THE PRESIDENT: If you read it yesterday, do not read it again. I do not remember. Was it read yesterday?
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Yes, I read this into the record yesterday.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
I am told that—and I think—that you did not read those lines “from 10 October 1941” at the top of Page 5. I think you had better read them. I am referring to the order of 10 October 1941, which is set out in your exposé.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: This is the excerpt from the order given to the 6th German Army, on 10 October 1941, signed by Von Reichenau. This document is presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-12 (Document Number USSR-12). I quote:
“The troops have an interest in extinguishing fires only inasmuch as military quarters have to be conserved. Otherwise the disappearance . . . also of buildings, is within the limits of the fight of extermination.
“At the end of 1941 and the beginning of 1942 the German command issued a number of orders instructing German army units to destroy, in the course of their retreat under the pressure of the Red Army, everything that had remained unscathed during the occupation. Thousands of villages and hamlets, whole city blocks, and even entire cities are reduced to ashes, blown up, or razed to the ground by the retreating German fascist army. The organized destruction of Soviet towns and villages has become a special branch of the criminal activity of the German invaders on Soviet territory; special instructions and detailed orders of the German command are devoted to methods of devastating Soviet populated centers; special detachments, trained in this criminal profession, are set up for this purpose. Here are some of the many facts which are at the disposal of the Soviet Government:”
Once again I refer to the order addressed to the 512th Infantry Regiment already presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-168 (Document Number USSR-168).
“This order . . . is an exposition, consisting of seven typed pages of the most precisely detailed plan for the methodical destruction of village after village, from 10 December to 14 December inclusive, in the regiment’s area. This order, which follows a model used throughout the German Army, states:
“ ‘Preparations for the destruction of populated centers must be carried out in such a way that:
“ ‘(a) No suspicions whatever be aroused among the civilian population prior to its announcement;
“ ‘(b) The destruction should begin and be carried out in a single blow at the appointed time. On the day in question particularly strict watch must be kept to see that no civilians leave this place, especially after the destruction has been announced.’
“An order of the commander of the 98th German Infantry Division, dated 24 December 1941, after listing 16 Soviet villages designated to be burned down, states:
“ ‘Available stocks of hay, straw, foodstuffs, et cetera, are to be burned. All the stoves in dwelling houses are to be wrecked by placing hand grenades in them, thus making further use of them impossible. This order under no circumstances is to fall into the hands of the enemy.’ ”
The following order of 3 January 1942, issued by Hitler, is of the same nature. The order states:
“ ‘Cling to every populated center; do not retreat a single step; defend yourself to the last soldier, to the last grenade. That is the requirement of the present moment. Every point occupied by us must be turned into a base, which must not be surrendered under any circumstances, even if outflanked by the enemy. If, however, the given point must be abandoned on superior orders, it is imperative that everything be razed to the ground, the stoves blown up. . . .
“ ‘(Signed): Adolf Hitler.’
“Hitler felt no embarrassment about publicly admitting that the devastation of Soviet towns and villages was carried out by his Army. In his speech. . .”
THE PRESIDENT: That order of 3 January 1942, signed by Hitler, is that in the official Soviet State report? Where did it come from?
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: This order is incorporated in the note of People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov. I quote an excerpt from it, a document which was presented to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-51(3).
THE PRESIDENT: That is Mr. Molotov’s report?
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: Yes, this is a note of the Foreign Commissar, Molotov.
THE PRESIDENT: All right.
MR. COUNSELLOR RAGINSKY: “. . . In his speech of 30 January 1942, Hitler stated:
“ ‘In those places where the Russians have succeeded in making a break-through and where they thought that they would once again be in possession of populated centers, these populated centers no longer exist; they are but a heap of ruins.’ ”
While retreating from the Kuban under the thrust of the Red Army, the German High Command worked out a detailed plan of operations which bore the code name of “Movement Krimhild,” and a considerable part of this plan, a whole section, in fact, is devoted to the demolition plan. I omit one paragraph of my report.
This plan is mentioned in a two-page secret document transmitted by telegraph to the chiefs of the higher staffs. The document is signed by Hitler and has the following heading on the first page: “Top secret (A) 2371; 17 copies.” The document which we submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-115 is the 17th copy of the Hitler order. This document is listed as Document Number C-177; in your document book it is contained on Pages 31 to 33. I shall read into the record the second point of this document:
“2. Demolitions in case of retreat.
“(a) All structures, quartering facilities, roads, constructions, dams, et cetera, which may be useful to the adversary have to be thoroughly destroyed.
“(b) All railroads and field railways are to be either removed or completely destroyed.
“(c) All constructed corduroy roads must be torn up and rendered useless.
“(d) All oil wells in the Kuban bridgehead must be entirely destroyed.
“(e) The harbor of Novorossiysk will be so demolished and obstructed as to render it useless to the Russian fleet for a long time.
“(f) Extensive sowing of mines, delayed-action mines, et cetera, also come under the heading of destruction.
“(g) The enemy must take over a completely useless, uninhabitable desert land where mine detonation will occur for months hence.”
Many other documents bear witness of similar orders, but I want to draw the attention of the Tribunal to just two of them. I refer to an entry in the diary of the Defendant Frank which dealt with this subject in particular, as well as a directive issued by the commanding general of 118th German Jäger Division which operated in Yugoslavia.
In Frank’s diary, which has already been submitted to the Tribunal, there is the following entry for 17 April 1944, contained in the volume which was started on 1 March 1944 and ended on 31 May 1944, entitled, “The Business Meeting at Kraków on 12 April 1944.” Your Honors will find the quotation on Page 45 of the document book. I read:
“It is important that the troops be given an order to leave only scorched earth to the Russians. In cases when it becomes necessary to withdraw from a certain area, no distinction should be made between the territory of the Government General and any other territory.”
May I remind the Tribunal that according to Exhibit Number USSR-132 (Document Number USSR-132), which is a secret instruction issued to the 118th German Jäger Division with the signature of Major General Kübler and was captured in June 1944 by units of the Yugoslav People’s Liberation Army, the troops were to treat the population “ruthlessly with cruel firmness” and to destroy the inhabited localities which were abandoned.
May