. NMT03-T1171
Volume III · Page 1171
| In 1932 he was promoted and sent to the Reich
Supreme Court in Leipzig. In 1933 he was a member of the appeals criminal
senate. In 1936 he was a member of the Reich Labor Court. From 1939 to 1943 he
served with the Wehrmacht. In 1943 he was assigned to the Reich Ministry of
Justice where he was made chief of the civil law and procedure division in the
Ministry of Justice with the title of Ministerialdirektor and served in that
capacity until the surrender. He had been a member of the Stahlhelm prior to
the Nazi rise to power. When the Stahlhelm was absorbed into the Nazi
organization, he automatically became a member of the SA. Prior to May 1937 he
resigned from the SA to become a member of the general SS. His membership in
the SS, from his personnel files, dates from 15 May 1937. He applied for
membership in the NSDAP in 1938 and his membership was dated back to 1 May
1937. He was awarded the Golden Party Badge for service to the Party.
Upon the evidence in this case it is the judgment of this Tribunal that the defendant Altstoetter is not guilty under counts two and three of the indictment. The question which remains to be determined as to the defendant Altstoetter is whether, knowing of its criminal activities as defined by the London Charter, he joined or retained membership in the SS, an organization defined as criminal by the International Military Tribunal in the case of Goering, et al. The evidence in this case as to his connection with the SS is found primarily in his personnel record which covers a great many pages, in his correspondence with SS leaders, and his own testimony. From this evidence it appears that the defendant, upon the request of Himmler, joined the SS in May 1937. He stated that Himmler told him he would receive a rank commensurate with his civil status. The record does not indicate what rank in the SS was commensurate with his civil status as a member of the Reich Supreme Court, but on 20 April 1938 he was promoted to Untersturmfuehrer, which corresponds to a second lieutenant in the army. He was subsequently promoted on 20 April 1939 to Obersturmfuehrer; on 20 April 1940 to Hauptsturmfuehrer. On 12 March 1943, according to a letter to the SS Main Personnel Office, signed by Himmler, he was promoted to Sturmbannfuehrer, effective 25 January 1943 and, by the same letter, to Obersturmbannfuehrer as of 20 April 1943, and it was directed that he be issued a skull and crossbones ring. In June 1943 he wrote to the Chief of the SS Main Office, SS Gruppenfuehrer Berger, thanking him for this ring bestowed by the Reich Leader SS. In this letter he wrote: |
