Chapter 49

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-331PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 343

DRAFT OF A PROPOSED ORDINANCE CONCERNING PENAL LAW FOR POLES AND JEWS IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES, PREPARED BY DEFENDANT SCHLEGELBERGER AND SUBMITTED TO THE CHIEF OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY ON 17 APRIL 1941[332]

Ordinance concerning the administration of justice regarding Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern TerritoriesOf....................1941

The Ministerial Council for Reich Defense decrees the following law:

1.Substantive Penal Law

(1) Poles and Jews living in the Incorporated Eastern Territories have to conduct themselves according to the German laws and to the instructions issued for them by the German authorities.They have to refrain from every act detrimental to the sovereignty of the German Reich or to the prestige of the German people.

(2) They will be punished by death if they commit an act of violence against a German on account of his membership in the German ethnic community.

(3) They will be punished by death, in less severe cases with an imprisonment, if they manifest an attitude hostile to Germany by hateful or inflammatory activity. Especially, if they talk in a way which is inimical to Germany or if they tear down or damage public announcements posted by German authorities or offices. Also, if they lower or damage the prestige or the welfare of the German Reich or the German people by their conduct in general.

(4) They will be punished by death, in less severe cases with imprisonment—

1.If they commit an act of violence against any member of the German armed forces or its auxiliaries, the German police including its auxiliaries, the Reich labor service, a German authority or office or an organization of the NSDAP;

2.If they deliberately cause damage to installations of the German authorities, or offices, or to things which are used in the course of their work or are established for the public interest;

3.If they encourage or stimulate disobedience against a decree or ordinance issued by the German authorities;

4.If they enter a conspiracy for committing any action punishable according to paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 No. 1–3. Also if they enter into earnest conferences about such actions or declare themselves willing to commit such or if they accept any such offer. Or, if they get reliable information about such an action or plan at a time when danger still can be averted and fail to report it in time to the authorities or to the threatened person;

5.If they are found in illegal possession of a firearm, of a hand grenade, of a weapon for stabbing or hitting, of explosives, munitions, or other war equipment. Also, if they receive reliable information about a Pole or Jew being in illegal possession of such things and fail to report this fact without delay to the authorities.

Poles and Jews will also be punished if they violate the German penal laws or if they commit an action which deserves punishment according to the basic principles of German penal law, in accordance with the requirements of national existence in the Incorporated Eastern Territories.

III

(1) Punishment will be meted out to Poles and Jews in the form of prison terms, fines, or confiscation of property. Prison terms will be meted out in the form of prison camp terms ranging from 3 months up to 10 years. In serious cases prison terms will consist of aggravated prison camp terms ranging from 2 to 15 years.

(2) The death penalty will be imposed whenever the law threatens such punishment. Also in cases where the law does not provide for the death sentence, this penalty will be imposed, if the committed action testifies to an exceptionally vicious character or if for other reasons the crime is a very serious one. In such cases the death penalty will be permissible also in the case of juvenile criminals.

(3) A lesser punishment than the minimum term of a penalty as prescribed by the German penal code and any degree of punishment mandatorily prescribed are not to be imposed except in cases where the crime is directed exclusively against the ethnic group of the perpetrator himself.

(4)Any fine which cannot be collected will be replaced by a prison camp term ranging from 1 week to 1 year.

2.Penal Procedure

The public prosecutor will prosecute crimes committed by Poles and Jews, the punishment of which he thinks necessary in the public interest.

(1) Poles and Jews are to be judged by the Special Court or by the district judge.

(2) The public prosecutor is authorized to bring about indictment in all matters before the Special Court. He may file a suit before the district judge if no severer punishment than 5 years prison camp or 3 years aggravated prison camp is to be expected.

(3) The competency of the People’s Court remains untouched.

(1) Each sentence has to be executed immediately. The public prosecutor, however, may appeal to the Oberlandesgericht from sentences passed by the district judge. The period set for motions in arrest of judgment is 2 weeks.

(2) Also, the public prosecutor alone is entitled to the right of complaining. Complaints are decided upon by the Oberlandesgericht.

VII

Poles and Jews cannot refuse German judges as being prejudiced.

VIII

(1) Arrest and preliminary custody are always permissible if there is a strong suspicion of the accused having committed the crime.

(2) In the course of the preliminary proceedings the public prosecutor also may order arrest and the use of other permissible means of coercion.

Poles and Jews serving as witnesses do not take the oath during proceedings. To all untrue, unsworn evidence presented in court regulations regarding perjury and unwittingly false oath are to be applied, according to their sense, to false depositions in court not made under oath.

(1) The reopening of the proceedings can only be ordered by the public prosecutor. Request for reopening of the proceedings contrary to a sentence passed by the Special Court are decided upon by the latter.

(2) The nullity plea is up to the public prosecutor, it is decided upon by the Oberlandesgericht.

Poles and Jews neither can file private suits nor bring about action as coplaintiffs.

XII

The proceedings are conducted by court and public prosecutor on the basis of the German law for penal procedure in full accordance with their sense of duty. They may deviate from the regulations given in the law about the constitution of courts and in the legal principles for Reich penal proceedings, in all cases where it seems practical for the carrying through of the proceedings rapidly and energetically.

3.Civilian Court Martial Proceedings

XIII

As far as the Incorporated Eastern Territories are concerned, the Reichsstatthalter (Oberpraesident), with the consent of the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Minister of Justice, for the area under his jurisdiction or single parts of it, may order that Poles and Jews be sentenced, until further notice, by a civilian court martial. This will take place in cases of serious violence committed against Germans as well as on account of other crimes which seriously endanger the German construction work.

As sentence, sentence of death will be imposed by the civilian court martial. The civilian court martial may also refrain from punishment and may instead pronounce transfer to the Secret State Police.

All details regarding the members of the civilian courts martial and their procedure will be settled by the Reichsstatthalter (Oberpraesident), with the consent of the Reich Minister of the Interior.

4.Extent of the Area of Jurisdiction

XIV

(1) The regulations I to IV of this ordinance will equally affect Poles and Jews, who had their place of residence, or permanent abode, within the territory of the former Polish state on 1 September 1939, and who have committed the crime within any other territory of the German Reich outside the Incorporated Eastern Territories.

(2) In addition, the court of the place of residence or abode at the respective time, is locally competent. For that court the regulations, given under V-XII, also apply.

(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 are not applicable to crimes which are sentenced by courts of the Government General.

5.Concluding Regulations

Poles in the sense of the ordinance are all proteges and stateless persons who belong to the Polish racial community.

XVI

Article II of the ordinance of 6 June 1940,[333]concerning the introduction of German penal law into the Incorporated EasternTerritories, (Reich Law Gazette I, p. 844) does not apply any more to Poles and Jews.

XVII

The Reich Minister of Justice, in full accord with the Reich Minister of the Interior, is authorized to issue the legal and administrative instructions necessary for the carrying through and supplementation of this ordinance. Dubious questions, regarding the administrative procedure, are to be decided by him.

XVIII

This decree comes into force on the fourteenth day after its publication.

Berlin, the....................1941

The Chairman of the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich

The Plenipotentiary General for the Administration of the Reich

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-130PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 200

FILE NOTE OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY, 22 APRIL 1941, CONCERNING SCHLEGELBERGER’S DRAFT OF A PROPOSED DECREE ON PENAL LAW FOR POLES AND JEWS IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES

Berlin, 22 April 1941

Reich Chancellery 5850 B

Subject: Penal Law for Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern Territories

1.Note—The Minister of Justice transmits a draft of a decree of the ministerial council on criminal law applicable to Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern Territories and in the city of Danzig.[334]Through the decree of 6 June 1940 the German criminal law has been introduced in the eastern territories to its fullest extent. On 20 November 1940 the Fuehrer’s deputy, in a detailed statement, took the position that this was a mistake, in as much as the Poles would thereby be placed under the German criminal law. The Fuehrer’s deputy demanded that a special criminal lawand a special criminal procedure be provided for Poland. The particulars are contained in the note of 26 November 1940.

The proposals, contained in the draft of the decree of the Minister of Justice and explained in the letter accompanying it, are far-reaching in compliance with the wishes of the Fuehrer’s deputy.[335]The draft establishes a draconic special criminal law for Poles and Jews, giving a wide range for the interpretations of the facts of the case, with the death penalty applicable throughout. The conditions of imprisonment are also much more severe than provided for in the German criminal law. (Instead of imprisonment in jail or in penitentiary—prison camps and special prison camps.) Beside this special criminal law, in a subsidiary way, the German criminal law is applicable. (II.) Provisions of criminal law which might be used to obstruct the procedure have been eliminated (the opportunity of the defendant for an appeal, compulsory indictment, the challenge of a judge, compare also art. XII, S. 2). The Minister of Justice differs only in two points from the suggestions of the Fuehrer’s deputy—

a.The Fuehrer’s deputy considered it more appropriate to authorize the Reich governors [Reichsstatthalter] (and therefore also the two provincial presidents) to introduce the special criminal law, whereas the Minister of Justice provides for its introduction by a Reich decree.

b.The Fuehrer’s deputy considers the introduction of corporal punishment—the Minister of Justice declines to do so. The Minister of Justice intends to introduce this draft and have it passed by the ministerial council. Under Secretary Schlegelberger desires to discuss this matter first with the Reich Minister and would be pleased if the Reich Minister would secure the Fuehrer’s decision concerning the principal features of the intended regulation.

[Illegible handwriting]

[Initial] F [Ficker]

[Stamps] resubmitted office 3/5

2. Submitted to the Reich Minister.

[Initial] L [Lammers]

25 April

This matter should be first discussed with Under Secretary Schlegelberger, [Handwritten] who would be ready to come to [Hitler’s] headquarters. On information of Ministerial Counsellor Schaefer, (Reich Ministry of Justice), Under Secretary Schlegelbergerwill at this meeting also have some information on the Governor General’s attitude.[336]

[Initial] L [Lammers] 3 May

[Stamp] Resubmitted

Office 5/5

[Initial] L [Lammers] 12 May

[Stamp] Resubmitted

Office 12/5

1. A report to the Fuehrer is not to be considered. First of all a discussion with Under Secretary Schlegelberger is necessary.

[Initial] L [Lammers] 13 May

[Stamp] Resubmitted

Office 20/5/41

[Initial] L. [Lammers] 22 May

In the meantime an opinion of the Reich Leader H [Himmler] has been received.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-136PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 345

MEMORANDUMS OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY, 27 MAY 1941, CONCERNING CRIMINAL LAW TO BE INSTITUTED IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES, INCLUDING COPIES OF LETTERS TO DEFENDANT SCHLEGELBERGER, BORMANN, AND HIMMLER

[Handwritten] see Rk. 8621 B.

To Rk. 7592 B, 7760 B

Fuehrer Headquarters, 27 May 1941

After the report to the Reich Minister

Subject: Civilian court martial and right of pardon in the Warthegau. Administration of criminal law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories

1. Remarks:

[Handwritten marginal note.] To Rk 7592 B:

It may be pointed out in completion that a ruling in regard to the Warthegau will bring about not only a corresponding ruling for the Gau Danzig-West Prussian but also for the new territories of East Prussia and Silesia. Thus, for example, in the last namedterritories the right of pardon for capital crimes also must be transferred to the Provincial president.

[Handwritten marginal notes.]

Rk 7760 B1b

blue[337]

In the meantime a letter from the Reich Leader SS (signed Heydrich) on this subject has been received here. The Reich Leader SS agrees to the special penal code for Poles in material matters—as provided for in the draft of the decrees submitted by the Minister of Justice—but in addition he asks for civilian court martial under police jurisdiction and requests that this be presented to the Fuehrer when the Reich Minister makes his intended report.

[Handwritten marginal notes.]

pink

yellow

The introduction of civilian courts martial in the Incorporated Eastern Territories is an old desire of the Reich Leader SS and was proposed in the draft of a decree of the ministerial council of the General Plenipotentiary for the Reich administration, dated 21 February 1940—compare Rk 3215 B-40—; see note of 27 February 1940. The introduction was rejected at the time on the basis of objections made by the Reich Marshal to civilian courts martial—compare Rk. 5026 B of 21 March 1940.

[Handwritten marginal note.]

Justice 3

(Copy number 2) (copy number 2)

(to Rk 7411 h40 letter 13) (Justice 12)

pale violet

The Fuehrer’s decision corresponds to the desire of the Reich Leader SS as far as the Warthegau is concerned in the meantime. It is not considered advisable to report this to the Reich Leader SS unless the minister in charge has been notified of the Fuehrer’s decision. The Reich Leader SS further requests a copy of the comments of the Minister of Justice dated 17 April 1941—Rk. 5850 B.[338]He should be referred to the Minister of Justice concerning this request.

[Handwritten marginal note.] pale violet

[Initial] F [Ficker]

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery

Fuehrer Headquarters, 27 May 1941

Rk. 7760B

[Handwritten notes]see Rk 8621 BNo. 934 29/52/4 written Ho2/3 read Ho Hi/4/ forwarded Ho 28/52/3 forward 29.5. Kmto 2 m. 1 photo copy of Rk 7760 Bto 3 m. 1 copy of 2 and1 photo copy of Rk 7760 B

Urgent!

2. To the Reich Minister of Justice.

(Copy for 2.)

Subject: Administration of criminal law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories

In reference to your letter of 17 April 1941—9170 Eastern Territory 2-II a-2-996/41

[Handwritten marginal note.] pale violet

The Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter Greiser reported to the Fuehrer that an increasing number of acts of sabotage were committed in his Gau by Poles. In the Landkreis Lódz it even happened a few days ago that while the Reichsstatthalter was speaking in an old Swabian settlement, a German policeman was stoned to death in a neighboring village. In this case the Reichsstatthalter, according to his report to the Fuehrer, gave orders that not only the culprits but 12 hostages as well should be executed on the spot and under the eyes of the entire village population, who were assembled at the spot. In view of these sabotage acts the Reichsstatthalter asked the Fuehrer for authority to reestablish civilian courts martial. He proposed to appoint the local representative of authority as president, with police officer and a security police leader as members of the court. No sentences other than death or concentration camp are to be given by these civilian courts martial. There must be no possibility of appeal. The Fuehrer decided that Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter Greiser be given authority as requested to set up the civilian courts martial which he had proposed.

The Reichsstatthalter further reported to the Fuehrer that he had asked you to delegate to him the right of pardon in regard to Poles punished by the courts. The Fuehrer has decided that this desire of the Reichsstatthalter is also to be complied with.

I beg to inform you of these decisions taken by the Fuehrer and to ask you to take the necessary implementing steps without delay. I leave it to you to consider whether it is advisable to include this ruling on the basis of the above-mentioned decisions of theFuehrer, in whole or in part, in the draft of the decree which you have prepared concerning the administration of criminal law against the Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern Territories and in the territory of the former Free City of Danzig. I ask you to report to the Fuehrer, for my attention, on the measure you have taken. [Handwritten] as soon as possible

A photo copy of a letter received here from the Reich Leader SS and Chief of the German Police in the Ministry of the Interior is enclosed for your information.[339]May I leave it to your discretion to send to the Reich Leader SS and Chief of the German Police a copy of your comments, as requested in the last sentence of the letter.

[In margin] Bzf. Photo copy

of Rk. 7760 B

(Name of the Reich Minister)

3. To Reichsleiter Martin Bormann, at present Obersalzberg.

Subject: Administration of criminal law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories

In answer to the letter of 24 May 1941—Bo/Si—.

Esteemed Mr. Bormann!

For your information I beg to submit herewith a copy of my letter of today’s date to the Reich Minister of Justice, concerning the establishment of civilian courts martial and the transference of the right of appeal in the Reichsgau Wartheland.

Bzf. copy of2.also photo ofRk 7760 B

Heil Hitler!

Respectfully

(Name of the Reich Minister)

4. To the Reich Leader SS and Chief of the German Police,

Reich Ministry of the Interior,

Berlin SW 11

Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 8

Subject: Administration of criminal law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories

Reference: Letter of 16 May 1941-S-II A 2 (new) No. 127/41-173-1

I have forwarded a photo copy of your letter of 16 May 1941 to the Reich Minister of Justice for his information. I have asked him to forward to you a copy of his comments as requested in the last sentence of your letter.

(name of the Reich Minister)

5. After sending it off

Min. Dir. Kritzinger for information.

6. Follow up after 1 month.

[Initial] L [Lammers]

(name of the Reich Minister)

[Initial] F [Ficker]

27 May

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-1615PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 521

DECREE OF 31 MAY 1941 CONCERNING THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NUERNBERG RACIAL LAWS IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES

1941 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 297

By virtue of article 8 of the Decree of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor, of 8 October 1939 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 2042), it is hereby ordered:

Article 1

In the Incorporated Eastern Territories the following are applicable:

(1) The Reich Citizenship Law of 15 September 1935[340](Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1146).

(2) Article 2, paragraph 2; article 4, paragraphs 1 and 3; article 5; article 6, paragraph 1; and article 7 of the first amendment of the Reich Citizenship Law of 14 November 1935 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1333).

*******

Article 3

In the Incorporated Eastern Territories the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor of 15 September 1935[341](Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1146), and the first decree concerning the execution of this law of 14 November 1935 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1334), as well as the decree supplementing the first executive decree for the Law for the Protection of German Blood, of 16 February 1940 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 394) shall be applicable.

Article 4

(1) This decree shall take effect 1 week after promulgation.

(2) Part I, article 7 of the Decree concerning the introduction of the German Criminal Law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories, of 6 June 1940[342](Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 844), shall be applied to violations of the provisions for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor.

Berlin, 31 May 1941

The Reich Minister of the Interior

As deputy:Dr. Stuckart[343]

The Chief of the Party Chancellery

M. Bormann

The Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Dr. Schlegelberger[344]

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

SECOND EXECUTIVE DECREE, 31 MAY 1941, FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF GERMAN BLOOD AND HONOR

1941 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 297

By virtue of article 6 of the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor of 15 September 1935 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, 1935, p. 1146), the following is hereby decreed:

Article 1

The protection afforded to German blood or to blood racially related to German blood by the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor of 15 September 1935 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1146), and its first executive decree of 14 November 1935 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1334), as amended by the supplementing decree of 16 February 1940 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 394), shall not extend to former Polish nationals, unless they have acquired German nationality or have been entered in the list of German nationals [deutsche Volksliste] by virtue of the decree of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor concerning the organization and administration of the eastern territories of 8 October 1939 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 2042).

Article 2

(1) This decree shall be applicable in the Incorporated Eastern Territories, too.

(2) It shall take effect one day after promulgation.

Berlin, 31 May 1941.

The Acting Reich Minister of the Interior

As deputy:Dr. Stuckart

The Chief of the Party Chancellery

M. Bormann

The Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Dr. Schlegelberger

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-505PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 71

CIRCULAR LETTER FROM DEFENDANT SCHLEGELBERGER TO THE PRESIDENTS OF THE COURTS OF APPEAL AND ATTORNEYS GENERAL, 24 JULY 1941, ENTITLED “MILD SENTENCES AGAINST POLES”

The Reich Minister of Justice

9170 Eastern territories 2-III

4 1137.41

Berlin W 8, 24 July 1941Wilhelmstrasse 65

1. To the Presidents of the Courts of Appeals and the Attorneys General (with the exception of Prague).

2. Through the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia to—

The Presidents of the Courts of Appeals and the Attorney General in Prague.

Subject: Mild sentences against Poles

Attached: 1 compilation8 additional copies for the Chief Public Prosecutors

Despite my constant allusions to this matter during conferences and in individual instructions, I am time and again notified of sentences by which Poles in the Reich proper are given entirely insufficient prison sentences for sexual and other serious crimes. Such sentences reveal an incomprehensibly lenient attitude toward the Polish nation which confronts us with implacable enmity. They constitute a danger to the security of the German people and justify the reproach that the administration of criminal law has not proved adequate to the necessities of war.

To make this point clear, the attachment lists a few of such sentences against Polish criminals which have been changed by special instructions or which I had to have altered by way of the nullity plea.

I want to express my firm expectation that the officials of the justice administration will not fail to recognize the serious danger this constitutes for our people; and, last but not least, for the stability of the administration of criminal law. I, therefore, expect that from now on measures will be taken against Polish criminals in the Reich proper with all the necessary firmness and with the heaviest sentences in accordance with article 4 of the decree against public enemies.[345]Elements clearly criminal and sexual criminals of Polish nationality must, as a rule, be punished by death. That the application of article 4 of the decree against public enemies is principally justified in the case of crimes committed by Poles in the Reich proper has been recognized by the Reich Supreme Court in its decision C 258. 41 of 19 June 1941 with the following explanations:

“If * * * it is noted that entire groups of culprits * * * possess fewer inhibitions with regard to certain crimes than the German people in general, the protection of law and order demands greater watchfulness as to the resulting dangers. The demand for retribution and the deterrent effect would be seriously impaired if the administration of justice would grant such culprits any right of obtaining mild penalties.The established fact that the defendant, a Pole, sexually assaulted a German girl should have caused * * * the court to examine the question of whether or not the characteristics of a crime, as defined in article 4 of the decree against public enemies, were present. There is reason to assume that the defendant in his assault on a juvenile female fellow worker made use of the absence, caused by war conditions, of male workers who might otherwise have been able to come to her aid, and that the circumstances of his crime, in addition, are of such reprehensible kind that they reveal a criminal possessing the essential characteristics of a public enemy * * *.”

The established fact that the defendant, a Pole, sexually assaulted a German girl should have caused * * * the court to examine the question of whether or not the characteristics of a crime, as defined in article 4 of the decree against public enemies, were present. There is reason to assume that the defendant in his assault on a juvenile female fellow worker made use of the absence, caused by war conditions, of male workers who might otherwise have been able to come to her aid, and that the circumstances of his crime, in addition, are of such reprehensible kind that they reveal a criminal possessing the essential characteristics of a public enemy * * *.”

In addition to this, it must be considered that Poles are now entering Germany only as a result of the wartime shortage of German labor and that as a result of the decrease of police forces, likewise due to the war, the necessary police supervision over Poles which would have been possible under normal peacetime conditions is no longer guaranteed.

The Acting Minister

[Typed signature]Dr. Schlegelberger[346]

Certified: [Signed]Bierwith

Administrative Assistant

[Ministerialskanzleiobersekretaer]

[Stamp]

Ministry of Justice

Office of the Minister

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-715PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 112

DECREE OF 4 DECEMBER 1941 CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF PENAL JUSTICE AGAINST POLES AND JEWS IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES[347]

1941 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 759

The Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich herewith decrees:

1.Substantive Criminal Law

(1) Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern Territories are to conduct themselves in conformity with the German laws and with the regulations introduced for them by the German authorities. They are to abstain from any conduct liable to prejudice the sovereignty of the German Reich or the prestige of the German people.

(2) The death penalty shall be imposed on any Pole or Jew if he commits an act of violence against a German on account of his membership in the German ethnic community.

(3) A Pole or Jew shall be sentenced to death, or in less serious cases to imprisonment, if he manifests anti-German sentiments by malicious or inciting activities particularly by making anti-German utterances, or by removing or defacing official notices of German authorities or agencies, or if he, by his conduct, lowers or prejudices the prestige or the well-being of the German Reich or the German people.

(4) The death penalty or, in less serious cases, imprisonment, shall be imposed on any Pole or Jew—

1.If he commits any act of violence against a member of the German armed forces or its auxiliaries, of the German police force or its auxiliaries, of the Reich labor service, of any German authority or agency or of an organization of the NSDAP;

2.If he purposely damages installations of the German authorities or agencies, objects used by them in performance of their duties, or objects of public utility;

3.If he solicits or incites another person to disobey any decree or regulation issued by the German authorities;

4.If he conspires to commit an act punishable under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), subparagraphs1through3, or if he enters into serious negotiations about committing such an act, or if he offers to commit such an act, or accepts such an offer, or if he obtains credible information of such act, or of the intention of committing it, and fails to notify the authorities or any person threatened thereby at a time when danger can still be averted; and

5.If he is found to be in unlawful possession of a firearm, a hand grenade, or any weapon for stabbing or hitting, of explosives, ammunition or other implements of war, or if he has credible information that a Pole or a Jew is in unlawful possession of such an object, and fails to notify the authorities forthwith.

Punishment shall also be imposed on Poles or Jews if they act contrary to German criminal law or commit any act for which they deserve punishment in accordance with the fundamental principles of German criminal law and in view of the interests of the State in the Incorporated Eastern Territories.

III

(1) Penalties provided for Poles and Jews are—imprisonment, fine, or confiscation of property. The term of imprisonment is to be not less than 3 months and not more than 10 years in a penal camp; for more serious offenses, imprisonment consists of 2 to 15 years in a penal camp in which a more severe regimen is enforced.

(2) The death sentence shall be imposed in all cases where it is prescribed by the law. Moreover, in those cases where the law does not provide for the death sentence, it shall be imposed if the act shows a particularly base attitude or is particularly serious for other reasons; in these cases the death sentence may also be passed upon juvenile offenders.

(3) The minimum penalty or a fixed penalty prescribed by German criminal law cannot be reduced unless the criminal act is directed against the offender’s own people exclusively.

(4) If a fine cannot be recovered, it shall be substituted by imprisonment in a penal camp from 1 week to 1 year.

2.Criminal Procedure

The public prosecutor shall prosecute a Pole or a Jew if he considers that punishment is in the public interest.

(1) Poles and Jews shall be tried by a Special Court or by the local court.

(2) The public prosecutor can file the indictment with a Special Court in all cases. He can file the indictment with the local court if the punishment to be imposed is not likely to be heavier than 5 years in a penal camp, or 3 years in a more rigorous penal camp.

(3) The jurisdiction of the People’s Court remains unaffected.

(1) Every sentence will be carried out without delay. The public prosecutor may, however, appeal from the sentence of the local court to the court of appeal. The appeal has to be lodged within 2 weeks.

(2) The right to lodge complaints is also reserved exclusively to the public prosecutor. Complaints will be decided upon by the court of appeal.

VII

Poles and Jews cannot challenge a German judge on account of alleged partiality.

VIII

(1) Arrest and temporary detention are allowed whenever there are good grounds to suspect that a punishable act has been committed.

(2) During the preliminary investigations, the public prosecutor may also order arrest and any other coercive measures permissible.

Poles and Jews are not sworn in as witnesses in criminal proceedings. If the unsworn deposition made by them before the court is false, the provisions as prescribed for perjury and false sworn statements shall be applied accordingly.

(1) Only the public prosecutor may apply for the reopening of proceedings. In a case tried before a Special Court, the decision on an application for the reopening of the proceedings rests with this court.

(2) The right to lodge a nullity plea rests with the attorney general. The decision on the plea rests with the court of appeal.

Poles and Jews neither can file private suits nor bring about action as coplaintiffs.

XII

The court and the public prosecutor shall conduct proceedings within their discretion according to the principles of the German Law of Criminal Procedure. They may, however, dispense with the provisions of the Judicature Act and the Law of Criminal Procedure, whenever this may be expedient for the rapid and more efficient conduct of proceedings.

3.Civilian Court Martial Proceedings

XIII

(1) Subject to the consent of the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Minister of Justice, the Reich governor (or provincial governor) may, until further notice, enforce martial law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories, either in the whole area under his jurisdiction or in parts thereof, upon Poles and Jews guilty of grave excesses against Germans or of other punishable acts which seriously endanger the German work of reconstruction.

(2) The courts established under martial law impose the death sentence. They may, however, dispense with punishment and refer the case to the Secret State Police (Gestapo).

(3) Subject to the consent of the Reich Minister of the Interior, the constitution and procedure of the courts established under martial law shall be regulated by the Reich governor.

4.Extent of Application of this Decree

XIV

(1) The provisions contained in sections I-IV of this decree apply also to those Poles and Jews who, on 1 September 1939, were domiciled or had their residence within the territory of the former Polish state, and who committed the punishable act in any part of the German Reich other than the Incorporated Eastern Territories.

(2) The case may also be tried by the court within whose jurisdiction the former domicile or residence of the perpetrator is situated. Sections V-XII apply accordingly.

(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to punishable acts tried by the courts in the Government General.

5.Concluding Regulations

Within the meaning of this decree, the term “Poles” includes protected and stateless persons who belong to the Polish racial community.

XVI

Article II of the decree of 6 June 1940, concerning the introduction of German Criminal Law in the Incorporated Eastern Territories (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 844) no longer applies to Poles and Jews.[348]

XVII

The Reich Minister of Justice is authorized to issue rules and administrative regulations concerning the execution and implementation of this decree and to decide in all cases of doubt, in agreement with the Reich Minister of the Interior.

XVIII

This decree shall come into force on the fourteenth day after its promulgation.

Berlin, 4 December 1941

The President of the Ministerial Councilfor the Defense of the Reich

Reich Marshal Goering

The Plenipotentiary for the Administration of the Reich

Frick

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery

Dr. Lammers

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