GOERING’S ADMISSION

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 305, 23 November 1945, Page 5

GOERING’S ADMISSION

POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY STREICHER PLEADS INSANITY (N.Z. Press Association.—Copyright). (Rec. 10.20 a.m.) .. .NUREMBERG, Nov. 22 The American prosecutors today continued to develop the American section of the case against the Nazi leaders, seeking to prove that the Nazi Party was itself a criminal conspiracy against civilisation. * When the Court resumed,defence counsel pleaded that Julius Streicher, the notorious Jew-baiter, was insane. The Court rejected the plea, as it also did . a requ'est that the trial of Martin Bormann, Hitler’s' deputy, who is .still at large, should be. postponed. The text of Goering’s prepared statement which Lord Justice Lawrence • prevented him from reading as a preface to his plea .of not guilty yesterday is: “As Reichsmarshal of the Greater German Reich I assume political responsibility for all my .acts or acts resulting from my instructions. These acts were' exclusively founded on my concern for the welfare of the German people and my oath of fidelity to the Fuehrer. Although I am responsible for these only, to. the German people and could be aswerable for them only before a German Court, I am nevertheless, ready to give every elucidation demanded of me and to tell the full truth without admitting the jurisdiction of this Court. However, I must categorically deny the charge under which my acts, for which 1 assume, responsibility, are branded as criminal. I must also decline to assume responsibility for the acts of others, which did not become known to me and which, had I known of them, I would not have approved.”

ECCENTRICITIES IN DOCK

The 'Associated Press says that daring the trial Hess has been reading a love story novel in the Courtroom. Streicher. chews continuously, and Keitel frequently munches cracker 'biscuits which he lias saved from his lunch.

“Today I had the feeling that Goering who obviously was playing to the gallery as a stout, good fellow, would have been glad to shake hands with those of us occupying the Press box it the guards had permitted,” says the Evening News correspondent at the Nuremberg trial. ”It may disconcert him inwardly, though it doesn’t alter his pink, good-natured, healthy face, that Ribbentrop treats him with faint, grey politeness. Keitel stares at him in a cold, harsh, military way, and Hess hardly seems to know he is there. Goering isn’t _rebuffed. He is photogenic in his ample light grey suit, and knows it. He is aware of his appearance, and his bluff good humour is offset by the cadaverous figure of Hess beside him. Goering throws a kindly word to Hess and then looks casually round for our admiration. He has scores of artful gestures, and tries anything to catch our eyes and win our sympathies. He leans wearily forward and puts his head on his arms like a nice, pink, fat boy. He wriggles on his seat to show how. hard it is.”

Von Ribbentrop has asked that Mr Churchill be called to give evidence in his defence, according to a source close to the ex-Foreign Minister. Counsel refused to confirm cf deny the report. REVEALING DOCUMENTS

In the latter part of yesterday’s session the American prosecution quoted from more documents including some from the High Command itself. They were: (1) A letter from General Falkdnstein of October 29, 1940, said "The Fuehrer is at present occupied with the question of the occupation of Atlantic islands with a view to the prosecution of the war against America at a later date” ; (2) a Nazi official order of June 1, 1944, ordered that captured British and American airmen must be treated as criminals and that the army must refrain from protecting them from lynching ;' (3) the Germans ordered the assassination of Giraud ami Weygand, but failed; (4) Hitler on November 5, 1937, told Itaeder and von Neurath that German re-armament was almost complete and that he had decided to secure by force greater living space for the Germans not later than 1945, and perhaps as early as 1938; (5) Himmler recorded that the Japanese Ambassador in Berlin (General Hiroshi Oshima) on January 31, 1939, told him that the Japanese sent 10 Russians across the Caucasian frontier with orders to - kill Stalin; (6) Keitel, in March, 1941, issued a secret directive revealing that Hitler had ordered that the Japanese military power must be strengthened bv the disclosure of German war experiences, and that military and economic help must be given to Japan in anticipation of her active participation in the war. An order for the attack on England, ■which was initialled by Keitel and Jodi was also quoted. It said: “Though the British military position is hopeless, they the slightest sign of giving in.” WEAKENING NATIONS

Judge Jackson spent about an hour of his address relating German atrocities against' the civilian populations they overran. The Nazis’ purpose was to leave their neighbours so weakened that even if Germany lost the war she would still be the most powerful nation in Europe. , „ The Germans had planned disciplined plundering and made it official. Moreover, Rosenberg gloried in this 100 ing. “We have in Court 39 leatherbound volumes tabulating evidence ol 9455 articles which were looted, ot a total value of nearly one billion dollars,” Judge Jackson said. - . . “The rule of law flouted by these defendants had to be restored at accost to my country of more than I,OOO,(KXJ casualties, not to mention other countries,” he said. “The , prosecution doubts very much whether the-cnmes charged will be seriously denied, -but efforts will undoubtedly be made to mitigate or escape personal respons!bilitv. The ultimate step m avoiding periodic wars is to make statesmen responsible to the law. I cannot subscribe the nerverted reasoning tlia.t society mav e ad P van£ and strengthen the of law bv the expenditure of morally innocent lives.”

PRISONERS CHEERFUL. their places ;"f thM»e. B% smiled for .the first ■Hmp sine© tli© - "trisii ✓ , Colonel Robert Storey, a member .of f he the United S?a?e™ submiHing^raUngdred Germ Than° 2500 n * S They ranged from more- than 2oUU letterß ' discovRosenbergs.dmrv a - n a . cast i e ered behind a tai.e T.uftwaffe rein Eastern Bavana_^itier, g p ropo sed cords secreted j Storey describe alpine redoubt.. 9 intelligence teams ed how- special scoured Germany tor . , w ess p U t the pnsoners except.B« on, their oarphones the Court to the UOTal

laborious, tedious method of introducing documentary after which a second member of the American prosecuting team, Mr Ralph Albrecht, presented a chart of the construction of the Nazi Party. Mr Albrecht drew attention to the fact that Goering and Hess were .Hitler’s chosen successors, at which Hess, leaned ' forward- and stared inquiringly at Goering. —. All gazed coldly at Frick ‘when Mr Albrecht stated that he had certified to the accuracy of a chart of the German Government organisation which was the next document presented. Mr Albrecht, in the course of a detailed description of the manner in which the Nazis took over all the Government posts, corrected an earlier statement 'and pointed out Goering was always first successor-designate to the Fuehrer, with which Goering nodded emphatic agreement. HESS INTERESTED.

Large charts with which Mr Albrecht illustrated how the Nazis blended the Government and party organisations interested Hess more than anything in the trial. Mr Albrecht said the Reich Defence Council was established not later than May, 1935. This was a war-planning body of which Hitler was chairman. Goering nodded vigorously. Goering nodded about 20 times and smiled broadly when Mr Albrecht mentioned the four-year plan for which he was responsible, but most of the prisoners gave up trying to follow the prosecutor through the maze of names on the chart. Hess conversed lengthily with Ribbentrop, frequently laughing. Major Frank Wallis' continued the prosecution’s case after the 'luncheon adjournment. He explained that lie was presenting documents covering the history of the Nazis’ attempts before the war to achieve four main objectives: (1) To overthrow the Treaty of Versailles. (2) To acquire territory lost by Germany in World War I. (3) To acquire territory inhabited by Germans. (4) To acquire other -territory for living space. The Nazis determined to achieve these objectives by legal or illegal means, including war. Rosenberg and Streicher were particularly prominent in spreading the master-race doctrine. Rosenberg nodded his head slightly at the .mention of the master race. At the direction, of Lord Justice Lawrence Major Wallis agreed to provide the defence with copies of all the documents.

The accused appeared surprised when Major Wallis produced the minutes of the first meeting of Hitler’s Cabinet and even more surprised when he produced the minutes of meeting after meeting. The minutes gave the prisoners’ own words in discussing ways and means of setting aside Germany’s Constitution and persuading the Reichstag to pass an enabling Act giving the Nazis unlimited power. The minutes of the second meeting of Hitler’s Cabinet showed that Goering . suggoeted that a majority in the Reichstag could be achieved by preventing the Social Democrats: from attending. Von Neurath offered to arrest the Communists and re-educate them.

Major Wallis produced records showing that 115 members of the Reichstag- were absent when the decision was made to suppress the Communists. The Cabinet minutes showed that these were already in concentration camps.

Major Wallis read a secret decree issued by Bormann : “Until the people are separated from the Church, the National Socialist Party cannot gain control. No one would know anything about Christianity unless dulled by the pastors. If youth is not introduced into Christianity, Christianity will disappear- of itself.” The Court adjourned.