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Volume III · Page 1120
say that I regret that because of this war and through these death sentences many people, who were otherwise all right, had to lose their lives." |
| As an illustration of the type of case which
was prosecuted under this law, we cite the case of the defendant who said to a
woman: "Don't you know that a woman who takes on work sends another German
soldier to his death?" This offense was described by Lautz and Rothaug as a
serious case of undermining the military efficiency of the nation. The office
of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the People's Court was vested with a wide
discretion in connection with the assignment of cases to the various courts for
trial. It will be recalled that the malicious acts law of 20 December 1934
provided for punishment of persons who made false or treacherous statements
"fit to injure the welfare or prestige of the government and of the Reich",
etc. Under this law moderate punishments by imprisonment were authorized,
whereas, under the law against undermining the defensive strength of the
nation, the death penalty was mandatory. If the prosecutor sent the case for
trial to the People's Court on the charge of undermining, instead of sending it
to a lower court for trial under the malicious acts law, he determined for all
practical purposes the character of the punishment to be inflicted, and yet the
evidence satisfies us that there was no rule by which the cases were classified
and that the fate of the victims depended merely on the opinion of the
prosecutor as to the seriousness of the words spoken. The connection of the defendant Lautz with the illegal Nacht and Nebel procedure is established beyond question. The People's Court acquired jurisdiction of NN cases under the decree of the Reich Minister of Justice of 14 October 1942. Lautz estimated that the total number of NN cases examined by his department was approximately one thousand, of which about two hundred were assigned to the People's Court for trial, but he added that each case could concern several defendants. No good purpose will be served by a second review of the testimony concerning the Nacht and Nebel decree. In harmony with the decision in the case of the United States [et al.] vs. Goering, et al., this Tribunal finds that the secret procedure which was instituted and enforced through the Ministry of Justice constituted a war crime and a crime against humanity. The Chief Public Prosecutor of the People's Court zealously enforced the provisions of this decree, and his conduct in so doing violated the laws and customs of war and the provisions of C. C. Law 10. |
| Treason Cases Involving Border Crossings by Poles |
| Lautz estimated that from 150 to 200 persons were prosecuted for leaving their places of work and attempting to escape from |
