. NMT05-T0147
Volume V · Page 147
service men, who had been drafted into the Waffen SS, had already arrived, and that the transport escort troops had already been assigned. Since the minister himself had proposed that the decision about the induction of the labor service men should be left to SS Obergruppenfuehrer Lorenz, and since the latter had decided that the men had to join, he, SS Obersturmfuehrer Heermann, was obliged to regard it as sabotage if the draft orders were withdrawn by command of the legation one day prior to the scheduled departure of the transport trains, particularly as the orders had been submitted as early as a fortnight beforehand * * *." |
| Thus, Lorenz’ activity, not only by way
of consent but by way of direction, in the compulsory induction of foreign
nationals is made quite clear. The thousands of foreigners inducted into the armed forces of Germany came principally from VoMi camps which were under the supervision of Lorenz. By his activities in forcibly inducting these foreigners under his jurisdiction and supervision, he forced foreign nationals to fight against their own country and their own allies. He bears full responsibility for these deeds. While Brueckner is shown by the evidence to have at one time submitted a draft of an order, under the terms of which "auxiliaries" under certain circumstances were to be inducted into the army, the evidence fails to disclose that the proposed order was ever adopted or carried out. No other evidence of an incriminating nature has been offered against the defendant Brueckner with regard to this specification of the indictment. We find the evidence insufficient to prove Brueckner guilty on this specification. |
| PLUNDER OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY |
| As country after country was overrun by the
Nazis, the plunder of public and private property was carried out on an immense
scale in practically every conquered territory. The plunder seized consisted of
various objects — from cultural property, such as paintings, carpets, and
crystal, to agricultural property consisting of millions of acres of land.
Greifelt, as deputy to Himmler, was deeply involved in the plunder and confiscation of this property. He issued decrees directing that confiscations be carried out; and after confiscations had taken place, he refused to return the property to those from whom it had been confiscated. He was directly involved in the confiscation of many churches, hospitals, and sanitoriums as well as agricultural property. These confiscations were not carried out by reasons of Military necessity, but mainly were a part of a preconceived plan |
