. NMT03-T0130
Volume III · Page 130
health of the German people was unobjectionable, that those courts had examined conscientiously whether evidence as to the facts required by the law had been submitted and especially sterilization for political or racial reasons was never decreed. I shall produce a witness to show that this procedure had been carried out in an unobjectionable way, even where Jews were concerned.
Regarding the question of the Night and Fog cases, it will be explained for what reasons and with which results the Night and Fog cases were taken over by the general courts. It also will be set forth what regulations were in force up to the date of Schlegelberger's retiring from office. The extent and the consequences of restricting the proceedings necessitated by maintaining secrecy will be explained.
By submitting documents I shall present evidence about the political development of the National Socialist State and the structure of its administration. I shall present documents referring to legal provisions and their explanations concerning the questions raised by the prosecution. Finally, I shall submit several affidavits which deal with certain questions and help to form a judgment of Schlegelberger's entire personality. I shall produce a witness for the political and administrative conditions in the National Socialist State. Another witness will, as already mentioned, give evidence on the practice of the courts for the protecting of hereditary health of the German people and on general questions regarding sterilization. Finally, I shall name as witness the personal Referent of the defendant who for many years held this position up to the time of Schlegelberger's retirement from office, and who by virtue of his knowledge gained through professional and personal experience will be able to give evidence on numerous questions which have to be discussed.
DR. SCHILF: May it please the Tribunal. By way of introduction, I should like to call attention to the fact that the indictment also clearly implies with regard to my client Herbert Klemm that, permeated as he was with National Socialist convictions, his one endeavor was to realize, by judicial methods and throughout the judicial field, the aims of National Socialist despotism. The indictment also, indeed, implies that he was acquainted himself from the start in detail with the great extent of these aims The prosecution has tried, in connection with each action and with each event that came to light anywhere in the files, to refer everything with which my client was concerned back to that funda- […mental]
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* Tr. pp. 4090-4106.
