17 Dec. 45
quote from it. And without so requesting the Tribunal
each time to take judicial notice, I shall assume, in the absence of
questions, that it is so understood. The English translation, to which
we will refer, is Document 1893-PS.
I now proceed to offer evidence on the make-up and powers of the
Reichsleitung or the Leadership Corps, which consisted of the
Reichsleiter or Reich Leaders of the Nazi Party — and they are
shown on that long horizontal list at the top of the chart — the
Hauptämter (main offices), and the Ämter, or officeholders.
The Reichsleiter of the Party were annexed to Hitler, the highest
officeholders in the Party hierarchy. All of the Reichsleiter in the
main office and officeholders within the Reichsleitung were appointed by
Hitler and directly responsible to him.
I quote from the first paragraph of Page 4, Document 1893-PS:
"1. The Führer appoints the
following political directors:
"(a) Reichsleiter and all political directors, to include the
directors of the Womens Leagues, within the Reich Directorate
(Reichsleitung)."
The
significant fact to be grasped is that through the Reichsleitung perfect
co-ordination of the Party and State machinery was guaranteed. The Party
manual puts it this way-and I quote from the fourth sentence of the
third paragraph of Page 20 of that document. You will find the page
number at the-bottom, Page 20. It is a very short quotation. I quote: "In
the Reichsleitung the arteries of the organization of the German people
and of the German State merge."
If Your Honors please, there is a little different translation in that
portion in your book. To prove ...
THE PRESIDENT: Just a moment, please. It begins, "It is in the
Reich Directorate where the strings of the organization of the German
people and of the German State merge." Is that it?
COL. STOREY: Yes, Sir, that is it. This translation says, "the
arteries of the organization of the German people and of the German
State merge."
To prove that the Reichsleiter of the Leadership Corps included the
most powerful coalition of political overlords in Nazi Germany, it is
necessary only to put in evidence their names. The list of Reichsleiter
now to be offered in evidence will include the following defendants now
on trial before this Tribunal: Rosenberg, Von Schirach, Frick, Bormann,
Hans Frank, and the late Defendant Robert Ley.
The evidence to be introduced will show that the Defendant Rosenberg
was the leader of an organization named for him, the "Einsatzstab
Rosenberg" — which is not shown on this chart, if Your