2 Jan. 46
offenses; at the same time for asocial
prisoners, that is to say, those who can hardly be corrected —
Camp Mauthausen."
I call
Your Honor's attention to the fact that we have been talking about
Mauthausen, where the "K" action took place.
The Chief of the Security Police and SD had the authority to fix the
length of the period of custody. During the war it was the policy not to
permit the prisoners to know the period of custody and merely to
announce the term as "until further notice." That was
established by Document 1531-PS, which has previously been introduced as
Exhibit Number USA-248; and the only reason for referring to it is to
show that they had the right to fix the length of period of custody.
The local Gestapo offices, which made the arrests, maintained a
register called the "Haftbuch," and I understand Haftbuch
simply means a block or police register. In this register the names of
all persons arrested were listed, together with personal data, grounds
of arrest, and disposition. When orders were received from the Gestapo
Headquarters in Berlin to commit persons who had been arrested to
concentration camps, an entry was made in the Haftbuch to that effect.
I now offer in evidence the original of one of these books, and it is
Document Number L-358, Exhibit Number USA-495. This book was captured by
the 3rd Army when it overran an area; and it was captured by the T-Force
on April 22, 1945, near Bad Sulza, Germany. This book is the original
register used by the Gestapo at Tomaszow, Poland, to record the names of
the persons arrested, the grounds for arrest, and the disposition made
of cases during the period from 1 June 1943 to 20 December 1944.
In the register are approximately 3,500 names of persons. Approximately
2,200 were arrested for membership in the resistance movements and
partisan units. This is a very large book; and I am going to ask the
clerk to pass it to Your Honors so that you might get a look at it. It
is too big to photograph. And if Your Honors will just turn to one of'
the pages, I will read what the different columns provide — just
any one of the pages. There is a double column. It starts on the left
and goes over to the other side. In the first column that heading is
simply a number of the man when he comes in. The next column is his
name. The third column is the family — a brief family history and
his religion. The fourth is the domicile. The next shows the date he was
arrested and by whom — that is the fifth column. The next column,
the place of arrest. And then the next column, the reason for arrest.
And then the next is another number which is apparently a serial number
for delivery. And next to the last column is the disposition. And the
final column, remarks.