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argument advanced throughout the trial in
behalf of the various defendants, that a member of the German Armed Forces
could protest a superior order and not be shot in consequence. Though it is
true the defendant suffered some inconveniences because of his unwillingness to
shoot the people of Duesseldorf, he was not shot or even degraded.
From
all the evidence in the case the Tribunal finds that the defendant is guilty
under counts one and two of the indictment.
The Tribunal also finds the
defendant was a member of the criminal organizations SS, SD, and Gestapo under
the conditions defined by the judgment of the International Military Tribunal
and is, therefore, guilty under count three of the
indictment. |
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ADOLF OTT |
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SS Lieutenant Adolf Ott began his career in
an administrative office of the German workers front in Lindau. He joined the
NSDAP in 1922 and became a member of the SS in 1931. In 1935 he entered the
security service.
There are no complications about the case of Adolf
Ott, except perhaps the meaning he intended to give to the word "execution". In
his pre-trial affidavit he said that his Kommando carried out 80 to 100
executions. At the trial he stated that, by the word execution, he meant the
death of but one person. The context of the affidavit would logically convey a
contrary view because, immediately after speaking of the "80 to 100
executions", he says, "I remember one execution which took place in the
vicinity of Bryansk", and he then proceeds to describe this execution which
involved "corpses". The affidavit also says that the valuables collected
from "these people" were sent to Einsatzgruppe B.
The whole
purport and tenor of this affidavit are to the effect that the word "execution"
is used in the sense of a multiple killing. However, for the purposes of the
ascertainment of guilt or innocence it matters little whether, by "80 to 100
executions", Ott meant the killing of only 80 to 100 people or a multiple of 80
to 100, which multiple, in view of the evidence in this case, would increase
the number of the slain to many hundreds at the very least.
According
to his affidavit, Ott was assigned to Sonderkommando 7b on 15 February 1942
and, according to his testimony in Court, he arrived at the headquarters of the
Kommando in Bryansk on 19 February. He asserted, however, at the trial that he
did not actually take over the leadership of the unit until about the middle of
March. It is the contention of the prosecution that Ott testifyingly delayed
his chiefship of the Kommando until |
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