Archive/File: imt/nca/nca-02/nca-02-16-responsibility-01-03
Last-Modified: 1996/10/23

B. WAR CRIMES.

(1) Forced Labor, Deportation, and Enslavement of Residents
of Occupied Territories.

The slave labor program of the Nazi conspirators had two
criminal purposes. The first was to satisfy the labor
requirements of the Nazi war machine by forcing residents of
occupied countries to work in Germany, often directly in the
German armament industry, and the second was to destroy or
weaken the peoples of the occupied territories. Millions of
foreign workers were taken to Germany, for the most part
under pressure and generally by physical force. These
workers were forced to labor under conditions of
undescribable brutality and degradation, and

                                                  [Page 431]

often they were used in factories and industries devoted
exclusively to the production of munitions of war. (See
Chapter X The Slave Labor Program.)

Goering was at all times implicated in the slave labor
program. recruitment and allocation of man-power and
determination of working conditions were included in his
jurisdiction as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan, and
from its beginning a part of the Four-Year Plan Office was
devoted to such work. (1862-PS; 2827-PS.)

The defendant Goering was present at a meeting in Hitler's
study on 23 May 1939 at which Hitler, after declaring his
intention to attack Poland at the first suitable
opportunity, said:

"If fate brings us into conflict with the West, the
possession of extensive areas in the East will be
advantageous. *** The population of non-German areas will
perform no military service and will be available as a
source of labor." (L-79)

Soon after the fall of Poland, Goering as Plenipotentiary
for Four-Year Plan, began the enslavement of large numbers
of Poles. On 25 January 1940, the defendant Frank, then
Governor General of Poland, reported to Goering as follows:

     "For the execution of the task of systematically
     placing the economic strength of the
     Generalgouvernement, within the framework of the Four-
     Year Plan, in the service of the German defense
     industry, I give the following
     
     "1. In view of the present requirements of the Reich
     for the defense industry, it is at present
     fundamentally impossible to carry on a long-term
     economic policy in the Generalgouvernement. Rather, it
     is necessary so to steer the economy of the
     Generalgouvernement that it will, in the shortest
     possible time, accomplish results representing the
     maximum that can be gotten out of the economic strength
     of the Generalgouvernement for immediate strengthening
     of our capacity for defense. ***
     
     "2. (g) Supply and transportation of at least 1 million
     male and female agricultural and industrial workers to
     the Reich -- among them at least 7500 000 [sic]
     agricultural workers of which at least 50% must be
     women -- in order to guarantee agricultural production
     in the Reich and as a replacement for industrial
     workers lacking in the Reich. ***" (1375-PS)

That orders for this enormous number of workers originated

                                                  [Page 432]
                                                            
with the defendant Goering is clear from the following
statement in Frank's Diary for 10 May 1940:

     "Then the Governor General deals with the-problem of
     the Compulsory Labor Service of the Poles. Upon the
     demands from the Reich it has now been decreed that
     compulsion may be exercised in view of the fact that
     sufficient manpower was not voluntarily available for
     service inside the German Reich. This compulsion means
     the possibility of arrest of male and female Poles.
     Because of these measures a certain disquietude had
     developed which, according to individual reports, was
     spreading very much, and which might produce
     difficulties everywhere. General Fieldmarshal Goering
     some time ago pointed out in his long speech the
     necessity to deport into the Reich a million workers.
     The supply so far was 160,000. However, great
     difficulties had to be overcome. Therefore it would be
     advisable to consult the district and town chiefs in
     the execution of the compulsion, so that one could be
     sure from the start that this action would be
     reasonably successful. The arrest of young Poles when
     leaving church service or the cinema would bring about
     an increasing nervousness of the Poles. Generally
     speaking, he had no objections at all if the rubbish,
     capable of work yet often loitering about, would be
     snatched from the streets. The best method for this,
     however, would be the organization of a raid, and it
     would be absolutely justifiable to stop a Pole in the
     street and to question him what he was doing, where he
     -was working, etc." (2233-A-PS)

Goering was also responsible for the harsh treatment given
these workers when they reached Germany. On 8 March 1940, as
Plenipotentiary of the Four-Year Plan and as Chairman of the
Cabinet Counsel for the Defense of the Reich, he issued a
directive to the Supreme Reich authorities, entitled:
"Treatment of male and female civilian workers of Polish
Nationality in the Reich." In this directive Goering
provided in part:

     "The mass employment of male and female civilian
     workers of Polish nationality in the Reich necessitates
     a comprehensive ruling on treatment of these workers.
     
     "The following orders are to be executed at once:
     
     "4. The blameless conduct of the Poles is to be assured
     by special-regulations. The legal and administrative
     regulations, necessary for this, will be issued by the
     Reichsfuehrer-SS and Chief of the German Police at the
     Reich Ministry of the Interior.
     
                                                  [Page 433]
     
     "6. Attention is drawn to the explanations enclosed as
     appendix." (R-148)

Attached to this directive, and also dated 8 March 1940,
were a series of regulations issued by Himmler, as
Reichsfuehrer SS and Chief of the German Police. These
regulations provided for stringent measures and
discrimination against Polish workers in the Reich. In a
covering Express Letter addressed to all State Police
district-offices and State Police offices, also dated 8
March 1940, Himmler made clear what was intended in order to
secure "blameless conduct". He stated:

     "The steps to be taken to combat insubordination and
     noncompliance with the duty to work, must be decided
     according to the severity of the case and to the spirit
     of resistance of the offender. It is of most importance
     that they be taken immediately after the offense is
     committed so that they have a decisive effect. In
     accordance with my instructions in the appended
     decrees, especially severe measures must be taken
     during the first eight weeks, in order to bring home to
     the workers of Polish nationality from the outset the
     consequences of noncompliance with the orders issued.
     ***
     
     "In general, in all cases where a warning, by the State
     Police or a short imprisonment is not sufficient to
     induce the worker to fulfill his duties, application is
     to be made for his transfer to a labor training camp,
     and an opinion given on what treatment he should
     receive there. The treatment in the labor training
     camps will have to be in accordance with the severity
     of the offense. It is suitable, e. g., to make
     obstinate shirkers work in the stone-quarries of the
     Mauthausen camp. By a special decree, to the heads of
     SS-Deathshead Units and concentration camps, I have
     ordered that the treatment of these persons under
     protective custody be undertaken in a concentration
     camp.
     
     "Extraordinarily serious cases have to be reported to
     the Chief of the Security Police and the SD who, after
     examination, make the decision on a special treatment
     of the workers of Polish nationality in question." (R-
     148)

On 29 January 1942 the Division for the Employment of labor
in the Four-Year Plan Office issued a circular, signed by
Dr. Mansfeld, the General Delegate for Labor Employment in
the Four-Year Plan Office, and addressed to various civilian
and military authorities in the occupied territories,
explaining the various means to be used to force workers to
go to Germany. The circular provides in part:

     "Subject: Increased mobilization of man-power for the
     Ger-
     
                                                  [Page 434]
     
     man Reich from the occupied territories and
     preparations for mobilization by
     
     "On the one hand, the labor shortage which was rendered
     more acute by the draft for the Wehrmacht, and on the
     other hand, the increased scope of the armament problem
     in the German Reich, render it necessary that manpower
     for service in the Reich be recruited from the occupied
     territories to a much greater extent than heretofore,
     in order to relieve the shortage of labor. Therefore,
     any and all methods must be adopted which make possible
     the transportation, without exception and delay, for
     employment in the German Reich, of manpower in the
     occupied territories which is unemployed or which can
     be released for use in Germany after most careful
     screening.
     
     "This mobilization shall first of all, as heretofore,
     be carried out on a voluntary basis. For this reason,
     the recruiting effort for employment in the German
     Reich must be strengthened considerably. But if
     satisfactory results are to be obtained, the German
     authorities, who are functioning in the occupied
     territories, must be able to exert any pressure
     necessary to support the voluntary recruiting of labor
     for employment in Germany. Accordingly, to the extent
     that may be necessary, the regulations in force in the
     occupied territories in regard to shift in employment
     and withdrawal of support upon refusal to work, must be
     tightened. Supplementary regulations concerning shift
     in employment must above all insure that older
     personnel who are freed must be exchanged for younger
     personnel to make up for it, so that the latter may be
     made available for the Reich. A far-reaching decrease
     in the amount of relief granted by Public Welfare must
     also be effected in order to induce laborers to accept
     employment in the Reich. Unemployment relief must be
     set so low that the amount in comparison with the
     average wages in the Reich and the possibilities there
     for sending remittances home may serve as an inducement
     to accept employment in the Reich. When refusal to
     accept work in the Reich is not justified, the
     compensation must be reduced to an amount barely enough
     for subsistence, or even be cancelled. In this
     connection, partial withdrawal of ration cards and
     assignment to particularly heavy obligatory labor may
     be considered.
     
     "However, all misgivings must give way before the
     necessity of supplying the deficit in manpower caused
     by excessive draft calls into the Armed Forces, in
     order to avoid detri-
     
                                                  [Page 435]
     
     ment to the armament industry. For this purpose the
     forcible mobilization of workers from the occupied
     territories cannot be disregarded, in case the
     voluntary recruiting is unsuccessful. The mere
     possibility of mobilization by force will, in many
     cases, make recruiting easier.
     
     "Therefore, I ask you immediately to take any measures
     in your district which will promote the employment of
     workers in the German Reich on a voluntary basis. I
     herewith request you to prepare for publication
     regulations applying to forced mobilization of laborers
     from your territory for Germany, so that they may be
     decreed at once, in case recruiting on a voluntary
     basis will not have the desired result, that is relief
     of the manpower shortage in the Reich. I request you to
     inform me of the measures taken by you." (1183-PS)

On 21 March 1942, Hitler promulgated a decree appointing
Sauckel Plenipotentiary General for Man Power. This decree
provided in part:

     "In order to secure the manpower requisite for the war
     industries as a whole, and particularly for armaments,
     it is necessary that the utilization of all available
     manpower, including that of workers recruited
     [erwerben] abroad and of prisoners of war should be
     subject to a uniform control, directed in a manner
     appropriate to the requirements of war industry, and
     further that all still incompletely utilized manpower
     in the Greater German Reich, including the
     Protectorate, and in he General Government and in the
     occupied territories should be mobilized.
     
     "Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel will
     carry out this task within the framework of the Four-
     Year Plan, as plenipotentiary general, for the
     employment of manpower. In that capacity he will be
     directly responsible to the Commissioner for the Four-
     Year Plan."

On 27 March 1942, Goering, as Plenipotentiary for the Four
Year Plan, issued a decree in pursuance of the Fuehrer's
decree of 21 March 1942. This decree provided:

     "In pursuance of the Fuehrer's Decree of 21 March 1942
     (RGBl I, 179), I decree as follows:
     
     "1. My manpower sections (Geschaeftsgruppen
     Arbeitseinsatz) are hereby abolished (circular letter
     of 22 October 1936/ St M. Dev. 265). Their duties
     (recruitment and allocation of manpower, regulations
     for labor conditions (Arbeitsbedingungen) ) are taken
     over by the Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz,
     who is directly under me.
     
     "2. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz will
     be
     
                                                  [Page 436]
     
     responsible for regulating the conditions of labor
     (wage policy) employed in the Reich Territory, having
     regard to the requirements of
     
     "3. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz is
     part of the Four-Year Plan. In cases where new
     legislation is required, or existing laws required to
     be modified, he will submit appropriate proposals to
     me.
     
     "4. The Plenipotentiary General for Arbeitseinsatz will
     have at his disposal for the performance of his task
     the right delegated to me by the Fuehrer for issuing
     instructions to the higher Reich authorities, their
     branches and the Party offices, and their associated
     organisms and also the Reich Protector, the General
     Governor, the Commander-in-Chief, and heads of the
     civil administrations. In the case of ordinances and
     instructions of fundamental importance a report is to
     be submitted to me in advance." (1666-PS)

Since Sauckel was an authority of the Four-Year Plan, it is
clear that Goering remains responsible for the war crimes
committed by Sauckel as Plenipotentiary-General for
Manpower. (See Chapter X on The Slave Labor Program.)

(2) Employment of Prisoners of War in War Industry. The Nazi
conspirators ordered prisoners of war to work under
dangerous conditions, and in the manufacturing and
transportation of arms or munitions, in violation of the
Laws of War and of Articles 31 and 32 of the Geneva
Convention of 27 July 1929 on Prisoners of War. (See Chapter
X on The Illegal Use of Prisoners of War.)

Goering had a part in these crimes. At a conference on 7
November 1941, the subject of which was the employment of
Russians, including Russian prisoners of war, it appears
from a memorandum signed by Koerner, State Secretary to the
defendant Goering as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan,
that Goering gave the following directives for use of
Russians as laborers: "I. The stronger labor reserves in the
zone of the interior are also decisive for the war.

     "The Russian workers have proved their productive
     capacity during the development of the huge Russian
     industry. Therefore it must be made available to the
     Reich from now on. Objections against this order of the
     Fuehrer are of the secondary nature. The disadvantages
     which can be created by the Arbeitseinsatz have to be
     reduced to a minimum: the task especially of counter-
     intelligence and security police.
     
     "II. The Russian in the zone of operations.
     
                                                  [Page 437]
                                                            
     "He is to be employed particularly in building roads
     and railroads, in clearing work, clearing of mines and
     in building airports. The German construction
     battalions have to be dissolved to a great extent
     (Example: Air Forces!); the German skilled workers
     belong to the war industry; it is not their task to
     shovel and to break stones, the Russian is there for
     that."
     
                           *******
     
     "IV. The Russian in the Reich territory including the
     Protectorate.
     
     "The number of the employed depends on the requirement.
     By determining the requirement, it is to be considered
     that workers of other states who produce little and eat
     much are to be shipped out of the Reich and that in the
     future the German woman should come less into the
     foreground in the labor process. Beside the Russian
     prisoners of war, free Russian workers should also be
     used.
     
     "A. The Russian Prisoner of War.
     
     "1. The selection has to take place already in the
     collecting camps, beyond the Reich border. The
     profession and physical condition are decisive. At the
     same time screening as to nationality and according to
     the requirements of the security police and counter-
     intelligence must take place.
     
     "2. The transportation has to be organized just as the
     selection and not improvised. The prisoners are to be
     forwarded rapidly. Their feeding should be orderly and
     their guarding unconditionally secured.
     
     "3. Officers are to be excluded from the work as much
     as possible,
     commissars as a matter of principle.
     
     "4. The Russian belongs in first line to the following
     work places (in order of priorities):
     
          Railroad maintenance (including repair shops and
          construction of vehicles).
          War industry (tanks, artillery pieces, airplane
          parts). Agriculture.
          Building industry. Large scale workshops (shoe
          shops!)
          Special units for urgent, occasional and emergency
          work.
     
                           *******
                              
     B. The Free Russian Worker Employment and treatment,
     will not be handled in practice differently than for
     Russian prisoners of war. In both cate-
     
                                                  [Page 438]
                                                            
     gories, particularly good production can be
     acknowledged by a limited distribution of luxury items.
     Sufficient, adequate nourishment is also the main thing
     for the free workers." (1193-PS)

In a set of top secret notes on what was apparently the same
conference, the following appears:

     "NOTES
     On outlines layed down by the Reichsmarschall in the
     meeting of 7 November 1941 in the Reich Ministry for
     Air (RLM)
     
     "SUBJECT: Employment of laborers in war industries.
     
     "The Fuehrer's point of view as to employment of
     prisoners of war in war industries has changed
     basically. So far a total of 5 million prisoners of war
     employed so far 2 million.
     
     "Directives for employment:
     
     "Frenchmen: Individual employment, transposition into
     armament industry (Rue-wirtschaft).
     
     "Serbs: Preferably agriculture.
     
     "Poles: If feasible no individual employment
     achievement of Russian armament industry surpasses the
     German one. Assembly-line work, a great many mechanical
     devices with relatively few skilled workers.
     
     "Readiness of Russians in the operational area to work
     is strong. In the Ukraine and other areas discharged
     prisoners of war already work as free labor. In Krivoy
     Rog, large numbers of workers are available due to the
     destruction of the factories. ***
     
     "Some points as to general Arbeitseinsatz
     
     "Rather employ PW's than unsuitable foreign workers.
     Seize Poles, Dutchmen, etc. if necessary as PW's and
     employ them as such, if work through free contract
     cannot be obtained. Strong action." (1206-PS)

In a secret letter from the Reichsminister of Labor to the
Presidents of the Regional Labor Exchange Offices, the
following appears:

     ''Upon personal order of the Reich Marshal, 100,000 men
     are to be taken from among the French PW's not yet
     employed in the armament industry, and are to be
     assigned to the armament industry (airplane industry).
     Gaps in manpower supply resulting therefrom will be
     filled by Soviet PW's. The transfer of the above-named
     French PW's is to be accomplished by 1 October." (3005-
     PS)
     
(8) Looting and Destruction of Works of Art. The Nazi con-

                                                  [Page 439]

spirators planned and organized the cultural impoverishment
of very country in Europe: the plunder of works of art by
the Government General in occupied Poland and the activities
of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg are outstanding examples. (See
Chapter IV on the Plunder of Art

Goering was continuously connected with these activities. In
October 1939 he requested a Dr. Kajetan Muehlmann to
undertake immediately the "securing" of all Polish art
treasures. In an affidavit, Dr. Muehlmann states:

     "I was the special deputy of the Governor General of
     Poland, Hans Frank, for the safeguarding of art
     treasures in the General Government, October 1939 to
     September 1943.
     
     "Goering, in his function as chairman of the Reich
     Defense Council, had commissioned me with this duty.
     
     "I confirm, that it was the official policy of the
     Governor General, Hans Frank, to take into custody all
     important art treasures, which belonged to Polish
     public institutions, private u collections and the
     Church. I confirm, that the art treasures, mentioned,
     were actually confiscated, and it is clear to me, that
     they would not have remained in Poland in case of a
     German victory, but that they would have been used to
     complement German artistic property." (3042-PS)

Indicative of the continued interest taken by Goering in
these operations, it appears from Dr. Muehlmann's report
that at one time 31 valuable sketches by the artist Albrecht
Durer were taken from a Polish collection and personally
handed to the defendant Goering, who took them to the
Fuehrer's headquarters. (1709-PS)

The part played by Goering in looting of art by the
Einsatzstab Rosenberg has been shown in Chapter XIV. On 5
November Goering issued an order under his own signature
directed the Chief of the Military Administration Paris, and
to the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, as follows:

     "In conveying the measures taken until now, for the
     securing of Jewish art property by the Chief of the
     Military Administration Paris and the special service
     staff Rosenberg (the Chief of the Supreme Command of
     the Armed Forces 2 f 28.14. W.Z.Nr 3812/40 g), the art
     objects brought to the Louvre will be disposed of in
     the following way:

     "1. Those art objects about which the Fuehrer has
     reserved for himself the decision as to their use.
     
     "2. Those art objects which serve to the completion of
     the Reich Marshal's collection.
     
     "3. Those art objects and library stocks the use of
     which seem useful to the establishing of the higher
     institutes of
     
                                                  [Page 440]
                                                            
     learning and which come within the jurisdiction of
     Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
     
     "4. Those art objects that are suited to be sent to
     German museums, of all these art objects a systematic
     inventory will be made by the special purpose staff
     Rosenberg; they will then be packed and shipped to
     Germany with the assistance of the Luftwaffe." (141-PS)

In view of the high priority afforded by the foregoing order
to the completion of Goering's own collection, it is not
surprising to find that he continued to aid the operations
of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg. Thus, on 1 May 1941, Goering
issued an order to all Party, State, and Wehrmacht Services,
under his own signature, requesting them

     "*** to give all possible support and assistance to the
     Chief of Staff of Reichsleiter Rosenberg's staffs. ***
     The above-mentioned persons are requested to report to
     us on their work, particularly on any difficulties that
     might arise." (1117-PS)

By 30 May 1942, Goering was able to boast of the assistance
which he had rendered to the work of the Einsatzstab
Rosenberg. In a letter to Rosenberg, of that date, he
stated:

     "*** On the other hand I also support personally the
     work of your Einsatzstab wherever I can do so, and a
     great part of the seized cultural goods can be
     accounted for because I was able to assist the
     Einsatzstab with my organization." (1015-I-PS)

(4) Germanization and Spoliation. With respect to Poland the
Nazi conspirators' plans for Germanization and spoliation
commenced with the incorporation of the four western
provinces of Poland into the German Reich. In the remaining
portions occupied by Germany they set up the Government
General. The Nazis planned to Germanize the so-called
incorporated territories ruthlessly by deporting Polish
intelligentsia, Jews, and dissident elements to the
Government General, for eventual elimination; by
confiscating Polish property, particularly farms; by sending
those so deprived of their property to Germany as laborers;
and by importing German settlers. It was specifically
planned to exploit the people and material resources of the
territory within the Government General by taking whatever
was needed to strengthen the Nazi war machine, thus
impoverishing this region and reducing it to a vassal state.
(See Chapter XIII on Germanization and Spoliation.)

Goering, together with Hitler, Lammers, Frick, and Hess,

                                                  [Page 441]
                                                            
signed the decree purporting to incorporate certain parts of
Polish territory into the Reich. (Decree of the Fuehrer and
Reich Chancellor concerning the Organization and
Administration of the Eastern Territories, 8 October 1939,
1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I, p. 2042.)

Purporting to act by virtue of section 8 of the foregoing
decree, Goering as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan,
signed an order concerning the introduction of the Four-Year
Plan in the Eastern Territories. (Order concerning the
Introduction of the Four-Year Plan in the Eastern
Territories, 30 October 1939,1939 Reichsgesetzblatt, Part I,
p. 2125.)

Goering in a directive dated 19 October 1939 stated:

In the meeting of October 13th, I have given detailed
instructions for the economical administration of the
occupied territories. I will repeat them here in short: 1.
The task for the economic treatment of the various
administrative regions is different depending on whether a
country is involved which will be incorporated politically
into the German Reich or whether we deal with the Government
General, which, in all probability, will not be made a part
of Germany.

     "In the first mentioned territories the reconstruction
     and expansion of the economy, the safeguarding of all
     their production facilities and supplies must be aimed
     at, as well as a complete incorporation into the
     Greater German economic system at the earliest possible
     time. On the other hand there must be removed from the
     territories of the Government General all raw
     materials, scrap materials, machines, etc., which are
     of use for the German war economy. Enterprises which
     are not absolutely necessary for the meager maintenance
     of the naked existence of the population must be
     transferred to Germany, unless such transfer would
     require an unreasonably long period of time and would
     make it more practical to exploit those enterprises by
     giving them German orders to be executed at their
     present location." (EC-410)

Goering acted as chairman of a meeting on 12 February 1940
to discuss "questions concerning the East," attended also by
Himmler and Frank. From the minutes of this meeting it
appears:

     "By way of introduction, the General Field Marshal
     explained that the strengthening of the war potential
     of the Reich must be the chief aim of all measures to
     be taken in the East." (EC-305)

The hand of Goering may also be found in the remainder of
the Nazi plans for Poland. It was he, for example, who
signed, with Hitler and Keitel, the secret decree which
entrusted Himm-

                                                  [Page 442]

ler with the task of executing the Germanization program
(686-PS). Similarly, it was Goering who, by virtue of his
powers as Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan, issued a
decree concerning confiscations in the incorporated eastern
territories. This decree applied to "property of citizens of
the former Polish State within the territory of the Greater
German Reich, including the incorporated Eastern
Territories", and provided in

     "SECTION 1. (1) The property of citizens of the former
     Polish State within the territory of the Greater German
     Reich, including the incorporated Eastern territories,
     shall be subject to sequestration, trustee
     administration, and confiscation in accordance with the
     following provisions.
     
     "(2) Subsection I shall not apply to the property of
     persons who, in accordance with Section 6 of the decree
     of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor relating to the
     organization and administration of the Eastern
     Territories of 8 October 1935 (RGBI, I, p. 2042), have
     acquired German nationality. The agency having
     jurisdiction in accordance with Section 12 may allow
     further exemptions.
     
                           *******
     
     "SECTION 2. (2) Sequestration shall be ordered in
     connection with the property of:

     b. Persons who have fled or are not merely temporarily
     absent.
     
     "(2) Sequestration may be ordered:
     
     a. If the property is required for the public welfare,
     particularly in the interests of Reich defense or the
     strengthening of
     
     b. If the owners or other title holders immigrated into
     the territory of the German Reich as it was then
     delimited, after
     
                           *******
     
     SECTION 9. (1) Sequestrated property may be confiscated
     by the competent agency (Section 12) for the benefit of
     the German Reich if the public welfare, particularly
     the defense of the Reich, or the strengthening of
     Germanism, so requires." (1665-PS) .

The spoliation of Soviet territory and resources and the
barbarous treatment inflicted on Soviet citizens were the
result of plans long made and carefully drawn up by the
Nazis before they launched their aggressive war on the
Soviet Union. The Nazis planned to destroy the industrial
potential of the northern regions occupied by their armies
and to administer the production

                                                  [Page 443]

of food in the south and southeast, which normally produced
a plus of food, in such a way that the population of the
northern region would inevitably be reduced to starvation-
because of diversion of such surplus food to the German
Reich. The Nazis also planned to incorporate Galicia and all
the Baltic countries into Germany and to convert the Crimea,
an area north of the Crimea, the Volga territory, and the
district around Baku into German colonies. Their plans were
to Germanize or destroy. (See Chapter XIII on Germanization
and Spoliation.)

By 29 April 1941, seven weeks prior to the invasion of the
Soviet Union, it appears that Hitler had entrusted Goering
with over-all direction of the economic administration in
the area operations and in the areas under political
administration. It her appears that Goering had set up an
economic staff and subsidiary authorities to carry out this
function. (1157-PS)

The form of organization thus created by Goering and the
duties of its various sections appear more clearly in a set
of directives the operation of the economy in the newly
occupied territories" issued by Goering, as Reich Marshal of
the Greater German Reich in July 1941. By the terms of these
directives, it is stated "The Orders of the Reich Marshal
cover all economic field, including nutrition and
agriculture. They are to be executed by the subordinate
economic offices." An "Economic Staff, East" was charged
with the execution of orders transmitted to it from higher
authority. One subdivision of this staff, entitled "Group
La", was charged with the following functions: "Nutrition
and Agriculture, the economy of all agricultural products,
provision of supplies for the Army, in cooperation with the
Army groups concerned." (EC-472; 1743-PS.) appears from the
foregoing documents, it was a subdivision the economic
organization set by Goering, the Economic Staff, East,
Agricultural Group, which rendered a top secret report on 23
May 1941, containing a set of policy directives for the
exploitation of Soviet agriculture. These directives
contemplated abandonment of all industry in the food deficit
regions, with certain exceptions, and the diversion of food
from the food surplus regions to German needs, even though
millions of people would inevitably die of starvation as a
result. (EC-126)

Minutes of a meeting at Hitler's Headquarters on 16 July
1941, kept by Bormann, disclose Hitler's announcement that
the Nazis never intended to leave the countries then being
occupied by their Armies. The Fuehrer further declared that
although the rest of the world was to be deceived on this
point, nevertheless, "this need not prevent us taking all
necessary measures -- shoot-

                                                  [Page 444]

ing, desettling, etc. --.and we shall take them," and he
discussed making the Crimea and other parts of Russia into
German colonies. Goering was present and participated in
this conference. (L-221)

As a final illustration, it appears from a memorandum dated
16 September 1941 that Goering presided over a meeting of
German military officials concerned with the "better
exploitation of the occupied territories for the German food
economy" and that in discussing this topic, Goering said:
     
     "It is clear that a graduated scale of food allocations
     is needed.
     
     "First in line are the combat troops, then the
     remainder of troops in enemy territory, and then those
     troops stationed at home. The rates are adjusted
     accordingly. The supply of the German non-military
     population follows and only then comes the population
     of the occupied
     
     "In the occupied territories on principle only those
     people are to be supplied with an adequate amount of
     food who work for us. Even if one wanted to feed all
     the other inhabitants, one could not do it in the newly
     occupied eastern areas. It is, therefore, wrong to
     funnel off food supplies for this purpose, if it is
     done at the expense of the Army and necessitates
     increased supplies from home." (EC-3)

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