10 Dec.
45
manner in which it was preparing itself to play the
part. I feel, however, that it will be sufficient for the establishment
of our point that the Navy was actively preparing for the attack at this
early date, to read only a small portion of the entry into the record,
beginning on Page 1 of the English translation, which is Page 401 of the
Diary itself. The entry reads:
"30 January 1941.
"7. Talk by Ia about the plans and preparations for the
Barbarossa Case to be submitted to the High Command of Armed Forces."
I should note that "Ia" is in this case the abbreviation for a
deputy chief of naval operations. Then follows a list of the Navy's
objectives in the war against Russia. Under the latter many tasks for
the Navy are listed, but I think one is sufficiently typical to give the
Tribunal an idea of all. I quote from the top of Page 2 of the English
translation:
"II Objectives of War Against Russia
. . .
"d) To harass the Russian fleet by surprise blows as: 1)
Lightning-like actions at the outbreak of the war by air force units
against strong points and combat vessels in the Baltic, Black Sea, and
Polar Sea."
The purpose of
the offer of this document is merely that it indicates the detailed
thinking and planning which was being carried out to implement
Barbarossa almost six months before the operation actually got under
way. It is but another piece in the mosaic of evidence which
demonstrates beyond question of doubt that the invasion of the Soviet
Union was one of the most cold-bloodedly premeditated attacks on a
neighboring power in the history of the world. Similarly the Naval War
Diary for the month of February contains at least several references to
the planning and preparation for the coming campaign. Extracts of such
references are contained in Document C-33, which I am now offering in
evidence as Exhibit USA-133.
I think it will be sufficient to quote for the record as typical the
entry for 19 February 1941, which appears at Page 3 of the English
translation and at Page 248 of the Diary itself.
"In regard to the impending operation
Barbarossa for which all S-boats in the Baltic will be needed, a
transfer can only be considered after conclusion of the Barbarossa
operations."
On the 3rd of
February 1941 the Führer held a conference to assess the progress
thus far made in the planning for Barbarossa. The conference also
discussed the plans for "Sonnenblume," which was the code name
for the North African operation — " Sunflower." Attending
this conference were, in addition to Hitler: The Chief