. NMT03-T1161
Volume III · Page 1161
"Under paragraph III, section 2, of the Penal Law against Poles, the death sentence must be passed if the law threatens with it." |
| Concerning Wdowen, who was a Ukrainian and
therefore could not be sentenced under the law against Poles, the court
commented on the fact that he knew that the Germany economy, on account of
wartime conditions, was dependent on foreign labor, "in particular, labor from
the eastern territories." The court drew the conclusion that Wdowen, who had
used at most only a little force in attempting to protect Kaminska, was guilty
of having taken advantage of extraordinary wartime conditions and of violating
the law against violent criminals. Both defendants were sentenced to death by
the defendant Oeschey. The associated judges in the Kaminska and Wdowen case
were Doctors Gros and Pfaff. They are guilty of having signed the judgment.
Both submitted affidavits and both were cross-examined before this Tribunal.
Dr. Gros stated that Oeschey demanded the severest countermeasures in similar
cases. "We associate ,judges were powerless toward such an attitude. It must be
mentioned that none of the defendants had criminal records, and that they were
eliminated in a most objectionable way by Oeschey for racial and political
reasons." The other associate judge, Dr. Theodor Pfaff, spoke of the Kaminska case as "the most terrible of my entire career. * * * The sentence of death and the consequent execution of these Poles offended my sense of ethics and has continually preyed upon my conscience. I would like to state here that Oeschey forced his will upon us." The two associate judges are to be condemned for their spineless attitude in submitting to the domination of the defendant Oeschey, but we cannot fail to give weight to their statements, which in effect amount to confessions of their own wrongdoing. In this case Oeschey, with evil intent, participated in the government-organized system for the racial persecution of Poles. This is also a case of such a perversion of the judicial process as to shock the conscience of mankind. The progressive degeneration in the administration of justice came to a climax in 1944 and 1945. A decree by Thierack on 13 December 1944 abrogated the rules concerning the obligatory representation of accused persons by defense counsel. It was left for the judge to decide whether defense counsel was required. On 15 February 1945 as a final measure of desperation and in the face of imminent defeat, the law was passed for the establishment of civilian courts martial. The statute provided that sentence should be either death, acquittal, or commitment to the regular court. Pursuant to this law Gauleiter Holz set up a drumhead |
