation of the basis of Saloniki and the high terrain of Edessa.

4. Therefore, the following tasks result for the participation of the Italian armed forces:

a. Flank protection for the German attack group Graz by advancing towards the line Split-Yajele, with forces as strong as possible.

b. Shifting to the defense on the Greek-Albanian front and deployment of an attack group, in order to join with the German forces committed around Skoplje and South.

c. Elimination of the Yugoslav naval forces.

d. Later on, resumption of the attacks against the Greek front in Albania.

For the inner-political integration of the Yugoslav national territory it is especially desirable to favor the Croat independence movements in every respect and to treat the Croats as friends of the Axis. It will therefore be opportune to avoid any air attacks against Croat territory, as long as it is not a question of commitment against enemy troops fighting there.

5. The following chronological schedule of the German operations may be expected:

a. Attack against Greece: April 2nd-3rd

b. Attack from the area South of Sofia on April 3rd or April 4th

c. Attack from the area around Graz and East of it: April 12th.

[illegible initial]

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1751-PS

SECRET

SS Main Office Economy Administration [SS Wirtschafts-Verwaltungs
Hauptamt]

Department Chief [Amtsgruppenchef]

Concentration Camps Dramenburg, 12 May 1944
DI/Az,:14 h 2/Na/s-
Geheim Tgb-Nr. 605/44

Re: assignment of prisoners for experimental purposes

To the Camp Commanders of Concentration camps Da, Sah, Bu, Mau, Flo,
Neu, Au.I III, br-Ro, Natz, Stu, Rav, Herz, Aufenth, Camp Bergen,
Belsen

Group leader D Riga, one copy each for KL Riga, Kauen, Vaivara

SS Wirtschafter Ost, Krakau with one copy each for KL Lublin,
Warschau and Plaszow.

There is cause to call attention to the fact that in every case permission for assignment has to be requested here _before_ assignment of prisoners is made for experimental purposes.

To be included in this request are number, kind of custody, and in case of aryan prisoners, exact personal data, file number in the Main Reich’s Security Office and reason for detainment in the concentration camp.

Herewith, I explicitly forbid assignment of prisoners for experimental purposes without permission.

[signature illegible] (Waffen)
SS Lt Gen and Lt Gen of the SS

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1752-PS

SECRET

_Preparations already made for the International Congress_

Reichsleader Alfred Rosenberg received the order from the Fuehrer to stage an anti-Jewish congress. The date for this congress was fixed for 11.7. after a discussion, and after the corresponding preparations had been made.

The following preparations for the congress have been undertaken:

1. In Germany.

2. abroad.

1. _Preparations in Germany._

a. The financing of the congress has been taken on by the Reich Treasury of Chief, Schwarz. Further, after the Fuehrer had decided on Cracow as the site of the congress, Reich Minister and General Governor Frank has taken over all the costs that arise within his General Government.

b. _The site of the meeting._

All negotiations concerning billeting, feeding and welfare of the guests, the lecture rooms etc. have been readily settled with the offices of the General governor. (Instead of Cracow, a place that is safe from air raids, for instance Zakopane, can be selected at any time.)

c. The program of lectures has been discussed with the appropriate offices,

1. Foreign Office

2. Propaganda Ministry

3. Head Office for internal security

and has met with general approval. The Reich Foreign Minister as well as Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels have given their assent to the program.

d. German speakers and lecturers have been visualized, among others three German Ministers. The promise of these three gentlemen to attend seems certain. Some lectures are already on hand.

The final preparations, those for the cultural extra items on the programme, have been taken in hand. (See the letter from Reichsleader Rosenberg to Reichsleader Bormann concerning the appearance of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, with Furtwaengler as conductor.)

Even the formation of international organisations for investigating and combatting Jewry, which have been provided for in connection with the congress, have been brought about, and scientific presidents of the organisations have been earmarked. Some individual personalities have already been approached. Amongst others we already have the promise of Geheimrat Professor Dr. Eugen Fischer to be president of the European organisation for the “racial-biological questions of Jewry”.

e. The following have been entered as honorary members:

Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop

Reich Minister of the Interior and Reichsleader of the SS Heinrich
Himmler

Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels

Reich Minister and Governor Dr. Frank

2. _Preparations abroad_

The Foreign Office has accepted the task of contacting the prominent European people, with the exception of a few of the occupied territories in Europe, via its representatives abroad.

The German representatives abroad have received several official instructions, according to which they are

a. to propose delegates to be invited,

b. nominate lecturers,

c. approach the representatives of governments with a view to their participating at the congress.

In the course of these instructions being carried out, the following have promised their participation, or membership of the congress-committee and membership of the honorary committee:

Italy: Minister for National Enlightenment Mezzasoma (honorary
committee)

The former Minister of State Preziosi (congress-committee and
congress lecturer)

France: Minister for Education Abel Bonnard (Honorary committee)
Secretary of State Paul Marion (congress-committee)

Hungary: Minister for the Interior von Jarossh (honorary committee
and congress lecturer)

Holland: The leader of the NSB, Mussert (Personally invited by
Reichsleader Rosenberg during the latter’s stay in Holland)

Arabia: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (honorary committee and congress
lecturer)

Iraq: Prime Minister Gailani (honorary committee)

Norway: At the present moment a representative of Reichsleader
Rosenberg has arrived here, in order personally to convey
an invitation to Prime Minister Quisling to attend the
congress.

Contacts have also been established with countless other countries. For the time being the promises to attend of the prominent representatives are not yet at hand. On the other hand promises have been received from delegates from Sweden, Roumania, Slovakia and illegal delegates from Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. Further the office of General in the SS Berger has undertaken to invite renowned leaders of the Germanic volunteers in the SS to take part in the congress. Amongst others, Britons and Americans are visualised in this connection, who are also willing to speak.

The occupied eastern territory is included via the Ministry for the East. A number of promises to attend have been received from renowned personalities in this territory. Lectures have already been received from foreign speakers, amongst others from the former Minister of State Preziosi.

3. Reason for the importance of the Congress at the present time. The reports from outside Germany and the anti-German allied propaganda try to make believe beyond all doubt that the whole war is being kindled by the other side more and more as a crusade, because the German nation plans to destroy the “Jewish People”.

The Soviet Union: We refer to the pro-semitic Molotov-congress in Moscow.

U.S.A.: We refer to permanent session of the Jewish Congress.

The _last new_ beginning 6. 5. 1944.

England: We refer to the English failure to pay attention to their own White Paper regarding Palestine problem.

At the same time, we point out the slowly rising anti-Semitic feeling in the countries of our opponents. It seems necessary that the feeling caused by enemy propaganda that National Socialism is retreating on all fronts, be refuted by this great anti-Jewish Congress.

The invasion army is not fighting against the barbarian Germany of annihilation of Jews but it is fighting for world Jewry!

What kind of propaganda is being duly turned out on the German side?

To give up this plan or to postpone this International Congress _to an indefinite date_, after half of Europe has already been won for this plan would support or strengthen the propaganda conducted against us.

It must be borne in mind that not a German authority but an international assembly is responsible for the Congress and issues invitations to it.

The preparations for the Congress have so far progressed with the greatest possibilities of disguise.

An arrangement, which has been made on general lines, mentions only an International historic and scientific congress taking place in a Town in the East of the Reich.

Berlin, 15th June 1944.
Hg/We

/s/ Hans Hagemeyer,
Head of the Department.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1757-PS

_REPORT OF GOERING’S COMMISSION_

for the investigation of the Aryanisations carried out in the Gau of
Franconia between 9.11.38 and 9.2.39 and the irregularities connected
therewith which have been established

[P.9] k. By an order of the Reich Chancellor of the Exchequer of the 2nd September 1938, No. 57/38, issued with the agreement of the Fuehrer’s deputy, all party offices, including organisations and attached formations, are forbidden to accept administrative dues, donations, gifts, bequests or material payments of any other kind for the participation of the party in economic tasks, including the transfer of Jewish firms to persons of German race, nor are they allowed to make the fulfillment of such tasks dependent on the payment of contributions, etc. The order was addressed to all Gau treasurers and reached the Gauleaders as well, among others.

[P.12] From the course of events one can only assume that the Reich Chancellor of the Exchequer’s order of the 2nd September 1938 No. 57/38 about the ban on financial payments for the cooperation of the Party in Aryanisation and other economic tasks was considered in Franconia to be superseded, and that they thought themselves entitled to obtain considerable sums of money for the Gau of Franconia in connection with Aryanisation.

[P.13] l. Following upon the November demonstrations, the deputy Gauleader, Holz, took up the Jewish questions. His * * * reasons can be given here in detail on the basis of his statement of the 25th March 1939:

“_The 9th and 10th November 1938._ In the night of the 9/10 November and on the 10th November 1938 events took place throughout Germany _which I considered to be the signal for a completely different treatment of the Jewish question in Germany_. Synagogues and Jewish schools were burnt down and Jewish property was smashed both in shops and in private houses. Besides this, a large number of particular Jews were taken to concentration camps by the police. Towards midday we discussed these events in the Gauleiter’s house. All of us were of the opinion _that we now faced a completely new state of affairs on the Jewish question_. By the great action against the Jews, carried out in the night and morning of the 10th November, _all guiding principles and all laws on this subject had been made illusory_. We were of the opinion (particularly myself) that we should now act on our own initiative in this respect. I proposed to the Gauleiter that, in view of the great existing lack of houses, the best thing would be to put the Jews into a kind of _internment camp_. Then the houses would become free in a twinkling and the housing shortage would be relieved, at least in part. Besides that, we would have the Jews under control and supervision. I added “The same thing happened to our prisoners of war and war internees.” The Gauleiter said that this suggestion was, for the time being, impossible to carry out. Thereupon I made a new proposal to him: I said to him _that I considered it unthinkable that, after the Jews had had their property smashed they should continue to be able to own houses and land_. I proposed that these houses and this land ought to be taken away from them, and declared myself ready to carry through such an action. I declared that by the Aryanisation of Jewish land and houses _a large sum could accrue to the Gau out of the proceeds_. I named some millions of marks. I stated that in my opinion, this Aryanisation could be carried out as legally as the Aryanisation of shops. The Gauleiter’s answer was something to this effect: “_If you think you can carry this out, do so. The sum gained will then be used to build a Gau school._” The very same afternoon I began to organize the Aryanization of land. I stated here as in my memorandum, too, _that I considered this Aryanisation of Jewish land as a logical continuation of the events of the 9th and 10th November_. I was of the opinion that I was doing a service to the Party by trying to bring it money. I was further of the opinion _that the transfer of the land and houses from Jewish to German hands was a National-Socialist action_.”

[P.16] Holz appointed commissioners for Nurnberg and Furth to carry out the Aryanisation of Jewish landed property * * *

[P.18] 2. The Aryanisation was accomplished by the alienation of properties, the surrender of claims, especially mortgage claims, and reductions in buying price.

The payment allowed the Jews was basically 10% of the nominal value or nominal sum of the claim. As a justification for these low prices, Holz claimed at the Berlin meeting of the 6th February 1939 that the Jews had mostly bought their property during the inflation period for a tenth of its value. As has been shown by investigating a large number of individual cases selected at random, this claim is not true.

[P.70] Favoritism shown to third parties and irregularities during the Aryanization of properties.

[P.72] _Schoeller case._ c. Gauamtsleiter Fritz Schoeller bought _Grimmstrasse 3, Nurnberg_ by a contract of the 15th November 1938. The house has a nominal value of RM 43,300 and an exchange value of RM 50,000. The buying price was fixed at RM 5,000. Holz admitted (statement of the 27th March 1939) that he was in agreement with the buying of the property. He based his agreement on the fact that Schoeller was an old and deserving party member and deserved particular consideration owing to his family circumstances.

Report of German Commission to Goering on Streicher. [Extract from Part
II]

[P. 139] On the other hand, the minority of the shares of the Mars-Werke, Nurnberg, with a face value of Reichsmark 112,500, were acquired through publishing house manager Fink for the Gauleiter according to the latter’s instructions at the instigation of the deceased SA Brigadier General Koenig. These shares were in the possession of the Jewish banking house Kohn, the proprietor of which was at that time in protective custody. Verlagsdirektor Fink, as agent for the Gauleiter, acquired the parcel of Mars-Werke shares from this Jew at 5 per cent of the face value, i.e., the sum of Reichsmark 5,600.

In the presence of Fink, Koenig informed the Gauleiter in detail of the completed transaction. The Gauleiter gave his complete assent and, in addition, gave the order to transfer the parcel of shares from the account of the banking firm Kohn to the account of Fink at the Dresdner Bank. He further ordered that his name should not be mentioned at all in connection with the transaction.

By order of the Gauleiter, Fink withdrew Reichsmark 5,600 from a Stuermer account, and later, also acting for the Gauleiter, he bought the remainder of the shares of the Mars-Dresdner Bank, at 60 per cent for the Gauleiter with Stuermer funds.

After Fink learned of the investigating commission he discussed the matter with Gauleiter Streicher. Streicher told Fink that he would keep the shares, because they had no connection with the Aryanization of estates, and if the purchase of the Mars shares should be contested he would simply pay over the required sum to the Reich.

After the investigating commission had started to work Gauleiter Streicher sent for Fink and told him the following: “The police have found out about the Mars shares. We will simply say that the shares were not bought for me but for the Fraenkische Tageszeitung!!” [P. 145] Thanks to the efforts of the district economic adviser and president of the chamber of commerce Strobl, it was possible to persuade the Hungarian consul Pfaller to buy the estate of the Gauleiter on Lake Constance without ever having seen it, for a price of Reichsmark 240,000. It is noteworthy that the Gauleiter and people close to him had a very bad opinion of Consul Pfaller, but after the purchase of the estate the Gauleiter sent him a picture. In order to avoid the Gauleiter’s appearing personally as the seller, a sham contract was made with publisher Willmy, so that the latter would appear to the outside world as the seller of the estate.

[P. 152] Gauleiter Streicher likes to beat people with a riding whip, but only if he is in the company of several persons assisting him. Usually the beatings are carried out with sadistic brutality.

The best known case is that of Steinruck, whom he beat bloodily in the prison cell, together with deputy Gauleiter Holz and SA Brigadier General Koenig. After returning from this scene to the “Deutscher Hof” he said: “Now I am relieved. I needed that again!” Later he also stated several times that he needed another Steinruck case in order to “relieve” [erloesen] himself.

In August 1938 he beat editor Burker at the district house, together with district office leader Schoeller and his adjutant Koenig.

On 2 December 1938 he asked to have three youthful criminals (15 to 17 years old) who had been arrested for robbery brought to the room of the director of the criminal police office in Nurnberg-Fuerth. Streicher, who was accompanied by his son Lothar, had the youths brought in singly and questioned them about their sex life and in particular, through clear and detailed questioning, he laid stress on determining whether and since when they masturbated. One of the youths did not know the word, whereupon Streicher gave him a vivid description. The last one of these three boys he beat with his riding whip, with blows on the head and the rest of the body.

[P. 151] From 1934 to 1938 Gauleiter Streicher employed the Jew Jonas Wolk as contributor to the Stuermer. Wolk wrote for the Stuermer under the pseudonym of “Fritz Brandt”. In addition, Wolk did spy work for the Gauleiter abroad. From February 1937 to August 1938 the Stuermer paid the Jew Wolk a fee of Reichsmark 8,262.39. Wolk was previously convicted six times, among other things with loss of civic rights. It is especially significant that Streicher had the Jew Wolk paid by the Fraenkische Tageszeitung from 1934 to 1937. The Fraenkische Tageszeitung paid Wolk the sum of Reichmark 9,623.65.

[P. 160] According to the statement of the district treasurer [Gauschatzmeister], his financial adviser, and several other persons, Streicher is regarded as extremely brutal. The statements made by Verlagsdirektor Fink are especially significant. He declared that he was convinced that the Gauleiter would have him bumped off one of these days, as soon as he found out that Fink had told the truth to the investigating commission.

[P. 161] According to reports of reliable witnesses, Gauleiter Streicher is in the habit of pointing out on the most varied occasions that he alone gives orders in the district of Franconia. For instance, at a meeting in the Collosseum in Nurnberg in 1935 he said that nobody could remove him from office. In a meeting at Herkules Hall, where he described how he had beaten Prof. Steinruck, he emphasized that he would not let himself be beaten by anybody, _not even by an Adolf Hitler_.

[P. 166] For, this also must be stated here, in Franconia the Gau acts first and then orders the absolutely powerless authorities to approve.

[P. 172] In general it is to be said that Koenig was regarded as the evil spirit in Franconia. In an unheard-of-manner he tyrannized the Gau leader, the authorities and the population, and he knew how to make the influence of his power felt everywhere. Koenig’s word carried the weight of that of the Gauleiter.

[P. 174] In favor of Strobl [pencil note: Director of the AEG, Gau economic adviser, and president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce] it must be said that he, in contrast to almost all other defendants, immediately told the truth on all points in his interrogations. It is primarily thanks to him that clearness was quickly reached in many cases which could be verified.

As an excuse for his incorrect acts Strobl states that he like all other persons in the Gau of Franconia was to such an extent under the pressure of Gauleiter Streicher and his adjutant Koenig that he would never have dared to do anything against the orders of the two men mentioned.

[P. 179] By the law of April 1938 it is decreed that all applications for Aryanization shall be submitted to the competent Gauleiter. From that time on Strobl submitted the applications, which he had up to that time handled by himself, to the adjutant of the Gauleiter, SA Brigadier General Koenig for approval. He makes the excuse that it had been the practice in Franconia for the adjutant to take care of almost all matters as agent for and deputy of the Gauleiter. Every order of Brigadier General Koenig was equivalent to an order of the Gauleiter.

COPY OF DOCUMENT 1759-PS

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Raymond H. Geist, being first duly sworn, deposes and says:

I came to Berlin in December, 1929, as Consul and continued in that capacity, exercising my official functions until the end of 1939. In 1938 I was appointed First Secretary of the Embassy and continued in that office discharging at the same time my duties as consul. During the entire period of ten years my work was of such character that I frequently came into contact with many officials of the German Government. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, these contacts increased owing to the much more frequent occasions on which it was necessary to intervene with German officials in order to protect the rights of American citizens and their properties. During this period I not only had many official contacts but also friends and acquaintances, both in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany. My work permitted and occasionally required travel in Germany. It was my custom to make bicycle trips, as well as excursions by automobile to various points particularly in the environs of Berlin, often to the extent of fifty miles. Although I do not have the first-hand information with regard to developments under the National Socialists for all of Germany that I have regarding the neighborhood of Berlin, I saw enough during my excursions, and was told enough by friends and acquaintances to know that the activities hereafter described in and around Berlin were being substantially duplicated all over Germany.

There were indeed few military establishments in the neighborhood of Berlin in 1929 and until 1933 there were the Casernas at Potsdam and the military establishment at Doeberitz. After the Nazis came to power, military establishments of all sorts grew up with enormous rapidity. Before the end of 1933, during my frequent excursions, I discovered outside of Berlin on nearly every road leaving from the city new large military establishments, including training fields, airports, barracks, proving grounds, anti-aircraft stations and the like. For these establishments most of the ground was broken during the year 1933; there were probably fifty within the immediate vicinity of Berlin. Most of these establishments were being openly prepared, nevertheless they were under guard. It was apparent with respect to others that an attempt was made to preserve secrecy. I recall in particular that the large anti-aircraft station near my house in the Gruenwald was built under secrecy, likewise a munitions dump burrowed in the hills of Wildpark near Potsdam was also built under secrecy. Being disguised as a German and speaking the language, I was able on my bicycle trips to penetrate certain of these establishments where at various times I saw military exercises, including the use of tanks, in various maneuvers. I recall from my travels beyond Berlin and the information and reports which I had from friends and acquaintances that the same feverish preparations were in progress throughout the length and breadth of Germany, in fact, all establishments which could serve a military purpose were converted to military uses.

I also saw the preparations being made for building up the new army. I visited the camps of the compulsory labor service, the _Arbeitsdienst_, which was well under way by the end of 1933, with camps established all over Germany. Though this was ostensibly a labor service, it was essentially military in character, as is well known. I saw the men working on reclamation projects and was informed that they worked two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, the balance of the time being spent in military tactics and in instruction in Nazi ideology. So that when conscription went into effect in 1935 through the medium of these camps, it was possible for the Germans to put a trained army of at least 3,500,000 men, which formed the nucleus of the future army of aggression.

Particularly through the years 1933 and 1934 the hordes of storm troopers SA were much in evidence practicing military exercises. They were being converted into a military organization. I frequently encountered the storm troopers deployed in fields and in forests engaged in military technical exercises. This was all the part of a general plan to prepare Germany’s manpower for war.

I witnessed, too, scores of times, the training of the Hitler Youth, which included boys from 14 to 17, who dressed in their uniforms, were likewise generally in evidence wherever I chose to travel. I frequently saw them in the woods near Berlin, deployed in ravines, in fields, woods and hillsides staging mock attacks, employing the technique of actual maneuvers. Frequently they were under the direction of uniformed leaders and at times under officers of the Reichswehr. This type of training of the youth extended everywhere in Germany. Frequently my route of travel had to be changed in order not to find myself in the midst of some maneuvers which required the use of roads or paths along which I was riding. It was not considered wise to get too close to these operations, particularly if they were on an extensive scale.

The _Deutsche Jungvolk_ (boys from the ages of 6 to 14) was also the vehicle for military training. They were also in evidence throughout the country. I frequently met them marching. I saw them engaged in military exercises in the school yards during the school recesses, particularly throwing hand grenades usually under expert adult leadership. Often I have seen these children in large numbers engaged in what were obviously military maneuvers, and under the direction of adult uniformed officers.

I had occasion, at times, to witness the organizations which were created for the girls that were part of the Hitler Youth and were also incorporated in the so-called _Arbeitsdienst_, usually located somewhere near the camps for men. The resultant illegitimate children were a definite planned result of the program; they were part of the manpower and the army for the next generation. The shame and the grief of parents over this program fostered and urged by the Nazis although it existed, was seldom openly expressed on account of dangers to which the parents might expose themselves.

So far as the youth were concerned, the entire program was carried on with lavish propaganda and enough benefits to the participants to make it extremely popular. The Nazis provided the youth with special trains, special trucks, special bathing beaches, food and other privileges. At the same time, the semi-hysteria which was maintained about the whole National Socialist program made it impossible for parents or anyone else to speak against it even if they had wished to do so. The German people were well acquainted with the goings on in concentration camps and it was well known that the fate of anyone too actively opposed to any part of the Nazi program was liable to be one of great suffering. Indeed, before the Hitler regime was many months old almost every family in Germany had had first-hand accounts of the brutalities inflicted in the concentration camps from someone either in the relationship or in the circle of friends who had served a sentence there; consequently the fear of such camps was a very effective brake on any possible opposition.

In addition to what I saw during these many years with my own eyes regarding the preparation and the building of a huge armed force, I received reliable information from trustworthy sources as to its scope and strength. One of my close friends in Berlin was one George Graffenstein, who lived at 34 Altenauerstrasse, just across the street from me. He was a German, formerly a member of Meile Printing Company of Chicago and a man strongly opposed to the Nazis. He had been an officer in the German army in the First World War; therefore he knew a large number of the officers of Reichswehr. Occasionally he gave in his house beer-evenings which a number of Reichswehr officers attended, including certain generals. To these parties I was occasionally invited. One of these generals was General Goettke, who was the head of the artillery on the General Staff and a very close friend of Graffenstein. In addition, Graffenstein’s nephew was on the General Staff and was at the same time the liaison between the Reichswehr and the S.A. Late in 1934, George Graffenstein told me that from the information which he had received from his friends, the armament program was already so complete, so far advanced, so gigantic and all-inclusive, that there was no doubt of Germany’s winning the war on sheer weight of arms alone. That same information was given to me directly by certain of the high officers of the Reichswehr, whom I met at Graffenstein’s house.

By the middle of 1934 it had become obvious that the rearmament program, though in its beginning, was being planned on a vast scale so that it could not possibly be considered as defensive armament but only as a weapon for offensive war. This was, however, not a conclusion of my own; but it was openly stated as such to me. Graffenstein told me in 1934, during the conversations to which I have already referred, that the purpose of the program was an aggressive war. He told me that he had been so informed by General Goettke in particular. This statement was borne out by other persons who were in the know in Germany at that time. I confirmed his statements by my own conversations with the generals who gathered in his house. They intimated to me, not only that Germany was embarked upon an inevitable program toward war but even gave me indications of the general plan, namely, the drive to the East and the attack upon Russia, after Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria had been eliminated. This was as early as 1934, and I had many similar conversations along the same line at Graffenstein’s house during the following years.

Similar information was constantly being confirmed from other sources at later dates. For instance, in December 1938, I had a conversation with General Franz Halder, who was then Chief of Staff, at the house of Dr. Etscheit, a prominent Berlin lawyer. Halder stated to me: “You must take into account the National Socialist program in the East. If you, the Western powers, oppose our program in the East, we shall have to go to war with you.” During this conversation he made it clear to me that the program of the Nazis for expansion in the East was unalterably fixed and decided upon. It included the attack on Poland, the annexation of Austria, territorial expansion in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, and Russia, particularly in the Ukraine. The latter provinces would have to be German. When I replied to Halder that I was positive the Western powers would never tolerate any such aggressive program and that inevitably it would not only mean war with England and France but with the United States as well Halder replied: “That is a pity.”

The same information as to the aggressive intention of the Nazis was given to me by a friend, Count von Bismarck, formerly Counselor of the German Embassy in London. He was violently anti-Nazi. In Germany, where I knew him, he held no official position, deriving his income from his estates in East Prussia; but he was a man with wide contacts in officialdom, particularly in the Foreign Office. He said that the Nazis were headed for war, for huge aggressive adventures, that conquest of the East was a major part of the vast plan and that conquest of the West would only follow, when complete victory in the East solidified Germany’s strength and resources in those quarters. He made this statement to me in 1936 and we discussed it often in 1937 and 1938. He was extremely disturbed, not over the aggressive plans of the Nazis, but over their manner of converting Germany into a slave State, which he repudiated entirely. He considered that the course of the Nazis militarily could not be hindered and furthermore, no country was preparing to stop them.

I also had the same information from another reliable source. After Hitler came to power in 1933, General von Hammerstein withdrew from public life. He had been head of the Reichswehr under Chancellor Bruening. Although he was then retired, he knew and associated intimately with the Generals of the German Army, as he was among them _primus inter pares_. He told me of the German program for aggressive war during a long conversation which we had during a musical recital in 1938 at Dr. Paul Kempner’s home. The army, he said, was at a highly mechanized strength, extremely mobile and ready for anything. He was sure, in view of the preparations and the excellent character of the German equipment that the German Army was then an instrument of invincible striking power. He stated categorically that it was a superb instrument which had been formed to wage war and that it would not be much longer delayed. He did not know the plans and details but he confirmed the information that I had from all sources, that Germany intended to strike in the East and that the war in the West depended on whether or not the Western powers would endeavor to intervene when the German war machine started moving.

Of these aggressive designs I learned also from other sources. A personal friend, Dr. Hans Henniger, a veterinarian in Berlin, was an intimate friend of an officer by the name of Schlessicher (I believe that is the correct spelling), who was the responsible purveyor to the German Army, therefore a high member of the Quartermaster Corps. I do not remember his exact title. Dr. Henniger received from this man information constantly with regard to the preparations being made by the Germans in 1939. A month before March 15, 1939, I was informed of the plans for marching into Prague on that date and that large stocks of food and other equipment were being accumulated near the border of Czechoslovakia. On March 15, 1939, the German Army rolled into Prague.

I also had a good deal of personal experience with and first-hand knowledge of the internal policies from 1935 to 1939. Indeed, from the very outset of the regime, I had intimate and continuous contact with various officers of the German Government in the course of my duties as an American official protecting American citizens or protesting against their mistreatment. The acts of violence against American citizens were numerous, particularly during the early years of 1933 and 1934. In addition, I was constantly receiving information as regards other Nazi tactics and the nature and number of victims from a variety of sources; the victims themselves on many occasions, both American and German, told me their experiences and appealed for help; relatives and friends of victims, both those who came back and those who did not; the foreign newspaper correspondents and, to a very considerable degree, I received information from the Gestapo itself.

For a period I dealt directly with Herr Heinrich Himmler, then subsequently with Herr Reinhard Heydrich and often with Dr. Werner Best.

My vigorous relations with the Gestapo began in March, 1933. In fact I knew the organization of the secret police and dealt with that organization before the Nazis came to power. It was then the Politische Abteilung des Politizeipraesident, i.e., the political division of the Politizeipraesidium, which was charged with supervisory and preventive functions with regard to political matters, then chiefly investigating the terror of Communists. It was located in Berlin at the Politizeipraesidium. On March 6, 1933, it was moved from the Politizeipraesidium to No. 8 Prinzalbrechtstrasse and became the famous Gestapo [Geheimstaatpolizei], its first chief was Rudolf Diels, who was succeeded by Heinrich Himmler, in May, 1934. I knew well not only Diels but also Himmler, his second in command, Reinhard Heydrich and his administrative officer, Dr. Werner Best. The organization at No. 8 was huge with over 1,000 persons employed there. Besides, as rapidly as administrative measures permitted, Gestapo headquarters were established throughout Germany, not only in the cities but in provincial places to such an extent that the smallest hamlet and village fell under direct Gestapo supervision. At the beginning of the Hitler regime, the only organization which had meeting places throughout the country was the S.A. (storm troopers). Until the Gestapo could be organized on a national scale the thousands of local S.A. meeting places became the “arrest points.” There were at least fifty of these in Berlin. Communists, Jews, and other known enemies of the Nazi party were taken to these points and, if they were enemies of sufficient importance, they were immediately transferred to the Gestapo headquarters. During 1933 and 1934, when the Gestapo became universally organized, the S.A. were gradually eliminated as arresting agents and the S.S. [Schutzstaffe] were incorporated as administrative and executive officials into the Gestapo. By the end of 1934, the S.A. had been fairly well eliminated and the S.S., the members of which wore elegant black suits and were therefore called Elite Guards, became almost identical as functionaries with the Gestapo.

Immediately in 1933, the concentration camps, as soon as they were established, were put under the immediate charge of the Gestapo and they remained exclusively a Gestapo institution. Only “political” prisoners were held in the concentration camps. Ordinary criminals remained the responsibility of the regular police authorities and the established courts. On being sentenced, they were confined in the regular prisons. These confinements were always the result of duly carried out legal procedure. Incarceration in concentration camps was carried out without any legal procedure, neither indictment nor trial. Prisoners were, occasionally, released from the concentration camps and turned over to the prosecuting attorney for prosecution before the legal courts of justice. A prisoner accused of high treason, for example, whose offense might carry a death sentence, would be released to the prosecuting attorney for trial in the people’s court. All felonies were tried by the regular courts.

As I have stated, my frequent contacts with this entire Gestapo organization began with the first wave of terrorist acts in the week of March 6-13, 1933. That wave was accompanied by universal mob violence. Since 1925, one of the cries of the Nazi party had been “Jude Verrecke” (Death to the Jews) and when the Nazi party won the elections in March, 1933, on the morning of the sixth, the accumulated passion blew off in wholesale attacks on the Communists, Jews, and those who were suspected of being either. Mobs of S.A. men roamed the streets, beating up, looting, and even killing persons.

No American citizen, so far as I am aware, was killed, but a number of them were assaulted and injured and appealed to the Consulate General for aid and protection. For example, Nathaniel Wolff, an American citizen, who resided in Rochester, New York, made an affidavit which stated:

This morning, March 6, at 5 o’clock, there came into my room five or
six Nazis with drawn revolvers. They abused me, called me a dirty
Russian Jew and started going through my belongings. They asked me
what remarks I had made. I replied that I had made none that I knew
of and that I am not interested in politics. One of them shouted “Do
you call throwing bombs not being interested in politics?” Another
asked at the same time, “Are you the Wolff who lived in the Pension
Stephanie?” Having left the Stephanie on account of difficulties
with the Portier regarding the price of the room and his behavior, I
whistled very softly, intimating that I understood the source of the
denunciation. Thereupon one of the Nazis remarked: “Du Scheiss Jude,
warum pfeiffst du?” and hit me in the jaw. They said that they would
take me to the police station, whereupon I answered, “The quicker,
the better, because my conscience is absolutely clear.” One of them
said, “Do you call throwing bombs having a clear conscience?” The
intruders were not accompanied by an officer, nor did they carry
“Hilfspolizei” armbands. They took me in an automobile to an address
in the Knewbeck Strasse beyond the Kant Strasse (I believe No. 67 or
76, Gartenhaus left, I think three or four flights up the stairs).
I was conducted to a bare room in which the shutters were closed
and the windows boarded, evidently to prevent sounds from getting
out, where, after my possessions were taken away including my keys,
I was left with two guards who spent the time abusing the Jews. At
five minutes before seven, the group who had arrested me returned
with two or three members including one who was apparently a leader,
when I was again abused, that is, they gave me to understand that
they imagined I was implicated in communistic activities. I remarked
that I should like to send a telegram to my cousin, Alan Steyne at
the Hamburg American Consulate, and asked if I had the right to
do so, whereupon the leader replied: “As a foreigner you have no
right, and especially not as a Jew.” One of the men then proceeded
to bind my hands and feet as closely and as painfully as possible. I
still bear the marks of the bruises on my wrists. I was questioned
about various English and French letters which had been found in
my room and taken along with them and then I was left about half
an hour alone because they evidently discussed my fate. After some
time one of the group returned and advised me that every one had a
right to his own political opinions as long as no attempt was made
to mix into politics. He remarked that nothing was to be gained by
brutality, undid the rope and freed my hands and feet and gave me
a cup of coffee and said, “Probably the thing isn’t so bad because
women chatter a great deal” and that I was denounced by a girl. After
a few minutes he elaborated the statement that the girl, Paula, of
the Pension, had denounced me as having the intention of throwing
bombs at the Nazi parade. I expressed my astonishment and told him
the facts of the case. He appeared to laugh it off and asked me if
I would be willing to sign a paper on the condition that they would
release me. I said “yes.” They then said I would have to go to the
police to have my signature attested to and one of the men who had
come in, in the meanwhile, went out to draft the paper I was to sign.
He returned with the paper which read: (1) “I am a Jew,” (2) “I will
leave tonight for Paris,” (3) “I promise never again to set my foot
on German soil.” “I attest that no physical violence was done to me
and that none of my property was stolen.” This paper I signed. They
told me to put on my coat and come to the police. Instead of taking
me to the police station they took me to Charlottenburg towards the
Gruenwald. When I asked to which police station they were taking me,
they replied “You’ll get there soon enough.” When we were near the
Heer Strasse they pretended that the automobile was broken down and
informed me that I would have to walk through the woods to get to the
police station. We proceeded into the woods where three members drew
their pistols and the other two brought straps out of their pockets
and informed me that they were going to teach me a lesson and made as
if they were about to tie me to a tree. They said that they intended
to beat the life out of me and “You can walk back afterwards.” I
replied that I hoped I would be able to walk. This was probably about
eight o’clock and we were entirely alone as nobody had followed us.
I took off my coat myself and remarked “If one can’t help oneself,
one may as well make the best of it.” One of them threw my coat
to the ground and said “Get ready” and after making a threatening
gesture, said “You can go home now!” pointing to the wrong direction,
whereupon they walked rapidly to the automobile and disappeared
yelling after me, “Keep your mouth shut.” I was also threatened that
if they ever caught me in Germany again, they would know how to get
me out of the way. * * *

Another American, Herman I. Roseman, made an affidavit which stated:

Yesterday, March 10, 1933, in the afternoon at about 4:30, I came
out of “KDW” with my fiancee, Fraulein Else Schwarzlose, residing in
Wilmersdorf, Kaiser-Allee 172, and proceeded to walk along Tauentzien
Strasse. A man in S. A. uniform stepped on my toe purposely,
obviously offended me and said “Pardon.” I said “bitte,” and walked
ahead. He followed me and kicked me saying: “Na und?” A policeman saw
this and walked ahead, paying no attention to attacks made on me.
Then I took my passport out of my pocket, showed it to the second
policeman, and said that I was an American citizen, but he walked
ahead, obviously not able to afford me protection, or at least being
unwilling. The S.A. man continued to attack me, struck me in the
face, wounded me over the eye, and continued to do me bodily harm.
During this attack, all the time my walking along, we reached another
policeman, and I applied to him, showing my passport and said: “I am
an American and am entitled to protection.” He shrugged his shoulder
and said “What can I do?” By this time the S.A. man had obviously
inflicted enough attack upon me and walked away.

Upon my appeal the policeman brought my fiancee and me to the station
house at 13 Bayreuther Strasse. My fiancee and I reported to the
officer in charge. He heard the story and said that he was sorry, but
that there was nothing to do. My face was bleeding. The policeman
said that he had had orders not to interfere in any affair in which
an S.A. man took part. I then asked him what I could do to protect
myself. He said that there was nothing to do but to wait until the
situation was better. He added that the police were absolutely
powerless, and were under the direction of the S.A., and that there
were S.A. [Sturm-Abteilung] in the police itself. Thereupon I
departed * * *

Another American, Mrs. Jean Klauber, made an affidavit which stated:

That on the night of Friday, March 10, 1933, she and her husband
had retired for the night when they were awakened by a prolonged
ringing of their apartment bell. They heard pounding upon the street
door and a demand for immediate entry, and a concurrent threat to
break the door down. The street door was opened by the janitor’s
wife, and a party of four or five men entered and went at once to
the apartment of the deponent where they again rang and pounded on
the door. Mr. Klauber asked who was there, and was answered--“The
police.” He opened the door and a party of four or five men in brown
uniforms, one wearing a dark overcoat and carrying a rifle, pushed
in, jostling Mr. and Mrs. Klauber aside. One asked Mrs. Klauber where
the telephone was and she indicated the room where it was to be
found, and started to go there. Thereupon, she was knocked down by
one of them. They went on to the bedroom where Mr. and Mrs. Klauber
followed them, and there they demanded their passports. Mr. Klauber
went to the wardrobe to get his, and was stopped, being asked by the
intruders whether he was carrying any weapons. Being clothed only
in pajamas, his denial was accompanied by a gesture indicating his
garb. He then turned to the wardrobe, opened it, and reached for one
of his four suits hanging there in where he thought the passport
was, and was immediately attacked from behind by all but one of the
intruders, who beat him severely with police clubs, the one with
the overcoat and rifle standing by. Remarks were shouted such as
“Look. Four suits, while for fourteen years we have been starving.”
Mrs. Klauber tried to inquire the reason for their actions, and was
answered--“Jews. We hate you. For fourteen years we have been waiting
for this, and tonight we’ll hang many of you.”

When the intruders stopped beating Mr. Klauber he was unconscious,
and they demanded the passports again of Mrs. Klauber. Mrs. Klauber
found her American passport and her German passport (required by
local authorities as the wife of a German citizen, and issued by the
Police at Munich after her arrival here), and the intruders took both
in spite of Mrs. Klauber’s protests that she was American. She then
searched for her husband’s passport, laid hold of his pocket-book,
and in her excitement offered it to them. Though full of money they
refused it, and again demanded the passport. Mrs. Klauber then found
it and handed it over.

Then the intruders returned to the unconscious Mr. Klauber, saying
“He hasn’t had enough yet,” and beat him further. Then they left,
saying “We are not yet finished,” and just as they departed, one of
them said to Mrs. Klauber “Why did you marry a Jew? I hate them” and
struck her on the jaw with his police club * * *

I personally can verify that the police had been instructed not to interfere; that is that there was official sanction for these activities. Affidavits taken from numerous victims attest this fact. I had become acquainted with the two police officers stationed at the corner of Bellevuestrasse and Tiergartenstrasse near where the Consulate General was located; these officers told me that they and all the other police officers had received definite instructions not to interfere with the S.A., the S.S. or the Hitler Youth.