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Volume VI · Page 1043
| the course upon which they had embarked, they have only themselves to blame. Dr. Kraus' question has often been asked before, and has often been answered; one answer has been given in the judgment of the International Military Tribunal:¹ | |
"Hitler * * * had to have the cooperation of statesmen, military leaders, diplomats, and businessmen. When they, with knowledge of his aims, gave him their cooperation, they made themselves parties to the plan he had initiated. They are not to be deemed innocent because Hitler made use of them, if they knew what they were doing. That they were assigned to their tasks by a dictator does not absolve them from responsibility for their acts. The relation of leader and follower does not preclude responsibility here any more than it does in the comparable tyranny of organized domestic crime." |
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| But there is perhaps a more fundamental answer to Dr. Kraus’
ethical problem. Unfortunately, this is a most imperfect world and frequently a
violent world. Everywhere and every day, men and women are subjected to stress
and strain and temptation and threats. It is a very lucky man who goes through
life without ever being confronted with a situation where he must show some
degree of courage in order to avoid behaving in a shameful fashion. During the
past 8 years, countless men and women of many nations have been required to
face danger and death at the risk of being held criminally answerable if they
failed to meet the test. I know of no reason why these defendants should not be
held answerable by the same standards that countless thousands of far more
deserving men and women have measured up to. It is, to be sure, an unhappy shortcoming of mankind that civilized standards of behavior are not self-sustaining, and that they must be continually reinforced by a system of reward and punishment. It gives no pleasure to me or, I am sure, to any member of my staff, to ask that these defendants be punished for what they have done. But the record in this case leaves us no alternative. The distinguished French jurist, M. de Menthon, has reminded us that:² |
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"* * * like all ethical rules, those which should govern international relations will never be definitely established unless all peoples succeed in convincing themselves that there is definitely a greater profit to be gained by observing them than by transgressing them. That is why your judgment can contribute to the enlightenment of the German people and of all peoples." |
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| GENERAL TAYLOR: That concludes the statement, Your Honor. | |
¹ Ibid., Volume I, page 226.
² Ibid., Volume V, page 426.
955487 — 52 — 68
