14 Dec.
45
speech delivered by Himmler to officers of the SS on a
day commemorating the presentation of the Nazi flag. It is contained in
a compilation of speeches delivered by Himmler, and was captured by the
Counter-Intelligence branch of the United States Army. The exact date of
the speech does not appear in the exhibit, but its contents plainly show
that it was delivered sometime after Poland had been overrun. I quote
from the second to the eighth lines of Page 1 of the English text. In
the German text this quotation appears on Page 52, lines 2 to 10. In
this speech Himmler said, and I quote:
"Very frequently the member of the
Waffen-SS thinks about the deportation of these people here. These
thoughts came to me today when watching the very difficult work out
there performed by the Security Police, supported by your men, who
help them a great deal. Exactly the same thing happened in Poland in
weather 40 degrees below zero, where we had to haul away thousands,
ten thousands, a hundred thousand; where we had to have the toughness
— you should hear this but also forget it again — to shoot
thousands of leading Poles."
I
repeat the latter statement:
"Where we had to have the toughness .
. . to shoot thousands of leading Poles."
Such
Poles from the incorporated area as managed to survive the journey to
the Government General could look forward, at best, to extreme hardship
and exposure to every form of degradation and brutality. Your Honors
will recall Defendant Frank's statement contained in Document Number
EC-344(16), now Exhibit Number USA-297, which was introduced a short
while ago, that the Polish economy would be reduced to the absolute
minimum necessary for the bare existence of the population.
Your Honors will alto recall Defendant Göring's directive in
Document Number EC-410, now Exhibit Number USA-298, also introduced a
few moments ago, that all industrial enterprises in the Government
General not absolutely necessary for the maintenance of the naked
existence of the Polish population must be removed to Germany. A bare
and naked existence, by the precepts of the conspirators, meant virtual
starvation.
For the Jews who were forcibly deported to the Government General there
was, of course, absolutely no hope. They were, in effect, deported to
their graves. The Defendant Frank, by his own admissions, had dedicated
himself to their complete annihilation. I refer Your Honors to the Frank
diaries, conference volume, 1941, October to December, which is Document
Number 2233(d)-PS, which was introduced by Major Walsh earlier as
Exhibit Number USA-281.