Station 7: Poland and the Nuremberg Defendants

Poland’s Largest Jewish Communities on the Eve of War World War II Begins: Poland’s Largest Jewish Communities on the Eve of War This map shows Polish cities with 12,000 or more Jewish inhabitants at the time of the 1931 census as well as the percentage of Jews among the total population of the town. In 1939 there were about 3.3 million Jews in Poland (approximately 10% of the population). Since its independence in 1918, the country had suffered economic crisis. The middle class, in particular, had been hurt. Bitter competition for employment had drastically increased antisemitic acts, including boycotts and pogroms. These antisemitic acts mounted in the mid-30’s. Jewish students, separated from others at Polish universities, were subjected to harassment and attacks by fellow students. Boycotts against Jews, with open government approval, occurred. Between 1935 and 1937, 118 Jews were killed and 1,350 were wounded in 16 pogroms. These pogroms were motivated by hatred of the stranger and the economic crisis. In 1931, 1,123,025 Jews were gainfully employed in Poland, primarily as laborers, artisans and traders. By 1935, 1 million Jews were unemployed or working part time. Despite a hopeless and deepening poverty, intellectual, artistic, and political activities continued to be pursued.

The Germanization of Polish Gentiles Two masters cannot exist side by side, and that is why all members of the Polish intelligentsia must be killed. -Adolf Hitler Poles with Aryan features were allowed to remain in Poland. Some Aryan-looking children were kidnapped and taken to Germany to raised as German. Some Polish men were drafted into the German army, others were deported to the Reich for slave labor. Monuments to Polish history and culture were destroyed. Valuable collections of art and science were transported out of the country. Museums and libraries were demolished. Polish press and theaters were closed. Polish cities and streets were renamed with German names. Universities and secondary schools were closed. Education after the 4th grade was forbidden as Poles would need little education as slave laborers. Use of the Polish language in public and private life was forbidden. Germanization of Polish Gentiles Hitler saw the Poles ( a Slavic people) as “subhuman.” The Poles are especially born for low labor … There can be no question of improvement for them … Priests will preach what we want them to preach. If any priest acts differently, we shall make short work of him. The task of the priest is to keep the Poles quiet, stupid and dull-witted … There should be one master only for the Poles, the German … All representatives of the Polish intelligentsia are to be exterminated. - Adolf Hitler, October 2, 1940 quoted in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer Germany’s campaign in Poland was devised to destroy the Polish culture and enslave the Polish people. In order to prevent any organized resistance, the Nazis focused on killing or suppressing the Polish elite (political, religious and intellectual leaders) i.e. those who might attempt to lead a revolution. This was code named A-B Aktion (A-B Action). About 10,000 Polish priests, teachers, technicians and political leaders were murdered. Although the major annihilation occurred during the first months of occupation, it continued intermittently until the spring of 1940. In addition to these measures, were those enumerated on the slide. Thousands of men were sent to concentrations camps, and the Nazis began a mass expulsion of Poles from the newly annexed western Polish territories to the General Government. A rigid separation was maintained in Poland between the German master race and the Poles. Only Germans were allowed to frequent certain restaurants, cinemas and shops. When food rationing was introduced, Germans received much higher rations than Poles.

Nuremberg Defendants DEFENDANT POSITION CHARGES SENTENCE Martin Bormann Head of main Nazi office, Hitler’s secretary. 3,4 Death (in absentia). Found to have been killed in Battle of Berlin. Karl Doenitz Supreme Commander of Navy, Chosen by Hitler to succeed him as führer. Negotiated surrender following Hitler’s suicide. 2,3 Served 10 years. Died 1981. Hans Frank Governor General of Nazi-occupied Poland. Known as the “Jew butcher of Krakow.” Death. Hanged 1946. Wilhelm Frick Reich Minister of the Interior; Responsible for exclusionary Jewish laws including Nuremberg Laws. 2,3,4 Hans Fritzsche Head of Radio Division (one of 12 divisions) of Propaganda Ministry Acquitted. Later tried & convicted by a German court, freed 1950. Died 1953. Walter Funk Minister of Economics. President of Reichsbank Life in prison. Released in 1957 because of poor health. Died 1959. Hermann Goering Commander-in-Chief of Luftwaffe, President of Reichstag, creator of Gestapo. Hitler’s chosen successor. 1,2,3,4 Death by hanging. Committed suicide the day before his scheduled hanging by taking a cyanide pill that was smuggled into his cell. 1946. The Aftermath: Chart of Nuremberg Defendants 1. Conspiracy to Commit Crimes 2. Crimes Against Peace 3. War Crimes 4. Crimes Against Humanity

Life in prison. Committed suicide by hanging in 1987 at age 93. DEFENDANT POSITION CHARGES SENTENCE Rudolf Hess Reich Minister Without Portfolio. Helped Hitler write Mein Kampf. Ranked 3rd behind Goering. 1,2 Life in prison. Committed suicide by hanging in 1987 at age 93. Alfred Jodl Army General & Chief of Staff to General Keitel 1,2,3,4 Death. Hanged 1946. Ernst Kaltenbrunner Chief of Security Police. Head of Reich Security Main Office after Heydrich’s assassination. Controlled Gestapo, camp system and administration of Final Solution. 3,4 Wilhelm Keitel Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces. Second to Hitler in command of the armed forces Konstantin von Neurath Minister of Foreign Affairs ’32-’38. Reich Protector of Bohemia & Moravia ’39-’43. 15 years. Released because of poor health in 1954 and died 2 years later. Franz von Papen Reich Chancellor prior to Hitler, Reich Vice-Chancellor under Hitler, Ambassador in Vienna & Turkey Acquitted Erich Raeder Supreme Commander of the Navy 1,2,3 Life in prison. Served 9 years before release in 1955. Died 1960 at age 84. Joachim von Ribbentrop Foreign Minister The Aftermath: Chart of Nuremberg Defendants - continued 1. Conspiracy to Commit Crimes 2. Crimes Against Peace 3. War Crimes 4. Crimes Against Humanity

Nazi Party Philosopher, Reich Minister of Occupied Eastern Territories DEFENDANT POSITION CHARGES SENTENCE Alfred Rosenberg Nazi Party Philosopher, Reich Minister of Occupied Eastern Territories 1,2,3,4 Death. Hanged 1946. Fritz Sauckel Chief of slave labor recruitment. Responsible for extermination of tens of thousands of Jewish workers in Poland. 3,4 Hjalmar Schacht Reichsbank President & Minister of Economics before the war. Acquitted. Later convicted by a German court and sentenced to 8 years. Freed in 1950. Died in 1970 at age 93. Baldur von Schirach Leader of Hitler Youth. Gauleiter of Vienna. 4 20 years. Freed 1966. Died 1974 at age 67. Artur von Seyss-Inquart Governor of Austria, Deputy to Hans Frank in Nazi-occupied Poland, Commissioner of German-occupied Netherlands. 2,3,4 Albert Speer Reich minister for Armament & Munitions. Responsible for slave labor in factories under his control. 3, 4 20 years. Freed 1966. Died 1981 at age 76. Julius Streicher Editor of Der Stürmer The Aftermath: Chart of Nuremberg Defendants - continued 1. Conspiracy to Commit Crimes 2. Crimes Against Peace 3. War Crimes 4. Crimes Against Humanity