After the occupation of Poland, the SA group Sudeten
was used for transporting prisoners of war. Units of the SA were
employed in tile guarding of prisoners in Danzig, Posen, Silesia, and
the Baltic States.
Some SA units were used to blow up synagogues in the Jewish
pogrom of 10 and 11 November 1938. Groups of the SA were concerned in
the ill-treatment of Jews in the ghettos of Vilna and Kaunas.
Conclusion
Until the purge beginning on 30 June 1934, the SA
was a group composed in large part of ruffians and bullies who
participated in the Nazi outrages of that period. It has not been
shown, however, that these atrocities were part of a specific plan to
wage aggressive war, and the Tribunal therefore cannot hold that
these activities were criminal under the Charter. After the purge,
the SA was reduced to the status of a group of unimportant Nazi
hangers-on. Although in specific instances some units of the SA were
used for the commission of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, it
cannot be said that its members generally participated in or even
knew of the criminal acts. For these reasons the Tribunal does not
declare the SA to be a criminal organization within the meaning of
Article 9 of the Charter.
THE REICH CABINET
The Prosecution has named as a criminal
organization the Reich Cabinet (Die Reichsregierung) consisting of
members of the ordinary cabinet after 30 January 1933, members of the
Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich and members of the
Secret Cabinet Council. The Tribunal is of opinion that no
declaration of criminality should be made with respect to the Reich
Cabinet for two reasons: (1) because it is not shown that after 1937
it ever really acted as a group or organization; (2) because the
group of persons here charged is so small that members could be
conveniently tried in proper cases without resort to a declaration
that the Cabinet of which they were members was criminal.
As to the first reason for our decision, it is to be observed
that from the time that it can be said that a conspiracy to make
aggressive war existed the Reich Cabinet did not constitute a
governing body, but was merely an aggregation of administrative
officers subject to the absolute control of Hitler. Not a single
meeting of the the Reich Cabinet was held after 1937, but laws were
promulgated in the name of one or more of the cabinet members. The
Secret Cabinet Council never met at all. A number of the cabinet
members were undoubtedly involved in the conspiracy to make
aggressive war; but they were involved as individuals and there is no