LAST SCENES AT NUREMBERG FINAL PLEAS BY ALL NAZI ACCUSED

Chronicle (Levin), 2 September 1946, Page 7

LAST SCENES AT NUREMBERG FINAL PLEAS BY ALL NAZI ACCUSED

Press Assn.

By Telegraph

-Czpyright

Reeeived Sunday, 7 p.m. NUREMBERG, August 31. All defendants on trial at Nureniberg wure allowed teh niinutes each to make final pl'eas, after which the Judges retired to eonsider their verdicts which are cxpectcd about September 21. Goering said: "It will some day be justified by history that we did not want war. The Gerinan people are free from guilt. " Goering pleaded for the German people rcgardless oi' what his own L'ate might be, but for himself he argued that the prosecution failed to sliow how he eould know everyt.hing that happened under Ilitler. II e complained that the prosecution accepted dei'ence witnesses where they served to support the case but refuted as perjury the evidence which went against the indietment. "1 want to state emphatically that never did 1 decree the murder of a single indivdual. " Tle uiid he did everything in his power to prevent slaying. Goering

concluded with a' touch • of de-: tiance: "I am standing at the back oi' everything 1 have doiie.U The Assoeiated Press corres-; pondent says Hess, who was' peruiitted to remain seated, unleashed a storm of abuse: ainied at soriiip i'eliovv aeeused and also attacked the entire Court procedure. He declared loyalty to Hitler. " eveii now." Hess said his >predictio'p had come true that the Court would hear lying. Avitness.es teli untruths on oath. "1 don't. regret; anythiiig. J don.'t protest at.slurs on my honour' or Germany's, 1 eonsider the enemy 's uceusatioiis a sign oi' honour. If 1 were onc,e uiore at the. beginning, I would aet' the way 1 did, eveii if at the eild I knew I would meet death. Eorrife day 1 will be before the judgmehjt seat oi' the Almighty and shall. bp responsible to Him and 1 knoTV tle will call me ihnoceht'. iSbmp defendants aeted strangely .andmade shameful utterances • abouit the Fuhrer." Hess once jeferre.cl to his flight to Scotland,' then after reaffirming ..Eis: loyajty .to Ilitler. returned lo the subject of the fiight, became mcompreheh{|iblc and started talking/'. 'about being surrounded . by people wfth glassy eyes. Hess eoulcl -'not stop talking about the eyes and said one Englishnian who visi'tcd liiiri had st range eyes .with a dreamy look. Hess abandoned'- his- -pre pared script, but was.. sharply brought back by MrLJustice Lawrence. ' ' Ribbentrop said that witli i Russia on the Adria'tic' and Elbie. he hoped Britaini and Ame^ica, ; would be more - sueoessfuT thah i Germany in keeping her back. "Tf • we had prepared a war of aggression we would -have done mijfl) better. " he said. Hc had devot^d i his life to removing the evils o-f ; Mersailles "with its dangers ofia new world war". ; . Keitel said it was a tragedy.TA i'aithful and true sohlier did Vis best for ends he-jc.ouUl not kno^\ • "That is my fate.-'' he added. | Keitel denied he ever said- hurnan ! life in the East Was worth less ;than nothing. "I fought my coti- . science in that my iiame was linked with the • 'Ftihrer's. 'order against partisnns. " lyeitel sdfd ; if the same eireumstariees again ' arose, he would ehooSe death rather than be rassociated with sueh methods. ;j- "That is my ; guilt. " ... IVank said: "Hitler was the rnain dofcndant in this trial. He st.il! owes the German people his

tinui word. In the'^feat.est need of his people, Hitler. did not find •a consoiing- word. We turned from Gckl and Ave were doomed. i coiiimend'my people' aud myseif to; .God 's eternal j ustice. ' ' Erank accused Russia of continuiug crinies against humanity and against eonquered peoples. ' .Kaltenbrunner said: "1 never 'approved or tolerated the exterminatioii oi' the Jews.,? • . Tiosenberg said: ' "My cOn.science is completely free from j.g'Ulit, • - ; " Streicher said; "Don't proiiounce a judgment stamping aiu entire ' nation • with dishonesty. " 1 He said mass killings were order- ! ed;exclusively by, Hitler and. were .earried out by tlie Hitler E.S. and Hiinmler. , " • . Urick .said: "1 have a clear con- , science, 1 deserve no more penalty .' than tens of tliousahds of fiiitli'ful "civil servants. Teday 1 am detained merely becau'se I did my, dut.y." . ., Punk- said : "1 am. free l'rom any -penal guilt. My conscience . is clea'r. Ilow was 1 to know S.S. de'pqSits ineluded teeth wrenched -fromVvietims ? I would have ref'used' them even at the . risk of Iosing- my head. I am guilty of being' gulliblc." Bchacht said": "My political error/ was. failure to realise early -ehbugh Hitler 's criminal nature. I w;as ,a fanaticnl opponent of war and tried to stop it, so found uriyseif iji the'evening. of my life in .F-loSseenburg death camp. 1 stand , alone with no means of existeh-ce aiid- homeless. but I am ppt' hroken" hii3 not spiteful." j : /Doenite said : i(l aeted in ac-i cb'rdhnce;with my conscience and AVoUl.d have to do exaetly the same again,. • "What matters is that the German • people should recognise that;' th'e: "Fuhrerprinzip" is a 'wtong- political prineiple. If despite the ideals'oi" decency and devotion. of 'the German masses. nbihing.is achieved other than the present . misfortune, then tlie f 'Fuhrerprinzip " is- wrong. ' ' -R'a.eder ' said : "The German! fiavy stands before the Court ofj the w.orld with its banner unstain- 1 ed.';-'- Shawc.ross attempted to place U-bo'at AVarfare on the same levels uS; atrocities. My,' conscience is clear., X "did my duty as a soldier for the German nation for which ■ ITived and for which I am pre-, pared to die." T.here were dramatic scenes when. Yon Papen rosc and pointed an aecjlsing fiiigeri at Sir TTartley Shawcross and said: ""Who gavei Shawcross the riglit to ])our out. ! seorn, ridiciile and contempt and j say I preferred to rule in hell | rather thari serve jn heaven? 1' examined my conscience and can ; find no guilt except in the sense j that'evefy niah lrere is guilty." 1 Jodl said : " Whgtever might be j the- verdict. • I sliall leavc the! Couftroom with head high as j wlien I first entered. The Wehr--hiaeht faced an impossible task — ! to. fight a war it didn't want.; undef a commander whose con- 1 fidence it didn't possess, and with methods contrary to its prin- •' ciples." Sauekel said: "My veneration i for Hitler has been my mistake. I ' saw his kindness to women and [ children and knew how he want- 1 ed to improve conditions. I am ' readv to meet my fate as was my ' sun who died in the war." The Tribunal adjourued to Sep- j tember 23. It sat 217 days with , 403 open sessions of 2400 Ivours. i heard 3,000,000 spoken worus. rc- 1 ceived 3,000,000 documents, and \ saw 80.000 feet of film. " ! Twelve of the accused believej (hey iwill be hanged, said the Ger-j man defence couusel. Threc think j they will escape the gallows and | six hope to do so. Those who expect fo live, says' the Assoeiated Press. are Schacht. ' Y'o'n Neurath and Von Papen. r The liopeiul ones are Doenitz. Raeder, Jodl, Von Shirach. Frit-I sche and Streicher, but Keitel, ' Jodl, Raeder and Doenitz*. from tlie dock, forthriglitly declaredthey were not afraid to die. ' j The correspondent savs tests earried out on all accused by the American War Department psy-' chiatrist, indicated that each was sane and fully aware of his actions. The report of the psy- j chiatrist states they rcspond to uormal tests. Hess, who was ratcd ; sane todav, made a determined . etfort to appear insane when mak- j ing his final speecli. Mr. Justice Lawrence, before; tlre Tribunal adjpurncd. announc- , ed that the defence eoimsel were ; receiving threatening letters from ; Gennans, criticising their conduct 1 during the proceedings. He prom- j ised them the Tribunal 's pi'otec-j tion while it W?.is in session and 1 added that doubtless the Control | 'Couticil would pfotect them after- 1 yr£H'ds. . ., . v 1