4 Jan. 46

HÖLLRIEGEL: I saw that they were approaching the precipice near the quarry. I saw from my watchtower that these two SS men were beating the prisoners and I realized immediately that they intended to force them to throw themselves over the precipice or else to push them over. I noticed how one of the prisoners was kicked while lying on the ground, and the gestures showed that he was supposed to throw himself down the precipice. This the prisoner promptly did under the pressure of the blows — presumably in despair.

COL. AMEN: How steep was the precipice?

HÖLLRIEGEL: I estimate it to be 30 to 40 meters.

COL. AMEN: Was there a term used amongst you guards for this practice of having the prisoners fall from the top of the precipice?

HÖLLRIEGEL: Yes, in Mauthausen Camp they were called paratroopers.

COL. AMEN: The witness is available to other counsel.

THE PRESIDENT: Does the Russian Prosecutor or the French Prosecutor or any defense counsel have any questions?

DR. SAUTER: Witness, I am interested in the following points: You said just now that in 1939 you were taken into the SS?

HÖLLRIEGEL: That is true; on the 6th of September ...

DR. SAUTER: One moment; please repeat your answer.

HÖLLRIEGEL: That is right. On the 6th of September 1939 I was taken into the SS at Ebersberg near Linz.

DR. SAUTER: Had you no connection at all with the Party before then?

HÖLLRIEGEL: Yes. In April 1938 I enlisted in the civilian SS, because I was out of work during the entire previous period of the Schuschnigg Government and without any support, and consequently I thought, I would join the civilian SS; there I would get work in order to marry my wife.

DR. SAUTER: Then, if I understood you correctly, you were drafted into the SS in 1939, because you had already voluntarily enlisted in the civilian SS in the spring of 1938?

HÖLLRIEGEL: I cannot say that exactly. Many were drafted into the Armed Forces, into the Air Force, and into the General SS.

DR. SAUTER: Are you an Austrian?

HÖLLRIEGEL: Yes.

DR. SAUTER: Then at that time you lived in Austria?

HÖLLRIEGEL: Yes, in Graz.

DR. SAUTER: Then I should be interested in a certain point in regard to the Defendant Von Schirach. You saw the Defendant Von Schirach at Mauthausen. How often did you see him there?