NUREMBERG TRIAL

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24748, 13 December 1945, Page 5

NUREMBERG TRIAL

FILM OP ACTrmiBS BY NAZIS - SCREENING IN COURT (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright} NUREMBERG, December 11. : For three hours and a half to-day, ; the 21 leading Nazis who are being tried as war criminals sat in the darkened courtroom in Nuremberg and | watched "The Nazi Plan," a film show- ', ing the story of Nazism from its be- ' ginnings. . One of the defendants, Rosenberg, appeared on the screen as commen- ; tator to tell the story up to 1933, after ; which German newsreel "shots" traced the careers of Hitter and his henchmen up to the bomb plot in 1944. A sequence devoted to the signing of the Munich Pact -showed Hitler, Goering, Mussolini, and Ciano laughing as they awaited Mr Chamberlain's arrival. The watchers" saw Mr Chamberlain walk in and Hitler, on a couch, smilingly offer him a chair, which he declined. After Mr Chamberlain left the room Goering was seen laughing, and rubbing his hands together in obvious glee. Goering bounced with delight when he saw himself on the screen, other accused dug each other in the ribs whenever their faces appeared in the film. Goering nudged Hess energetically when Hess appeared shouting vigorous "Heils" and looking startlingly robust when compared with N the scarecrow figure in the dock. Von Schirach was portrayed exhort-, ing members of the Hitler Youth movement to regard "Mein Kampf" as the directive of their lives. A sequence followed, appropriately enough, in which Goering, fuller faced than the man in the dock to-day, announced German rearmament. As a background to it all there were goose-stepping hordes of the Wehrmacht and'the "Horst.Wes- ; sel" song. Keitel nodded his head to the beat of the march. The voice of Hitler rasped from the screen in scene after, scene, to -the accompaniment of great roars from the mob. ' American military police, during the screening of the film, maintained a guard around the dock, which was illuminated by bulbs shining into the faces of the accused. - Prisoners' Comments When the lights came on, von Schirach patted Hess. on the back as . if to congratulate him on his performance. The overall reaction of the de-.. fendants to the film seemed to be enthusiasm for'the strength of the Nazi iParty as demonstrated in the pictures.' ~. Goering was particularly excited;' He • pointed out that the prosecution* had ' proved the true strength of the party.Goering added:."lf we could show the entire film from which the pictures were taken, Mr Justice Jackson would certainly join, the party." The reaction \>t many others: wassimilar.. They 'appeared for a while like a group of schoolchildren seeing -'.-" for the first time pictures of: them- ' Selves. 7v:£::.'--';-: Doenitz, when airmen were, shown, said: "Lay off." Later, when sailors-t were shown; Doenitz commented: "The best of the lot,", and Goering admitted that they were not bad. Hess constantly tapped hisi feet and clapped his hands in time to the ■-' .marching rhythms. "», Von-Ribbentrop said at. one stage: "Can't you feel Hitler's tremehdwas personality? It is for «s the most festfully stimulating thing that "has pened." His eyes filled with tears. Von Schirach- was-extremely upset, saying, that-the pictures showed only . the worst part.7 ' • ." Schacht was very/ moved, : arid Streicher showed emotion for . the first time during the. trial at Hitler'* speeches.- .'■.■*••--' iV ..'.>■•■■ Only Frank was bitter, saying: "You''. . see the man of whom the Germans made a tin god."

Forced Labour >, : After the screening, the American assistant prosecutor (Mr T. J; DoddK vbegan presenting written evidence dealing with forced Jabour. He ; said : that the Nazis had attempted to destroy the dignity of the human being.' The terroristic cruelties perfected 'by.: the Nazis inside Germany were spread - throughout-Europe as a of extermination through work.'! " Mr Dodd said that labour turns were carried out by terror; fraud; and arson. Sauckel, the boss of slave *<"'-' i?P°_ ur «"and, Speer bore toe responsibility for the estimate, of the number of foreign slaves needed by ; the German war machine. Goerin'g, KeiteL Seyss-Inquart, ■ and Frank also were m? Iy implicated in: laboiir\criines.. „ The American prosecutor ■ declare*! V that the German, attitude to con--quered people ; was summed up 'in a speech by Himmler in October,! 1943.. "Whether nations live in prosperity ■ or starve to death interests me" only v . »om the point of viewthat we need, them as. slaves," said Himmler.. Re- - ferring to the deaths of 10,000 women' during the construction of.an anti-tank;, c l?' iHunmier said: "The anti-tank : : ditch-for Germany is finished."" ;.:>';: Documents showing how the-policy was carried out by the Nazis were shown m the Court. An order Waß ; produced showing that 1,000,000 Polish - workers were to be deported to Germany and that 40,000 to 50,000 Russian' Jews between the ages of 10 and" 14 were also to be transported to. Ger-1 many. . _ j ■..../. .

POSSIBLE METHODS, OF EXECUTION CONDEMNED NAZIS AT NUREMBERG . Olec. 11 p.m.) LONDON,. Dec. 12, Nazi leaders found guilty at Nuremberg may end their lives as did many of their victims—in gas chambers." says the “Daily Mad.” ' “The French favour the guillotine, but the gas chamber is the best method of preserving bodies for autopsy and brain dissection. The War Crimes Tribunal has the right to impose death, or other just punishment, under Article 27 of its charter,, but the methods of execution are not laid down. ' •‘Major Douglas Kelley, a Nuremberg prison psychologist, said that universities and medical research'centres want to conduct post-mortems looking -for physical and mental abnormalities, explaining the Nazis’ conduct. He added, citing Goering as an example, that it was possible for some peculiar glandular condition to have been responsible, not only for his obesity. but also for his irrational behaviour. •

FRAU JODL DENIES BEING ARRESTED (Rec. 11 p.m.) NUREMBERG. Dec. 12. Reuter's correspondent says • that Frau Jodi, told him: “Reports that I was arrested are not true. I only lost my post as secretary to one of the defence counsel.” Then, adding that she was not allowed to see her husband. she went out, muffled In a mink coat into the snow-cohered streets. A Court official said that the wives of several of the accused men had been trying to enter the visitors’ gallery at the war crimes trial. “The wives of Frick and Streicher got in, so now we are keening a close check to avoid the nossibility of hysterical demonstrations.” he added. DACHAU TRIAL (Rec. 7 p.m.l LONpON. Dec. 11. The military court at Frankfurt which is trying 40 officials of the Dachau camp refused permission for the defence to use as evidence American newspaper cuttings reporting that a man in Maryland had received 10 lashings for beating his wife, and describing how a man in Brooklyn made book covers from human skin.

When the defence counsel complained that the accused were being subjected to American instead of German law. the president of the Court declared that the trial had been condueled under the law of humanity. The Court is expected to give the verdicts to-morrow.