. NMT05-T1033
Volume V · Page 1033
| chief of Amtsgruppe D and Inspector of the
Concentration Camps, he was informed about the program for the extermination of
the Jews in Auschwitz, but that he did not participate in this program in any
way, even though he was asked by Gluecks to do so. Immediately after this
conversation with Gluecks, Pohl gave to Maurer an order concerning this program
at Auschwitz. He further testified that all Amt chiefs of Amtsgruppe D had the
permanent permission to enter and visit the concentration camps. The prosecution offered in evidence an affidavit of the defendant Sommer (NO-1065, Pros. Ex. 304), which disclosed that the defendant personally knew of the allocation of between 500,000 and 600,000 inmate laborers from the concentration camps to the various plants and industries. This affidavit further disclosed that prisoners were requested by the plants from Amtsgruppe D (Maurer and Gluecks) or in case of personal connections, from Pohl. The evidence disclosed that from Amt D II, the defendant Sommer furnished guards for the prisoners; that he made tabulations computing the wages due from DAW for concentration camp labor, also, that he reported that 36,784 prisoners from Lublin were supplied during July 1944 to DAW and that DAW was due to pay the sum of 55,176 Reichsmarks for such labor (NO-4181, Pros. Ex. 710). From another affidavit of the defendant (NO-2739, Pros. Ex. 630), it is clearly shown that the defendant was thoroughly familiar with the program for the extermination of the Jews at Auschwitz and of the illegal medical experiments which were carried out in the various concentration camps. The evidence further clearly discloses that the defendant was familiar with "Action Reinhardt," and was guilty of personally participating in this illegal and unwarranted action. The evidence of the prosecution witness Jerzy Bielski, an inmate at Auschwitz from August 1942 until October 1944, tended to show that the defendant Sommer personally murdered two inmates at Auschwitz. After a careful review of all the evidence the Tribunal is of the opinion that the defendant Sommer was not guilty of these two atrocious murders and that the witness Bielski was mistaken as to the identity of the person responsible for such crimes. There is evidence in the case which tends to show that the defendant Sommer actually knew of the existence of crematories and gas chambers in the concentration camps, and the purposes for which they were used. Wolfgang Sanner, witness for the prosecution, testified that during 1944 and 1945 he was an inmate and was working on labor |
