The argument in defense of the charge with regard to
the murder and ill-treatment of Soviet prisoners of war, that the
U.S.S.R. was not a party to the Geneva Convention, is quite without
foundation. On 15 September 1941 Admiral Canaris protested against
the regulations for the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war, signed
by General Reinecke on 8 September 1941. He then stated:
"The Geneva Convention for the treatment of prisoners of war
is not binding in the relationship between Germany and the U.S.S.R.
Therefore only the principles of general international law on the
treatment of prisoners of war apply. Since the 18th century these have
gradually been established along the lines that war captivity is
neither revenge nor punishment, but solely protective custody, the
only purpose of which is to prevent the prisoners of war from further
participation in the war. This principle was developed in accordance
with the new held by all armies that it is contrary to military
tradition to kill or injure helpless people . . . . The decrees for
the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war enclosed are based on a
fundamentally different view-point " This protest, which
correctly stated the legal position, was ignored. The Defendant Keitel
made a note on this memorandum:
"The objections arise from the
military concept of chivalrous warfare This is the destruction of an
ideology Therefore I approve and back the measures"
Murder and Ill-treatment of
Civilian Population
Article 6 (b) of the Charter provides that
"ill-treatment of civilian population of or in occupied
territory . killing of hostages . . . . wanton destruction of cities,
towns, or villages" shall be a war crime. In the main, these
provisions are merely declaratory of the existing laws of war as
expressed by the Hague Convention Article 46, which stated:
"Family honor and rights, the lives of persons and private
property, as well as religious convictions and practice must be
respected."
The territories occupied by Germany were
administered in "violation of the laws of war. The evidence is
quite overwhelming of a systematic rule of violence, brutality, and
terror. On 7 December 1941 Hitler issued the directive since known as
the "Nacht und Nebel Erlass" (Night and Fog Decree), under
which persons who committed offenses against the Reich or the German
forces in occupied territories, except where the death sentence was
certain were to be taken secretly to Germany and handed over to the
SIPO and SD for trial or punishment in Germany. This decree was signed
by the Defendant Keitel. After these civilians arrived in Germany,