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[for…] gotten the human being in these proceedings, which, as
the prosecution asserts, have been instituted for the sake of humanity. It is
the difficult, but at the same time noble, task of the defense to picture the
man Krauch and to prove that Krauch is not a supporter of ruthless and
unscrupulous aggressive war, no robber and no plunderer, no cold-hearted slave
dealer, and no slave driver. The phrases and exhortations of the prosecution
may be effective for political propaganda, but they have nothing to do with
proof of criminal acts. As has already been stressed, I shall, in brief, give
the essential features of the picture for the presentation of evidence; and the
Tribunal will certainly realize that, in view of the gravity of my task, I
cannot leave out any significant small details.
I do not wish to
conclude this opening statement without recalling the moment which, in Dr.
Krauch's and my own opinion, was the most touching one in the course of the
sessions up to now — when Dr. von Keller, on the occasion of the
interrogation of the witness Szpilfogel, expressed deepest regret for all the
suffering to which innocent people had had to submit during those twelve years.
Dr. Krauch and I, myself, have taken those words deeply to heart, and the more
confident we are of the result of our presentation of evidence, the more are we
in a position to conclude this first opening statement of the Farben case with
the words: "In reverence we bow to the unfortunate victims of these unhappy
twelve years." |
| |
| D. Opening Statement for Defendant Schmitz* |
| |
DR. RUDOLF Dix (counsel for defendant Schmitz)
Your Honors:
So-called trials of war criminals have taken place before — after the
First World War, before the German Supreme Court. An English lawyer by the name
of Claud Mullins attended these trials as an observer. In 1921 he wrote a
treatise on them entitled: "The Leipzig Trials." I quote from this
treatise: |
| |
"The War Criminals' Trials were
demanded by an angry public rather than by statesmen or the fighting services.
Had the public opinion of 1919 had its way, the trials might have presented a
grim spectacle of which future generations would |
__________
* Tr. pp. 4721-4729, 18
December 1947. The closing statement on behalf of the defendant Schmitz is
reproduced in section XI D. volume VIII, this series, The final statement of
defendant Schmitz to the Tribunal appears in section XII B 2, volume VIII, this
series.
216 |
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