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Volume V · Page 150
| on 8 July 1942, and he sought to justify such seizures with these remarks: |
"Since these Poles began to steal the fodder for their animals after they had lost their agriculture enterprises, and furthermore because the resettlers were in want of the missing live and dead stock which belonged to the farms, it became necessary for economic reasons to confiscate this stock and to return it to the now German farms to which it belonged." |
| The confiscation of property with which Greifelt dealt extended to both public and private property. In a "secret" report to Himmler on 21 October 1943, Greifelt, in opposing a loan plan which had been suggested by the Reich Minister of Finance, stated: |
"The plan will endanger the execution of plans repeatedly outlined by the Reich Leader SS in conversations with the undersigned. In these plans it was foreseen to utilize the entire amount of confiscated former Polish landed property in the Incorporated Eastern Territories, including as far as possible municipal and industrial property under the administration of the Main Trustee Office "Ost", as separate property of the Reich Commissioner in order to make the financing of subsequent settlement tasks in the new territories at least in part independent of the Reich finances * * *." |
| Greifelt further opposed this plan because certain aspects of the plan would reveal to the world the secret aim of the Nazis to confiscate all Polish property, and would make useless an ordinance previously issued for the purpose of camouflaging the aim of the Nazis in regard to Polish property. Greifelt reminded Himmler that — |
"On the basis of this figure it would be possible for everybody in foreign countries to calculate that the entire Polish house property without exceptions has been confiscated. The reasons for hesitation dictated by international law and foreign policy, which in 1940 were conclusive for formulating the ordinance concerning Polish property in such a way that it could not be realized by any uninitiated person that actually all Polish property was supposed to be confiscated, would thus be thrown overboard." |
| For the ruthless and indiscriminate
confiscation of property without regard whatever to military necessity Greifelt
bears full responsibility. The evidence on this specification of the indictment is insufficient to prove the guilt of the other defendants connected with the Staff Main Office. VoMi was directly connected with the plunder and confiscation of property for the evidence unquestionably shows that many con- […fiscations] |
