FRANK ADMITS GUILT

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 April 1946, Page 8

FRANK ADMITS GUILT

FORMER NAZI CHIEF IN POLAND DEFENCE AT NUREMBERG NUREMBERG, April 18. Hans Frank, former Nazi Gover-nor-General of Poland, entered the witness box before the War Crimes Tribunal to-day to give evidence in his own defence. Frank, who has attempted suicide three times during his imprisonment, appeared calm and confident. He asserted that his work foi’ the Nazi cause centred on his personal efforts to ensure complete independence for the judiciary in the Third Reich, as a safeguard against the leadership’ of the State becoming a full dictator-, ship. His efforts, however, had ( ended in failure. ( Frank, hanging his head, told the ( Court in subdued tones: “I feel a ter-; rible guilt within me over the atroci- i ties.” ! Destruction of Jews He admitted that he took part in the destruction of Jews, and added:. “A thousand years will pass and this guilt on Germany will still not be erased.”

Referring to the recent declaration by Rudolph Hoess, commandant of the Auschwitz camp, on the murder of 2,000,000 Jews, Frank said: “I cannot allow it on my conscience that the responsibility for all this should be handed over to these small people alone. I myself never installed an extermination camp for Jews or ordered that they should be installed, but if Hitler personally has turned that dreadful responsibility over to these people, then it must be mine, too. We have fought against Jewry for years, and we have allowed ourselves to make utterances which are terrible.”

Frank denied that he ever ordered the shooting of hostages. He said he tried to resign because of conditions in Poland, but every complaint he addressed to Hitler was dropped into the wastepaper basket. Hitler Ordered Massacre He told the tribunal that Hitler ordered the massacre of the entire population of Warsaw after the rising in Poland. “It took a struggle of three weeks, in which I was victorious, in order to avert that insanity,” he said.

Frank repeatedly denied knowledge of concentration camps for Jews in Poland. He said he had heard rumours, but unsuccessfully attempted to sceure information. He contrived to visit Auschwitz, but was shown only a group of workers. Later he told Hitler that he had smelt something which could only have been burning bodies. Hitler told Frank to accept Himmler’s word, and Himmler denied the existence of extermination camps. Frank’s cross.-examination, which was shorter’than any defendant’s so far, concluded with his statement that he had taken art treasures only for safe keeping.