(Part 2 of 8)
[COLONEL L. N. SMIRNOV continues]
[Page 45]
The offensive on the Western Front, which began on 10 May,
1940, diverted the attention of world public opinion from
the crimes committed under the personal direction of Frank,
and permitted Frank to have several thousand representatives
of the Polish intelligentsia condemned to death by court-
martial and exterminated.
I quote Frank's statement at the police conference held on
30 May, 1940, where this crime was finally decided upon. I
begin this quotation on Page 86 of the document book, sixth
paragraph:
"The offensive in the West began on 10th May. On that
day the centre of interest shifted from the events
taking place here. It would be a matter of
[Page 46]
complete indifference to me if the deeds attributed by
atrocity propaganda and lying reports all over the world
to the National Socialist authorities in these districts
worried the Americans, the French, the Jews-or the Pope
in Rome for that matter. But it was terrible for me and
for all of us to be told unceasingly during all these
months by the Ministry of Propaganda, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and even
the Army, that ours was a regime of murder, that these
crimes of ours were to cease and so forth.
And we had to say, of course, we would no longer do it.
It was equally clear that up to that moment, under the
cross-fire of the whole world, we could not do anything
of the kind on a large scale.
But, since 10 May, we are completely indifferent to this
atrocity propaganda. We must use the opportunity to
hand."
I omit two paragraphs and continue with the quotation:-
"I frankly admit that it will cost the lives of
thousands of Poles and that they will be taken mainly
from leading members of the Polish intelligentsia.
In these times, we as National Socialists are bound to
ensure that no further resistance is offered by the
Polish people."
I draw the attention of the Tribunal to this sentence
particularly:-
"I realise the responsibility we are thus assuming."
I omit one paragraph and continue the quotation, which the
Tribunal will find on Page 86 of the document book, fifth
paragraph.
"Furthermore, S.S. Obergruppenfuehrer Kruger and I have
decided that measures should be speeded up.
I ask you, gentlemen, to take the most rigorous measures
possible to help us in this task. For my own part, I
will do everything in my power in order to facilitate
its execution.
I appeal to you as the champions of National Socialism,
and I need surely say nothing further. We will carry out
this measure and I may tell you in confidence that we
shall be acting on the Fuehrer's orders. The Fuehrer
said to me, the handling of German policy in the
Government General and its establishment on a firm basis
is a matter which devolves personally on the responsible
men in the Government General.
He expressed himself in this way: 'The men capable of
leadership whom we have found in Poland must be
liquidated. Those succeeding them must be eliminated in
their turn.'
There is no need to burden the Reich and the Reich
police organisation with this. There is no need to send
these elements to Reich concentration camps, and by so
doing involve ourselves in disputes and unnecessary
correspondence with their relations. We will liquidate
our difficulties in the country itself and we will do it
in the simplest way possible."
I conclude this quotation and pass on to Page 87, second
paragraph. I think that this quotation is characteristic,
for it was precisely Frank, as the diary proves, who first
thought about the creation of special concentration camps,
later officially known as "Vernichtungslager" or
"Extermination Camps".
I quote from the same speech of Frank (Page 9, first
paragraph):-
"As to the concentration camps, we know perfectly well
that these, in the true sense of the word, are not going
to be organised in the Government General. Every
suspected person must be immediately liquidated.
Internees from the Government General at present in
concentration camps in the Reich must be handed over to
us for operation AB or liquidated on the spot."
I quote further from the same speech in the section -
"further excerpts from the diary of Hans Frank concerning
the year 1940". The Tribunal will find this place
[Page 47]
on Page 94 of the document book, fifth paragraph:-
"We cannot burden the concentration camps in the Reich
with our affairs. We had terrible trouble with the
Cracow professors. If we had done the thing from here,
it would have been different. For this reason I would
ask you most urgently not to send any more people to
concentration camps in the Reich but to liquidate them
here or to impose punishment according to regulations.
Any other method is a burden for the Reich and a
perpetual source of trouble. We have an entirely
different method of treatment here and we must adhere to
it. I must point out expressly that even if peace is
concluded, this treatment will not be altered. Peace
will only mean that as a World Power we should continue
more intensively the same general political operations."
I deem it opportune to draw the attention of the Tribunal to
the fact that all the major extermination camps were indeed
located on the territory of the "Government General."
The fascist crimes ran in cycles, and varied in enormity,
and if in 1940 Frank made a long speech to the policemen
justifying the so-called "actions" with regard to several
thousand Polish intellectuals, then on 18 March, 1944, in
his speech at the Reichstag, he stated: I quote from Page 93
of the document file, third paragraph:-
"18 March, 1944. Speech at the Reichstag.
Dr. Frank: If I had gone to the Fuehrer and said:
'Fuehrer, I have to report that I have destroyed a
further 150,000 Poles', he would say, 'All right, if it
was necessary'."
This Fascist specialist on legal questions annihilated three
million Jews in the territory under his jurisdiction, which
fell only temporarily into the hands of the fascist
invaders. I now quote from a speech made by Frank at a
business meeting of the N.S.D.A.P. spokesmen in Cracow on 4
March, 1944, and the Tribunal will find this excerpt on Page
93 of the document book, second paragraph:-
"Dr. Frank: If there are any woebegone souls to-day who
bemoan the fate of the Jews and say, with tears in their
eyes: 'Isn't it awful what is being done to the Jews',
we should ask them if they are still of the same opinion
now. If we had on the one hand two million Jews carrying
on their activities and on the other the few Germans in
the country to-day, we would no longer have control of
the situation. Jews are a race which must be eradicated.
When we catch one of them, it is the end of him."
I pass on to that part of Frank's diary -
THE PRESIDENT: Shall we adjourn now?
(A recess was taken.)
COLONEL SMIRNOV: Mr. President, I received information from
our staff that the 11 pages which were not incorporated into
the English text in your possession were handed to you. Is
it true, sir ?
THE PRESIDENT : Yes.
COLONEL SMIRNOV: I am quoting now from Frank's diary at the
place which the Tribunal will find on Page 93 of the
document book, second paragraph below the title: "Meeting of
political leaders of N.S.D.A.P. in Cracow, on 15 January,
1944 It begins thus:-
"Dr. Frank: I did not hesitate to say that for every
German killed, up to a hundred Poles would be shot. "
In these dark days the Polish people regarded the victims of
Frank and of his henchmen as martyrs.
That, it seems to me, is the reason that on 16 December,
1942, at a Government meeting in Cracow - I am quoting
excerpts from the diary on Page 92 in the document book,
third paragraph after the heading - Frank stated:-
[Page 48]
"We must consider whether, for practical reasons,
executions should not be carried out as far as possible
on the spot where the murder of a German was attempted.
It might also be as well to consider whether special
places for execution should be chosen, as it has been
established that the Polish population flocks to the
scenes of execution, which are accessible to everyone,
for the purpose of filling vessels with the blood-
stained earth, and taking them to church."
I brought Frank's diary to your attention, your Honours,
because he was one of Hitler's closest associates and
because this very well-known "learned" jurist of fascism was
actually a positive alter ego of those who cut in two the
bodies of children in the Yanov Camp. At the same time he
was one of the creators of that part of the legal code of
the German fascists which completely negatived justice.
After all, the whole miserable juridical wisdom of "Mein
Kampf" fundamentally comes down to just one wicked formula,
that is, that "might is right". I studied this book and
found no other sense in the text. I quote the sixty-fourth
edition, Page 740.
Frank was to Hitler that necessary evil gnome of
jurisprudence whom Hitler needed to clothe in legal form the
inhuman theories of fascism.
To prove how far went the profanation of the basic ideas of
justice incorporated in the criminal and civil law of all
civilised people, I submit to the Tribunal the original copy
of one of Frank's directives published in the official
bulletin of the Governor General for 1943. It is dated 2
October, 1943, and is being presented by the Soviet
delegation to the Tribunal as Exhibit USSR 335. The Tribunal
will find the document quoted on Page 95 of the document
book
I quote the document in full:-
"Decree
Measures against attacks on German constructional work
in the Government General, issued 2 October, 1943.
On the basis of paragraph 5, Section 1, of the Fuehrer's
decree of 12 October 1939 (Reichsgesetzbl.1 2077), I
decree, until further notice:
Paragraph 1.
(1) Non-Germans who violate laws, decrees, official
regulations or orders with the intention of hampering or
interfering with German construction work in the
Government General will be punished by death.
(2) Section 1 does not apply to nationals of countries
allied to the Greater German Reich or those which are
not at war with the Reich.
Paragraph 2.
The abettor and the accomplice will be considered as
equally guilty with the perpetrator; the same penalty
will be exacted in the case of attempted violations as
in the case of those actually committed.
Paragraph 3.
(1) The summary courts of the police shall be competent
to pass judgement.
(2) The summary court of the Security Police may pass
the matter to the German Public Prosecution if there are
special reasons for doing so.
Paragraph 4.
The summary courts of the Security Police will consist
of an S.S. Fuehrer belonging to the office of the
Commander of the Security Police and Security Service
and two members of the office.
[Page 49]
Paragraph 5.
(1) The following shall be recorded in writing:-
1.The names of the judges.
2. The names of those on whom sentence is passed.
3. The evidence on which judgement was based.
4. The offence.
5. The date on which the sentence was imposed.
6. The date on which the sentence was put into
effect.
(2) In matters not covered by the above, the Summary
Court of the Security Police will decide upon its
procedure after proper consideration.
Paragraph 6.
Sentences passed by the Summary Court of the Security
Police will be put into effect without delay.
Paragraph 7.
In cases where an offence against Paragraphs 1 and 2 of
this decree also constitutes another offence which must
be dealt with by the Summary Court, only those
paragraphs of this decree are applicable which relate to
procedure.
Paragraph 8.
This decree will come into force on 10 October, 1943.
Cracow, 2nd October, 1943,
The Governor General
FRANK."
In this manner, point one of the first paragraph established
one single punishment, that is, death, for practically any
action of a " Non-German", regardless of whether such action
was classified by the German Overlords as constituting a
breach of law or a violation of an administrative order.
The same punishment was to be exacted for any attempt at
similar actions in which the police officials could include
practically any actions or words of a suspected person
(paragraph 2 of the above-quoted document).
The defendant was deprived of any procedural rights and
guarantees. The document which, in accordance with paragraph
5, was to take the place of the court verdict was, as is
evident from the particulars which had to be recorded in
writing, actually to serve the purpose of registering
individual cases of summary justice and not the purpose of
finding justifiable bases for the application of punishment.
Every possibility of cassation or appeal to the higher
authorities was excluded. The verdict was to be carried out
immediately.
And finally, even the "court" procedure itself, based on
Frank's directives, was actually merely a mockery of
justice. The court - and it seems to me that word "court"
should be in quotation marks - consisted of three officials
of the same S.D. which kept arresting innocent people on the
streets of Polish towns and organising wanton mass shootings
of hostages.
How justified are the conclusions which are made by me on
the basis of the aforementioned document, you shall see from
the text of another document submitted to the Tribunal as
Exhibit USSR 332. In the document book which is being
submitted to the Tribunal, is contained the original copy of
the minutes of the interrogation of the attorney, Stefan
Korbonski; it also contains a translation of the document
into Russian, which was certified by the members of the
Polish Delegation. Stefan Korbonski lives in Warsaw and,
according to information received from the Polish
Delegation, should the Tribunal consider it necessary to
call him for cross-examination, he can be brought here.
I shall take the liberty to express in my own words the
introductory part of the document.
After having been sworn in Warsaw on 31 October, 1945,
Stefan Korbonski, who is a lawyer, was interrogated, and
testified that he was one of the leaders of
[Page 50]
resistance among the Polish people against the German
invaders. This can be found in the first paragraph of the
text of the minutes. In the second half of the minutes the
Tribunal will find in the document book, from Page 98 to
Page 102, that Stefan Korbonski speaks of exactly the same
directives of Frank's as were read into the record by me
just now. In paragraph one of the interrogation minutes he
states that, in the beginning of October, 1943, the Germans
posted on the walls of the houses in Warsaw and other cities
of the Government General the text of that particular order
which I read into the record.
I continue the quotation to the end - omitting the first
part on Page 99 in the document book which is in the
possession of the Tribunal - because it seems to me that
this document is very characteristic:-
"Soon after the publication of this decree and quite
apart from the increasing number of executions performed
by the Germans in secret in what used to be the Warsaw
Ghetto, in the Warsaw jail, which was called 'Pavwiac,'
the Germans began to introduce public executions, that
is, shooting of whole groups of Poles of from 20 to 200
persons.
These public executions were carried out in various
districts of the city, in streets usually open to normal
traffic, which were surrounded by the Gestapo guards
immediately before the actual executions, so that the
Polish population caught within the surrounding district
would have to watch the executions either in the
streets, or from the windows of the houses situated
right behind the backs of the Gestapo men.
During these executions the Germans shot either people
from the 'Pavwiac' where they were confined after their
arrest during raids in the streets, or people caught
immediately before the actual execution. The number of
these public executions, as well as the number of
persons executed each time, kept increasing until 200
persons were shot each time. These executions continued
until the very beginning of the Warsaw insurrection. At
first the Germans transported the Poles to the place of
execution in covered trucks. They were clad in civilian
clothes, and sometimes their hands were tied behind
their backs. However, as the victims thus brought to the
place of execution usually shouted 'Down with Hitler',
'Long Live Poland', 'Down with the Germans', and similar
things, the Germans took steps to prevent the
possibility of any such disturbances and began to fill
their mouths with cement, or seal their lips with
adhesive tape. The victims were brought from the
'Pavwiac' clad in shirts, or in clothes made out of
paper.
I often received information from our underground
organisation, through our agents who were working in the
Pavwiac jail, that shortly before the execution the
Germans usually performed operations on the condemned.
They bled them and injected various chemical substances
to cause physical weakness, thus preventing any attempts
at escape or at resistance.
This was the reason why the condemned were brought to
the place of execution pale, weak and apathetic, and
barely able to stand on their feet. But even so, they
acted as heroes and never begged for mercy.
The bodies of those who were shot were loaded into
trucks by other prisoners and were taken to what used to
be a Ghetto, where they were usually burned. The
prisoners whose duty it was to transport and to bum the
corpses were mostly those confined in the Pavwiac
prison, it was their regular assignment.
The Polish population immediately covered with flowers
the blood spots which remained on the ground. Lighted
candles were placed where the corpses had been and
crosses and ikons, were hung on the surrounding walls.
During the night members of the underground or
resistance organisations would put an inscription in
lacquer on the walls, such as 'Glory to Heroes', 'Glory
to those who Perished for the Fatherland', and so forth,
When the Germans noticed these inscriptions they
arrested all those who happened to
[Page 51]
be on the spot and led them to the Pavwiac prison.
Sometimes the Germans shot at groups of people kneeling
and praying at the execution spots. Such an incident
took place in Senator Street where several people were
shot and quite a number were wounded.
After each public execution the Germans would put on the
walls of houses lists of the names of those who had just
been killed, and the names of hostages who would be shot
in case the German regulations were not obeyed were
given below.
In Warsaw alone the Germans shot several thousand Poles
in these public executions. This does not include the
victims who were shot in other towns. In the Cracow
District several thousand men were similarly shot."
Thus was carried out Hans Frank's directive, which has
already been submitted by me to the Tribunal. In the light
of Korbonski's testimony it becomes clear, why, on 16
December, 1943, there appears in Frank's diary...
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