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be devoted to the hearing of the opening statements of counsel for
the defendants. In view of the limitations of time that are placed upon counsel
for this purpose, the Tribunal respectfully requests that there be no
interruptions of matters unless they be of extreme emergency. We desire to
accord the counsel the full complement of time contemplated by the rules for
their opening statements.
The Tribunal is now ready to hear the opening
statements of counsel for the defendants.
DR. BOETTCHER (counsel for
defendant Krauch) : Your Honors: At the very outset the defense will have to
decide the difficult question of whether its plea ought to be adjusted to the
truly mammoth dimensions of the indictment. Will it have to follow the lines of
the indictment, with its exaggerations made for sensational purposes, or ought
it to follow strictly impersonal, maybe even sober, lines? I have, after due
consideration of the character and the wishes of Dr. Krauch, decided upon
taking the latter course, and I consider myself very fortunate, as a defense
counsel, to defend a client whose attitude is in conformity with my own
feelings. I have, therefore, chosen a way of stating the evidence in this case
which, in its character, tenor, and scope will restrict itself to the
absolutely essential, deliberately avoiding all attempts at creating a
sensation.
In his opening statement General Taylor put special emphasis
on the accusation contained in the indictment that the defendant Dr. Krauch is
among those who bear the greater part of responsibility for the fact that
humanity was afflicted by the most destructive and catastrophic war history has
ever known. He has accused him of mass enslavements, wholesale plunder, and
mass murder. My presentation of evidence will aim at disproving these terrible
accusations in every respect. I shall show in detail that, instead of being an
ambitious and ruthless industrial magnate, Dr. Krauch is an honorable
Christian, a simple man, a research-worker and scientist, conscious of his
responsibilities, who never committed an offense but devoted his whole life to
technical and scientific progress — and this not only for the benefit of
Germany but also for that of other countries, not least for that of the United
States of America.
Under paragraph 19, the indictment states the
following: "The IG synchronized all of its activities with the military
planning of the German High Command." It also specially refers to the
"Vermittlungsstelle W" and, in connection with this, to the activities of the
defendant Dr. Krauch. It further states that: "The IG collaborated in the
drawing up of the Four Year Plan and took part in directing the economic
mobilization of Germany for |
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