The Mazal Library

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NUERNBERG MILITARY TRIBUNAL
Volume V · Page 144

expressed therein, that in the future you give my local allocation headquarters the opportunity to carry out their duties on the basis of instructions issued to them by me without any difficulties."

The nature of the camps operated by VoMi may be seen from a drastic order issued to Lorenz by Himmler on 21 September 1942 after it had been reported to Himmler that Slovenes had escaped from the VoMi camps. Himmler decreed:

"The escape of a Slovene is to be reported immediately by the camp commander of the VoMi to the Gestapo. The Gestapo, in turn, will notify immediately the Higher SS and Police Leader Alpenland.

"The family of the escapee as well as his relatives will be removed immediately from the camp and be taken to a concentration camp. Their children will be taken away from them and sent to a home.

"At once investigation has to be made in the camp in order to determine who knew of the proposed escape and aided it. All men who knew about the escape and lent a helping hand will be hanged in the camp."

It has been established beyond any doubt by voluminous evidence that both Lorenz and Brueckner had knowledge of, and actively engaged in, actions carried out to evacuate and resettle foreign populations, to Germanize enemy nationals, and to utilize enemy nationals as slave labor within the Reich.

COMPULSORY CONSCRIPTION OF ENEMY
NATIONALS INTO THE ARMED FORCES

Both Lorenz and Brueckner are charged under this specification of the indictment.

The evidence discloses that tens of thousands of foreign nationals, after registration in the DVL procedure, were conscripted into the Waffen SS or armed forces. There is an abundance of evidence, in the form of periodical reports, disclosing the extent to which foreign nationals were drafted for military service. For instance, in an information bulletin by RLD on 28 December 1943, the following information is given about the drafting of ethnic Germans for military service: NO-2015, Pros. Ex. 341.

"The first more extensive recruiting of ethnic Germans for the Waffen SS took place in Romania in 1940. This was done under the pretense of recruiting labor for the Reich. In a later, second action, a thousand men belonging to this ethnic German group in Romania were recruited. At that time these recruitments were not made for the purpose of strengthening the Ger- […man]

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