. NMT03-T1134
Volume III · Page 1134
| under the direction of the defendants
Mettgenberg and von Ammon. Von Ammon also participated in a lengthy secret
correspondence concerning the transfer of NN cases to the Special Court at
Oppeln and the necessity of allocating additional judges and public prosecutors
to that court in view of the resultant increase in the volume of work.
The defendant von Ammon held an executive position of responsibility involving the exercise of personal discretion. Within the ministry he was in charge of the section which handled Night and Fog cases. The defendant Mettgenberg stated that the Night and Fog section within his subdivision was headed by von Ammon and that whenever von Ammon had doubts concerning the handling of individual cases joint discussions were held. We quote: |
"When he had no doubts he could decide on matters himself." |
| We have already set forth at length the
statement of von Ammon concerning his knowledge and activities and his
misgivings concerning the entire procedure. The defendants von Ammon and
Mettgenberg were the representatives of the Reich Ministry of Justice at a
conference at The Hague on 2 November 1943 concerning "New Regulations for
Dealing with Night and Fog Cases from the Netherlands". Von Ammon states that
assurance was given by Mettgenberg and himself that close connection would be
maintained between the judicial authorities at Essen and the German authorities
in the Netherlands in the handling of NN cases. We have already quoted a note
signed by von Ammon wherein he remarked that it was "rather awkward" that the
defendants should learn the details of their charges only during the trial and
commented on the insufficiency of the translation facilities in the trial of
French NN prisoners. Von Ammon is chargeable with actual knowledge concerning
the systematic abuse of the judicial process in these cases. In respect to his other activities we refer to our general discussion under the heading "Night and Fog." We find the defendant von Ammon guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity under counts two and three of the indictment. |
| THE DEFENDANT JOEL |
| The professional career of the defendant
Guenther Joel in the Third Reich proceeded at the same pace as his career as a
Party man; in fact, even before the war years his professional career merged
with his career in Nazi organizations, and to be more precise, in the SS and
the SD-the organization which the IMT judgment has declared to be criminal.
He became a member of the NSDAP on 1 May 1933 and entered the Ministry of Justice as a junior public prosecutor (Gerichts- […assessor] |
