and in occupied territories. Its officials and
operatives were selected on the basis of unconditional acceptance of
Nazi ideology, were largely drawn from members of the SS, and were
trained in SS and SD schools. It acted to suppress and eliminate
tendencies. groups, and individuals deemed hostile or potentially
hostile to the Nazi Party, its leaders, principles, and objectives,
and to repress resistance and potential resistance to German control
in occupied territories. In performing these functions it operated
free from legal control, taking any measures it deemed necessary for
the accomplishment of its missions.
Through its purposes, activities, and the means it used, it
participated in and is responsible for the commission of the crimes
set forth in Counts One, Two, Three, and Four of the Indictment.
DIE STURMABTEILUNGEN DER
NATIONALSOZIALISTISCHEN DEUTSCHEN ARBEITERPARTEI (COMMONLY KNOWN AS
THE SA)
"Die Sturmabteilungen der
Nationalsozialistischen Deutschen Arbeiterpartei (commonly known as
the SA)" referred to in the Indictment was a formation of the
Nazi Party under the immediate jurisdiction of the Führer,
organized on military lines, whose membership was composed of
volunteers serving as political soldiers of the Party. It was one of
the earliest formations of the Nazi Party and the original guardian
of the National Socialist movement. Founded in 1921 as a voluntary
militant formation, it was developed by the Nazi conspirators before
their accession to power into a vast private army and utilized for
the purpose of creating disorder, and terrorizing and eliminating
political opponents. It continued to serve as an instrument for the
physical, ideological, and military training of Party members and as
a reserve for the German Armed Forces. After the launching of the
wars of aggression, referred to in Counts One and Two of the
Indictment, the SA not only operated as an organization for military
training but provided auxiliary police and security forces in
occupied territories, guarded prisoner-of-war camps and concentration
camps and supervised and controlled persons forced to labor in
Germany and occupied territories.
Through its purposes and activities and the means it used, it
participated in and is responsible for the commission of the crimes
set forth in Counts One, Two, Three, and Four of the Indictment.
GENERAL STAFF AND HIGH COMMAND OF THE
GERMAN ARMED FORCES
The "General Staff and High Command of the
German Armed Forces" referred to in the Indictment consist of
those individuals who between February 1938 and May 1945 were the
highest com-