SLAVES FOR NAZIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26026, 14 December 1945, Page 5

SLAVES FOR NAZIS

MILLIONS RECRUITED NUREMBERG EVIDENCE NUREMBERG, Dec. 12. “ Innocent civilians died like flies. The recruiting was like the worst days of slave labour.” said the assistant American prosecutor. Mr T. J- Dodd, describing at the war criminals’ trial how the Germans scoured Europe for slave labour to keep the war machine going. , , On October 5, 1942, Fritz Sauckel, as Delegate-general for Labour Recruitment, wrote to Alfred Rosenberg, reporting that Hitler needed 2,000.000 more slave labourers. He had given Sauckel power to seize that number. Sauckel ordered the Ukraine to provide 225,000 labour personnel by December 31, 1942, and 225,000 more by May 1, 1943. Another letter from Sauckel to Rosenberg, dated March 18. 1943, stated that another 1,000,000 Soviet citizens were to be shipped to Germany urgently to work in the armaments industry. The shipment of 10,000 male and female labourers a day was set by Rosenberg, and Sauckel combed the occupied territories ceaselessly, hunting for slave labour. Mr Dodd quoted a letter to Dr Frank from the chairman of the Ukrainian Committee, stating: “ A wild and ruthless manhunt which is being carried out everywhere in the streets, the squares, the stations, and even in the churches, and at night in the houses, has badly shaken the feeling of security everywhere.” Rebellious Ukrainians Documents were produced to show that Rosenberg decided to impress on the “ increasingly rebellious Ukrainian youth,” that orders had to be followed. Besides burning down houses special troops were directed to kidnap people for the German labour market. A police directive, dated March 19, 1943, ordered S.S. troops to use force, adding: “As a rule no more children will be shot.” Mr Dodd added that Rosenberg had lo admit by July 14, 1943, that his recruitment of labour was having disastrous effects. A secret document pointed out that, due to sweeping drives by S.S. police, great areas of farm lands in the conquered territories could not be used, as the population was not there, and villages had been razed to the ground. Deportation of workers to Germany started on a grand scale by the end of April, 1942. By January, 1945, there were more than 4,000,000 foreign workers, representing 14 different nationalities, in Germany. Of these, according to Sauckel. not more than 200,000 had entered the country voluntarily. Mr Dodd said Sauckel kept a staff of men and women agents to get Frenchmen drunk, then shanghai them to Germany. Sauckel also persuaded Laval to impose the death penalty on anyone trying to sabotage the German labour recruiting programme. A total of 6,691,000 foreign workers had been put to work in Germany up to January, 1945. The Russians topped the list with 2,500.000, of whom 600,000 were prisoners of war. The French were second with 1,525,000, of whom 750,000 were prisoners of war. Admiral Horthy as Witness

The ex-Regent of Hungary, Admiral Horthy, who is in Nuremberg, will be called as a witness in the trial. Goering, von Schirach, Frank, and Speer are reconciled to getting the death penalty at the end of the trial, said Dr Gustave Gilbert, Columbia University psychologist, in an interview with Reuter’s Nuremberg correspondent. Dr Gilbert, who has studied the accused since they were arrested, said Goering told him that he joined the Nazi Party because it was the only party which had the guts to say, “ To hell with Versailles.” Von Schirach was resigned, and looked on the death sentence as a just punishment for getting involved in an ideology which he was unable to evaluate. Frank, who has been converted to the Roman Catholic faith since his capture, declared that Hitler was the embodiment of evil.

Speer felt that, while nothing was upon his conscience, he was vicariously responsible for the evils of the party. Streicher boasted that he had the right to die a martyr’s death.