. NMT05-T0865
Volume V · Page 865
| a system of murder, torture, and
enslavement. They knew of the aims and practices of that system, and knowing
that, devoted their best efforts to the promotion of that system. They
participated in crimes of unprecedented magnitude and horror. Justice can only be served by capital punishment. |
| * * * * * * * * * * |
| B. Closing Statement for the Defendant Pohl¹ |
| DR. SEIDL (counsel for the defendant Oswald Pohl) : Your Honor, the final plea² for the defendant Oswald Pohl, which is before you now, is, as can be seen by the index, divided into 12 parts. Considering the time at my disposal, I will not read everything I have in the index and I shall limit myself to quoting certain excerpts. In order to give you a clear picture of what is contained in here, I would like to read the index into the record |
No. 1 deals with Control Council Law No. 10, and particularly with the "crime against humanity" clause. |
¹ Closing statement is reproduced in full as it was read in court. However, deletions from original text of speech as prepared by counsel are shown by asterisks.
² The "Final Plea" referred to was a mimeographed plea filed with the Tribunal before the delivery of the closing statement. This plea is not reproduced herein except insofar as Dr. Seidl quotes from it extensively in the closing statement on behalf of the defendant Pohl. Page references pertain to the page numbers of the mimeographed final plea as presented to the Tribunal. The expedient of referring to and reading from a written plea already before the Tribunal was adopted by Dr. Seidl after the Tribunal had made the following statement on 16 September 1947 concerning the time allowed for closing statements: "The Tribunal has before it the motion of Dr. Seidl for the defendant Pohl, asking that he be allowed six hours in which to present his argument. The motion will be denied, but three hours will be allowed. Any argument which Dr. Seidl is unable to present orally may be submitted to the Tribunal in writing and will be read and considered as fully as if he had read it in open court. The Petition of Dr. Heim for two hours for the defendant Hohberg will be denied. He will be allowed the hour and a half which other counsel are allowed." (Tr. p. 7471.)
