To Question British Peers At War Trial

Northern Advocate, 20 December 1945, Page 5

To Question British Peers At War Trial

(Received 1.30 p.m.) LONDON, December 19. AT RIBBENTROPS REQUEST, LORDS KEMSLEY, BEAVERBROOK. LONDONDERRY AND VANSITTART ARE TO BE INTERROGATED. This was disclosed today when the war crimes tribunal’ trying leading Nazis, issued a list of witnesses. The tribunal earlier refused Ribbentropp’s request that they be called as witnesses. Goering’s application to have Lord Halifax; and Sir Alexander Cadogan interrogated was granted by the tribunal. Goering, in his application, claimed to have had secret negotiations with Lord Halifax, then Foreign Secretary, in 1939, in an effort to prevent war Goering said he conducted negotiations with three British Members of Parliament through a Swedish intermediary and later through the same intermediary established direct contact with Lord Halifax.

OTHER WITNESSES

The tribunal has not yet taken action on Georing’s applications to call the journalist, Ward Price, as a witness.

An application from Rosenberg to call a Major Winterbotham as a witness was refused.

The tribunal is allowing Sauckel and Schacht each to call 12 German witnesses, Ribbentrop three, Keitel five and Goering and Hess one each. Streicher has none. Hess’ only witness is Goering. Schacht’s include von Brauchitsch and von Runstedt, One brigade of Hitler’s Brownshirted Stormtroopers alone blew up or burned 35 synagogues in two days declared the American assistantprosecutor (Colonel Storey) at the resumption of the trial today in support of his case to have the S.A. declared a criminal organisation. He said the S.A. was employed as a terroristic group. Its function was to terrorise all political opposition. The S.A. was originally used in the same fashion as the Gestapo,'but after 1934 v% s replaced in many respects by the S.S. PART IN CONSPIRACY Colonel Storey submitted several affadavits describing how members of the S.A. beat up American citizens of Jewish blood in Germany while the police told them they were helpless' to halt attacks as they had no instructions to interfere with the S.A. The Prosecutor contended that members of the S.A. were participators in the conspiracy which contemplated crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It fostered a military spirit throughout Germany, preparing the people mentally and spiritually for vicious, aggressive wars.

After the noon recess, Major Warren Farr, of the American prosecution staff, began presentation of the case against Himmiers S.S. (Schutz Staffel) which was at first composed of 280 men who served -as Hitler’s bodyguard, but which had 240,000 men at the outbreak of war. Major Farr said fighting troops of the S.S.. known as the Waffen S.S., were created on a personal secret order from Hitler in August, 1938. FOR HITLER’S USE The order stated: “The Waffen S.S. is neither part of the Wehrmacht nor part of the police. It is a standing armed unit exclusively at my disposal.” Several of Himmler’s speeches were cited to show that the Nazis planned to make the S.S. the “Nazi aristocracy which would dominate Germany and the Europe to come.” Kaltenbrunner has been transferred from prison to an American army hospital. His condition is reported to be serious from a recurrence of cranial haemorrhage.