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to the Fuehrer Order, it is evident from all
the testimony in the case that he went along quite willingly with it.
Before leaving the witness stand he stated that he would have been
happy for Hitler to win the war even at the expense of its present condition
with two million Germans killed, the nation in utter ruins, and all of Europe
devastated. This statement has no bearing, of course, on the question of his
guilt under counts one and two, but it is helpful in determining the state of
mind as to whether he obeyed the so-called superior orders with a full heart or
not.
The Tribunal finds from all the evidence that the defendant
accepted the Fuehrer Order without reservation and that he executed it without
truce. The Tribunal finds the defendant guilty under counts one and two of the
indictment.
The Tribunal also finds that the defendant was a member of
the criminal organizations SS and SD under conditions defined by the Judgment
of the International Military Tribunal and is therefore guilty under count
three of the indictment. |
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LOTHAR
FENDLER |
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SS Major Fendler studied dentistry from 1932
to 1934 and served in the Wehrmacht from 1934 to 1936. He then joined the SD.
Fendler served in Sonderkommando 4b, Einsatzgruppe C, from May 1941 to
2 October 1941. During this time, the Sonderkommando was engaged, as all other
Kommandos of the Einsatzgruppe, in the execution of the Fuehrer Order. The
reports show that, during the time that Fendler was with the unit in question,
many executions occurred, Report No. 24-IIA-81, NO-2938, Report No. 19-IIC-49,
NO-2934, and Report No. 111-IIA-44, NO-3155.
Fendler denies
participation in these executions, but he goes further and asserts complete
ignorance of them. In fact, according to his story, he did not learn of the
Fuehrer execution order until after he had severed all connections with the
Sonderkommando.
Fendler submits that his work with the Kommando was
restricted to department III and that he was concerned only with the gathering
of information. Defendant after defendant has asserted that, in doing
department III work, he was utterly ignorant of the functions performed by the
other departments, but one cannot help but observe that department III did not
operate within the confines of a high stone wall separating it from the rest of
the Kommando. An Einsatzkommando in the |
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