18 Dec. 45
principle is particularly applicable because the
affiliation between the SA and the Nazi leaders was closely maintained
and adhered to and was adapted to the purpose of enabling the
conspirators to employ the SA for any use or activity which might be
necessary in the course of effectuating the objectives of the
conspiracy.
Thus we find that the SA was, in fact, conceived and created by Hitler
himself in the year 1921 at the very inception of the conspiracy. Hitler
retained direction of the SA throughout the period of the conspiracy,
delegating the responsibility for its leadership to a Chief of Staff.
Hitler, in fact, was often known throughout Germany as OSAF, or "Oberster
SA Führer," or, translated, meaning the highest SA Führer.
The Defendant Göring was an early member of the SA and he
maintained a close affiliation with it throughout the course of the
conspiracy.
The Defendant Hess participated in many of the early battles of the SA
and was leader of an SA group in Munich.
The Defendants Frank, Streicher, Von Schirach, and Sauckel each held a
position of Obergruppenführer in the SA, a position corresponding
to the rank of Lieutenant General; and the Defendant Bormann was a
member of the staff of the SA High Command.
The close relationship between the SA and the leaders of the Nazi Party
is demonstrated by the fact that the Hoheitsträger of the Nazi
Leadership Corps were authorized to call upon the SA for assistance in
carrying out particular phases of the Party program. This was
established yesterday by Document 1893-PS, which, Your Honors will
recall, I quoted from a number of times in connection with the
presentation of the Leadership Corps. It was declared in that excerpt,
Page 11 of the English translation, as Your Honors will recall, that the
Hoheitsträger were empowered to call upon the SA for the execution
of political missions connected with the movement. This responsibility
of the SA to the Party is also shown by Document 2383-PS, which is an
ordinance for the execution of the Hitler decree, which I now offer in
evidence as Exhibit USA-410. I quote from Page 3 of the English
translation. If Your Honors will turn to Page 3 of the English
translation, it. is the fourth paragraph on Page 3:
"The affiliates of the NSDAP, with
exception of the SS, for whom special provisions apply, are
subordinated to the Hoheitsträger politically and for assignment
to duty. Responsibility for the leadership of the units rests in the
hands of the unit leader."
It was in accordance with such authority, as proved yesterday in the
Leadership Corps presentation, that the SA was used in the seizure of
trade union properties.