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Volume VI · Page 1045
| extent through these war measures is insignificant. The appeal to
sentimentality might have its effects for political propaganda. It has,
however, nothing to do with establishing facts of criminal acts. There is one more lesson to be taken from this basic law of warfare. Any restriction of the use of violence means an exception to the rule.† According to the general principles of all legal systems, it must be clearly recognized as being such an exception, it must be interpreted restrictively, and must be proved by those who refer to it. † See the First Rule of War by Hugo Grotius, De lure pacis ac belli, Carnegie Edition. Volume III, chapter I, Article 2: "In war things which are necessary to attain the end in view are permissible." It might seem strange that such basic considerations about the law of warfare are put at the beginning of the amplifications of the defense in proceedings against industrialists, that is, against private persons. Probably not one of these defendants ever thought during the war that his activity as a businessman had anything to do with international law. It was reserved for this indictment to declare individual citizens participants in the policies of their government and to make them responsible. Due to this fact the defense is bound to concern itself with this government policy and its legality. It is not merely the facts themselves which will be of importance, but the question of how these facts appeared to a German who was not a leading politician. After these premises I shall turn to the problem which I undertook to deal with within the framework of the defense in general, the so-called "deportation for slave labor." I do not think it is necessary to ask the Tribunal — which with patience and, I imagine with a certain surprise, followed the evidence for so many months — to dispel the mist which war propaganda spread over the allocation of foreign labor with the slogan "deportation for slave labor." I shall not occupy myself here with this propaganda slogan, but I shall examine the legal aspect of the so-called "deportation for slave labor." So-called, because here we have a conception which is a novum in international law and its importance calls for careful scrutiny. The broadest interpretation of this conception would embrace any activity by which foreign workers were brought or kept in Germany against their will for work during the war. There is no doubt that the prosecution regards such a form of compulsory service as a violation of international law. The foundation of the indictment with regard to the international law in this case is the Hague Land Warfare Convention dated 1907. From the interesting discussions in this courtroom |
