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reservations were accepted and he was given an honorary rank which
was only registered in the internal SS files. Therefore, Dr. Buetefisch had no
reason to consider himself a member of the SS. Consequently, he had no reason
to refuse. On the other hand, Dr. Buetefisch was also forced to consider what
repercussions his refusal not to accept the honorary appointment afforded him,
would have meant both for himself and for others.
The. Chueden
affidavit shows how difficult a person Kranefuss was, and how easy it was to
offend him. Conversely, Kranefuss had supported Dr. Buetefisch in his various
actions when he repulsed interferences on the part of Party offices, or when he
made it his task to help persecuted people. Dr. Buetefisch would have been
unable to utilize Kranefuss, if he had rejected the latter's offer (especially
as he knew how sensitive Kranefuss was) to accept the honor which was to be
bestowed upon him. Would it have been morally better and more justifiable to
refuse a mere honorary rank, and by doing so, to rob himself of the chance to
help others as before, or does it not even apply today that, by conscientious
weighing the acceptance of a mere registered honorary rank, he did choose the
lesser evil? Only such action deserved to be punished which must be rejected if
measured against the existing ethical laws. An action however, which can be
justified and approved of morally can never be subject to punishment. No matter
what view is taken in evaluating the charges made by the prosecution under
count four of the indictment, none of these views will converge into a
condemnation according to which my client's actions should be punished by law,
and which would make them appear damnable or abominable even from a purely
ethical point of view.
In summing I can say the following: No matter
how thoroughly the various counts of the indictment as far as my client is
concerned are scrutinized, none of them will lead to the conclusion that they
constitute an action which should be punished by law. Because of the short time
at my disposal, I could not submit such a thorough scrutinizing in its entirety
in my final plea, and I therefore refer to my closing brief.* On the other
hand, the prosecution has failed to prove in how far Dr. Buetefisch has
committed acts that are punishable by law. Whatever legal arguments are
advanced, universal international law, Control Council Law No. 10, or other
legal standards, the same identical decision will always be arrived at, that
is: |
| |
| That the defendant be acquitted! |
__________
* Not reproduced herein.
873 |
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