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| the political tension, and with the spiritual and material distress
of all, and the nerve racking bombing from the air. But the crux of the matter
is the fact that there was no organized system of inhumane treatment in spite
of all the excesses to which individual witnesses have testified. Such a system
cannot even be proved by witnesses like Elisabeth or Ernestine Roth who stated
that she and her colleagues were beaten twenty times a minute. All the
description of the witnesses stop at some sub leader of a camp, a foreman, or
perhaps an assistant of the plant. Since the indictment does not claim that the
defendants personally kicked them or maltreated them (the prisoners), members
of the personnel, that is, workers or officials of the firm Krupp itself, must
be considered as the culprits. The Court knows from the letter of protest,
dated 25 February 1948, which the present works council has forwarded to the
American Military Tribunal III with copy for the prosecution, what opinion the
present personnel of Krupp has of the matter in question. It is stated therein
that the witness Ernestine Roth wanted to prove the collective guilt of the
workers of Krupp. The letter continues as follows; I quote: |
| |
“We protest herewith against
this in the name of our employees whom we represent. We know all too well of
the tragic fate of those who were deported by force. We also know that there
were German and Krupp workers who let themselves be induced to maltreat the
foreign male and female workers under their care. They represent, however, but
a small percentage of the personnel.” |
| |
| These individual cases, can only be of importance in this trial, if
the defendants had knowledge of them and neglected to take steps which they
were in duty bound to take, in order to prevent such incidents in the future.
The prosecution has not stated any facts and has not proved anything. As far as
I can note, all witnesses have declared that they did not submit a report to
higher supervisors with regard to individual incidents. In contradiction to all
this I shall submit material to show how much the defendants were conscious and
aware of their obligations, in accordance with a frequently quoted sentence of
the great founder of the world wide fame of Krupp, Alfred Krupp: “To make
work a blessing, by caring for the welfare of the community.” The Tribunal
will obtain an insight into the system of the plant control and the supervision
in its smallest details, which were destined to guarantee decent conditions in
the plants and for the workers and a good, decent name in the world. In this
connection it should become clear how insignificant politi- […cal]
|
190 |
. 
