Chapter 50

SCHLEGELBERGER DOCUMENT 61SCHLEGELBERGER DEFENSE EXHIBIT 27

EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE BY DR. ROLAND FREISLER, UNDER SECRETARY IN THE REICH MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, JANUARY 1942, CONCERNING CRIMINAL JURISDICTION FOR POLES[349]

The German Criminal Code for Poles by Dr. jur. RolandFreisler, State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice, member of the Presidency of the Academy for German Law.

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The objective Criminal Jurisdiction for Poles

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It is not contradictory to justice if criminal jurisdiction for Poles is different from the German criminal jurisdiction. Even ifonepeople within a state can be subject toone[system of] law only, it is yet quite possible that for another nationality within the same state another [system of] law is applicable. Whether this condition should be brought to bear must be determined by the necessities of the State. It is essential of course that the other national group can perceive the law in force for its members in order to be able to abide by it.

For there must be a standard whereby it can regulate its behavior. By this standard the conduct of its nationals can be judged fairly. There is nothing contrary to justice if the one criminal law in its general aspect is milder, the other, viewed as a whole is severer. After all there is justice in a sphere of severity as well as in a sphere of leniency.

If the administration of criminal justice for Poles devotes exactly the same care to the investigation of the facts of a case, as does the administration of criminal justice for Germans, viz, avoiding everything which even very remotely might resemble a judgment on suspicion, if, besides, it judges the established facts just as conscientiously according to the law applicable to Poles, as it judges the established facts in the case of Germans according to the general German penal law, and if, finally, it endeavors to render the right judgment in the award of punishment within the compass of the penal law applicable for Poles, as within the compass of the penalties pursuant to the general German penal law for Germans, the criminal jurisdiction for Poles is just, regardless of the different evaluation of actions of Germans and Poles, which might be necessary in many cases. The political task of the administration of criminal jurisdiction is not at all incompatible with justice.

The directives for arriving at a just decision, especially in the case of the law pursuant to Number II, in the criminal jurisdiction for Poles are deprived by viewing the German people and Reich as a whole in regard to the necessities of the State, thejudicial comprehension of which is given by the political aim of German work in the Incorporated Eastern Territories. Looking at the individual Poles who have been committed for trial it follows from the general, legally established subordination law to which he is subject pursuant to Number I, and which should dominate and guide his whole conduct. By considering both points, i.e., State necessity and the duty of subordination, no divided result can be arrived at in any individual case, because the duty of subordination of the Pole in the Incorporated Eastern Territories is a State necessity, and because on the other hand the extent of this duty of subordination in itself is determined by the aim of the German construction work, i.e., by State necessity.

The German administration of criminal jurisdiction for Poles exercised in the fulfillment of the Polish task of the German folkdom in the Incorporated Eastern Territories will be characterized by justice just as it is in every other German administration of justice.

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The penal code for Poles has only one form of detention—the punitive camp. Therefore, this takes the place of confinement in a fortress, imprisonment, penal servitude as provided by the general German penal code. In the penal registers the punitive camp term will be recorded as “penitentiary” [Zuchthaus]. This does not mean, however, that it will be like penitentiary [service] in every respect. Thus not every term in a punitive camp will be regarded as “penitentiary”; only a term of increased severity in a punitive camp in the meaning of the regulations for the noninclusion of the period of detention in custody in the term of imprisonment for the duration of the war, will be regarded as “penitentiary.” However, where no special ruling is applicable, it will have to be concluded from the recording of the term in a punitive camp in the penal register that its legal status is that of penitentiary [service], as far as this can be applied to the State legal status of a Pole.

The judge may also pronounce a sentence of detention of increased severity in a punitive camp. In doing so, however, he does not choose another method of punishment. Legally the sentence of increased severity term in a punitive camp has to be considered as being the same as pronouncement of punishment of increased severity in a legal system, which allows the judge the possibility of sentences of increased severity.

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From the much increased minimum duration of terms of increased severity in a punitive camp (2 years) and from its increased limit (15 years) it follows that the judge is expected to make use of it in serious cases, which is also especially emphasized in the decree.

In case of death sentences the same methods of execution are in force, as applied by the German Criminal (Penal) Code.

By adding fines, confiscation of property, imprisonment, and capital punishment the penal code for Poles intends to complete the punitive methods applicable to Poles.

III

Law of procedure against Poles

d. Preliminary proceedings.

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By the general principle of every German administration of criminal jurisdiction, viz, that it must serve to establish actual facts and their true judgment—a principle which is adhered to without exception and unalterably the freedom of judgment in the arrangement of the preliminary proceedings finds its unchangeable limit (the same has to be said with regard to the trial). From this it follows as a matter of course that the public prosecutor in the preliminary proceeding will have to examine all evidence, extenuating as well as aggravating, and investigate it.

It is just as self-evident that in the place of preliminary proceedings by the public prosecutor and the decision of the public prosecutor concerning the indictment and abatement there can be no Klageerzwingungsverfahren[350]on the part of a private person in consideration of the principle of liberty of decision with regard to prosecution or nonprosecution, just as prosecuting authority no private person can appear as prosecutor, replacing the public prosecutor neither independently nor as coprosecutor; consequently the Pole can be neither plaintiff nor coplaintiff. In order to avoid any misinterpretation in this direction this has been expressly stated already in the decree establishing a penal code. In the decree establishing the penal code for Poles it is stated expressly: “The public prosecutor prosecutes crimes of Poles and Jews * * *.” (Number IV) “Poles and Jews can take neither civil action nor act as coplaintiffs.” (Number XI). From the first of these two legal provisions it follows also that against the Pole no civil action nor action as a coplaintiff can be taken; the public prosecutor alone is competent to prosecute.

If the liberty of decision in determining the procedure as well as the main trial is stressed time and again, on the other hand it must nevertheless be emphasized that the establishment of the true facts of the case is the purport and the rendering of a just verdict the aim of every criminal proceeding against Poles. Therefore, nothing may be disregarded which may serve to establish the truth and to arrive at a just verdict. For this it is essential that the accused is heard,—as long as he does not use this possibility granted him for propaganda—and that he can defend himself in connection with the accusation, that he may offer evidence of any kind, that he can express himself with regard to the findings of the evidence heard, and that he may have the last word. In cases where difficulties arise from difference of language it is of course essential that the possibility of understanding is secured, if necessary with the help of an interpreter. The judge and all the officials of the administration of justice always and without exception will speak German. Likewise all evidence, as far as it is not declared with certainty as being unsuitable right away, must be fully investigated.

The giving of the opportunity to the public prosecutor and the judge to use their own discretion in the arrangement of proceedings was possible only because it may be assumed that no German public prosecutor and no German judge in any proceeding conducted by him will ignore these principles.

Should that happen, however, in an isolated case, it is to be expected that the public prosecutor will appeal against a decision arrived at during a trial exhibiting such fundamental defects with the legal measures at his disposal. The senates of the four district courts of appeal, which are the highest authority in Polish matters, guarantee that they display in these cases by the way in which they deal with appeals that such high principles may not be left out of consideration and that they express this clearly in the reasons given for the verdict, although this is not absolutely necessary for the establishment of the sentence itself, because it is not a revised judgment but a sentence on appeal * * *.

f. Execution of a sentence.

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Even if every sentence can be carried out immediately nevertheless it is self-evident that the authority carrying out sentences will not proceed to the execution if in a specific case the possibility exists that the condemning verdict can undergo a substantial change by legal measures to the advantage of the condemned person or even be changed into acquittal. It is completely self-evident that the severest penalty will not be put into effect before it hasthe force of law; this is also impossible because the decision of the supreme authority as to the execution or nonexecution can only be brought about after the sentence becomes valid. It has also to be expected that the executing authority will stay the execution of the penalty if that authority or the public prosecutor—perhaps because of new evidence—later arrives at the conclusion that the condemning sentence cannot be upheld, or at least reckons with the not too distant possibility of such a result of an appeal or of a retrial.

The decree contains no specification that the court of appeal, or court of retrial, or its president can order a stay of execution of a sentence. The legislator believed he could abstain from such a specification, because the attorney general will see to it in the way of administration that such a stay is brought about at the suggestion of the president. It is not necessary that everything should be ordered in the way of legislation that can be safeguarded in the way of administration.

g. Legal means—The public prosecutor can “lodge an appeal against sentences passed by the judge of a local court with the district court of appeal. The period of time within which an appeal is to be lodged is 2 weeks.” (Number VI) The extension of the time limit is explained not only by the poor rail and postal communications which are sometimes even worse in the Incorporated Eastern Territories than in other parts of the Reich. Its explanation is to be found above all in the fact that it is also the duty of the public prosecutor to examine whether an appeal is to be lodged on behalf of the condemned person. The condemned person will quite often suggest this to him. The public prosecutor will then require a certain amount of time in order to examine whether the new statements and evidence, which the defendant has perhaps given him when he suggested such an appeal. For that the summary examination of evidence offered will often be necessary and will take a few days. Just when the public prosecutor is confronted with the question whether he is to lodge an appeal on behalf of the condemned person he will do well to hold himself more than ever aloof from the bad custom of lodging an appeal “as a precaution.” For in this case he would raise false hopes and in addition, even if he does not subsequently maintain the appeal, would in the eyes of the condemned divest the judgment of some of its authority. He must therefore have time for a summary examination. From this resulted the extension of the time limit for the lodging of an appeal.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-665PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 346

SUPPLEMENTARY DECREE, 31 JANUARY 1942, CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF PENAL JUSTICE AGAINST POLES AND JEWS IN THE INCORPORATED EASTERN TERRITORIES

1942 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, PAGE 52

Pursuant to article XVII of the decree concerning the Administration of Penal Justice against Poles and Jews in the Incorporated Eastern Territories of 4 December 1941[351](Reichsgesetzblatt Part I, page 759), the following is decreed:

Article I

Articles I to III of the decree of 4 December 1941 (Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 759) may be equally applied with the consent of the public prosecutor to offenses committed before the decree came into force.

Article II

(1) The court may rule in every case that Poles and Jews be interrogated by a commissioned or requested judge; article 251, paragraph 2, of the Reich Code of Criminal Procedure and article 252, paragraph 3, of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure will remain unchanged.

(2) This regulation equally applies to Poles and Jews who, on 1 September 1939, resided or were abiding in the territory of the former Polish State and who are interrogated as witnesses in other parts of the German Reich.

Berlin, 31 January 1942

The Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Dr. Schlegelberger

The Reich Minister of the Interior

As deputy:Pfundner

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-1106PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 462

EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF A CONFERENCE BETWEEN DEFENDANT ROTHENBERGER AND THREE JUDGES OF THE HAMBURG COURTS, 23 JANUARY 1942, CONCERNING THE EXEMPTION OF DESTITUTE JEWS FROM COURT FEES

Notes on a discussion held on 23 January 1942

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II. Present: Senator Dr. Rothenberger, Local Court Judge Dr. Schwarz, Presiding Judge Korn of the District Court, Judge Dr. F. Priess of the District Court of Appeal

[Marginal note] copy made out for: 3715-1b 1/17 a-c

extract

The senator [the defendant Rothenberger] reported that the question of the Armenrecht[352]concerning Jews has come into the foreground again. With the district court there were two cases pending. He requested that contacts with the judges of the district court and of the local court be taken up at once so that a uniform line is followed to the effect that the Jews be denied the benefits of the Armenrecht. It would be entirely out of the question that Jews be granted the benefits of the Armenrecht subsequent to the present development. This would apply especially to Jews who had been evacuated, but in his opinion also to those who had not been evacuated. With regard to the matter it had to be considered whether or not any material claims of the Jews could still be answered in the affirmative. Concerning this question, it might, however, be practical to maintain a certain reserve.

Presiding Judge Korn of the district court had raised certain objections to the denial, because up to now it was lacking any legal basis.

Hamburg, 27 January 1942

For information—1. To Councillor of the Local Court for information and further action (with regard to II)

2. To High Judicial Inspector Bellair for further action 27 January 1942

[Illegible initials]

323-1b 2/1

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-589PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 372

UNDATED REPORT FROM THE DISTRICT COURT IN HAMBURG CONCERNING GRANTING OF BENEFITS FOR DESTITUTE PERSONS TO A JEW, TOGETHER WITH TWO LETTERS OF DEFENDANT ROTHENBERGER AND AN INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM, 13 FEBRUARY-22 MAY 1942

Excerpts from the File Prenzlau against Behrens and Lundin—2 0.84/41

The Jewish plaintiff Israel Prenzlau proposed that Armenrechtbe granted him in an intended lawsuit against Karl Behrens and Paul Lundin in consideration of a claim which is supposed to have arisen from the withdrawal of the Jewish co-associate from the G.m.b.H. [limited liability company].

On 30 June 1937 the plaintiff withdrew from the Prenzlau, Behrens, and Lundin G.m.b.H. The firm is now continuing its business as a trading company with unlimited liability of the partners. At the time of the withdrawal, it had not yet been ascertained that a former employee had defrauded the firm for the amount of 80,000 reichsmarks. He maintains that he retains his share of the claim against Hahn, or rather those firms which by default have rendered possible the loss to the G.m.b.H. of so large an amount. The defendants, in the course of the Armenrecht proceedings, have offered 3,000 reichsmarks in settlement of the claim, subject to approval by the Gau economic adviser. The Gau economic adviser, after only a preliminary short comment, gave the following interpretation on 6 November 1941:

“In reply to your inquiry I state my point of view in detail.“In a lawsuit between a German national and a Jew I consider the settling of a dispute by legal measures inadmissible for political reasons. The German national as party in the lawsuit, pursuant to his clearly defined legal standard derived from his political training since 1933, can expect that the court will decide the case by a verdict that is to meet a conclusive decision on the case. What is expected is a decision which was arrived at not from purely legal points of view, as result of a legal trend of thoughts, but which is an expression of the way in which National Socialist demands, concerning the Jewish question, are realized by German lawyers. Evading this decision by a compromise might mean encroaching upon the rights of a fellow citizen in favor of a Jew. This kind of settlement would be in contradiction to the sound sentiments of the people, I therefore consider it as inadmissible.”

“In reply to your inquiry I state my point of view in detail.

“In a lawsuit between a German national and a Jew I consider the settling of a dispute by legal measures inadmissible for political reasons. The German national as party in the lawsuit, pursuant to his clearly defined legal standard derived from his political training since 1933, can expect that the court will decide the case by a verdict that is to meet a conclusive decision on the case. What is expected is a decision which was arrived at not from purely legal points of view, as result of a legal trend of thoughts, but which is an expression of the way in which National Socialist demands, concerning the Jewish question, are realized by German lawyers. Evading this decision by a compromise might mean encroaching upon the rights of a fellow citizen in favor of a Jew. This kind of settlement would be in contradiction to the sound sentiments of the people, I therefore consider it as inadmissible.”

The defendants thereupon refused a settlement with the plaintiff and now deny they owe him anything.

On 6 December 1941 the district court [Hamburg] granted Armenrecht. Subsequently, action was brought in as follows:

1. To disclose to the plaintiff what the payments have been, which have been made so far to the parties entitled to redress pursuant to the claim against Hahn.

2. To pay defendant 22 percent of the total amounts received, with 4 percent interest from the day the action was filed.

The court intends now to issue a conclusion based on evidence.

3715-1b 1 17

13 February 1942

To the President of the District Court

Hamburg

1 Document

With regard to the pending case Prenzlau against Behrens and Lundin I do not intend to approach the economic adviser of the Gau for the time being, seeing from the documents that the ultimate beneficiary of the claim—the son of the plaintiff—emigrated in the year 1938 and his property has therefore surely been confiscated. I fail to understand why the court granted Armenrecht to the assignee, a Jew, without first consulting the authority for sequestration of property. The cession most probably will become meaningless as it was transferred in trusteeship by the son to the father shortly before his emigration.

Please discuss the matter with the judge.

[Typed signature]Dr. Rothenberger

Written: 13 February 1942

Read:

Mailed: 14 February 1942

Note

The senator discussed in Berlin the question of granting Armenrecht to Jews. A ruling will probably be issued shortly. Every case coming on hand must first be submitted to the senator. President Korn and President Dr. Segelken have been informed by me to this effect.

Hamburg, 24 February 1942

[Illegible initial]

[Handwritten notes]

Local Court Judge Dr. Bartsch for information.

25 February 42

Seen 25 February 1942

[Signed]Sen

22 May 1942

3715-1b/1/17/

To the President of the District Court

Hamburg

Subject: Granting of Armenrecht to Jews

Reference: Your letter A.R. 53/42

1 Document

I hereby return the document Prenzlau against Behrens and Lundin 2648/41-20 H 28/41 sent to me with report of 7 May.

With his circular ordinance of 5 March 1942—3715 IV b 3 332, with which you are familiar, the Reich Minister of Justice has annulled his circular ordinance of 23 June 1939—3740 IV b 1118, stating that the granting of Armenrecht to Jews could be taken into consideration only in such cases where the carrying out of the lawsuit is in the common interest. In consequence thereof I consider it adequate that the Armenrecht granted to plaintiff Prenzlau be cancelled.

Please have this taken into consideration by the court in a form which you deem appropriate.

[Typed signature]Dr. Rothenberger

22 May 1942

Written: 22 May 1942

Read:

Mailed: 23 May 1942

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 4055-PSPROSECUTION EXHIBIT 401

LETTER FROM DEFENDANT SCHLEGELBERGER TO LAMMERS, 12 MARCH 1942, EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT CONTEMPLATED ANTI-JEWISH MEASURES; REPLY FROM LAMMERS, 18 MARCH 1942; LETTER FROM SCHLEGELBERGER TO SEVEN GOVERNMENT AND PARTY AGENCIES ON “THE FINAL SOLUTION OF THE JEWISH PROBLEM,” 5 APRIL 1942; FILE NOTE ON SITUATION OF BERLIN JEWS, 21 NOVEMBER 1941

Berlin, 12 March 1942

The Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Dear Reich Minister Dr. Lammers:

I have just been informed by my Referent about the result of the meeting of 6 March regarding the treatment of Jews and descendants of mixed marriages. I am now expecting the officialtranscript. According to the report of my Referent, decisions seem to be under way which I am constrained to consider absolutely impossible for the most part. Since the results of these discussions are to constitute the basis for the decision of the Fuehrer, and since a Referent from your Ministry participated likewise in these discussions, I urgently desire to discuss this matter with you on time. As soon as I have received the transcript of the meeting, I shall take the liberty in calling you to ask you if and when a discussion may take place.

With sincerest regards and Heil Hitler!

Yours devotedly

[Typed signature]Dr. Schlegelberger

To the Reich Minister and Chief of the Party Chancellery

Dr. Lammers,

Berlin

01/108

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery

Berlin W 8Vosstrasse 618 March 1942

Pk 3614 B

at present Fuehrer Headquarters

Under Secretary Professor Dr. Schlegelberger,

Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Subject: Total solution [Gesamtloesung] of the Jewish question

In reply to the letter of 12 March 1942

Dear Dr. Schlegelberger:

I will be very glad to comply with your request and to discuss this question with you. I shall probably be visiting Berlin again toward the end of the month and will then have you informed about a suitable date.

Heil Hitler!

yours sincerely,

[Signed]Dr. Lammers

The Acting Reich Minister of Justice

Berlin W 8, 5 April 1942Wilhelmstrasse 65

Secret Reich Matter

IV b 40 g RE

To:[353]

1. The Chief of the Party Chancellery

Attention: SS Oberfuehrer Klopfer

2. The Reich Minister of the Interior

Attention: Under Secretary Dr. Stuckart

3. The Chief of the Security Police and the SD

SS Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich

4. The Deputy for the Four Year Plan

Attention: Under Secretary Neumann

5. The Foreign Office

Attention: Under Secretary Luther

6. The Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories

Attention: Gau Leader and Under Secretary Dr. Meyer

7. The Race and Settlement Main Office of the Reich Leader SS

Attention: SS Gruppenfuehrer Hofmann

Subject: Final solution [Endloesung] of the Jewish problem

1. The final solution of the Jewish problem presupposes a clear-cut and permanently applicable definition of the group of persons for whom the projected measures are to be initiated. Such a definition applies only when we desist from the beginning from including descendants of mixed marriages of the second degree in these measures. The measures for the final solution of the Jewish problem should extend only to full-blooded Jews and descendants of mixed marriages of the first degree, but should not apply to descendants of mixed marriages of the second degree.[354]

2. With regard to the treatment of Jewish descendants of mixed marriages of the first degree, I agree with the conception of the Reich Minister of the Interior which he expressed in his letter of 16 February 1942, to the effect that the prevention of propagation of these descendants of mixed marriages is to be preferred to their being thrown in with the Jews and evacuated. It follows therefrom that evacuation of those half-Jews who are no more capable of propagation, is excluded from the beginning. There is no national interest in dissolving the marriages between such half-Jews and a full-blooded German.

Those half-Jews who are capable of propagation should be given the choice to submit to sterilization or to be evacuated in the same manner as Jews. In the case of sterilization, as well as in that of evacuation of the half-Jew, the German-blooded partner will have to be given the opportunity to effect the dissolution of the marriage. I see no objection to the German partner’s obtaining the possibility of divorcing his or her sterilized or evacuated partner in a simplified procedure without [having to observe] the limitation of article 53 of the marriage law.

3. An exception might be worthy of consideration with respect to those half-Jews whose descendants are becoming members of the German national community, and who are finally absorbed by it. If these descendants are to be incorporated into the German national community as full fledged members—which has to be the aim in case of a genuine final solution of the Jewish question—it seems advisable to protect them from being treated as inferiors or from having feelings of inferiority which could arise easily out of the knowledge and the bad conscience that their immediate ancestors have been affected by the planned defensive measures of the national community. For this reason, it should be considered whether or not half-Jews whose living descendants are not half-Jews should be spared from evacuation as well as sterilization.

4. I have no scruples against facilitation of divorce of marriages between racial Germans and Jews. This facilitation should also be extended to marriages with persons who are considered as Jews. The divorce will have to be granted upon the request of the German-blooded partner in a simplified procedure. I have considerable scruples about compulsory divorces, for instance, on motion of the public prosecutor. Such compulsion is unnecessary because the partners will be separated in any case by the deportation of the Jewish partner. An enforced divorce, moreover, is without avail, because, though it cuts the marriage ties, it does not cut the inner tie between the partners; moreover, it does not relieve the German partner from the scorn to which he is exposed by clinging to his marriage. Finally, a clinging to marriage on the part of the German-blooded partner is to be expected only in the case of older marriages which have endured throughout many years. In cases in which the Jewish partner, as a rule, is not evacuated but confined to an old people’s ghetto, the German-blooded partner who disclaims his membership in the German community should not be prohibited from being admitted to the ghetto.

[Typed signature]Dr. Schlegelberger

Note—In view of the present position of the Jews, discussions are pending in the building whether Jews are to be deprived of the right to participate in a lawsuit and whether some other ruling is to be made concerning their representation before court. The decisive factor is whether the immediate removal of all Jews can be counted upon. About 77,000 Jews live in Berlin alone. About 7,000 of these have been removed so far. The Labor Exchange for Jews, 15 Fontane-promenade—Government Counsellor Epphaus—and the Secret State Police (Dept. Burgstrasse—official in charge, Pruefer) have “reserved” the Jews, who at present are difficult to replace, who are working in armament factories and other war essential concerns. Furthermore, Jews living in privileged mixed marriages have not so far been removed. On the other hand, all Jewish legal consultants [Konsulenten] in Berlin have been ordered to leave. These Jews are today “reserved.” Accordingly, it must be assumed that a considerable number of Jews will remain on Reich territory, and particularly in Berlin, for some time to come.

Berlin, 21 November 1941

[Typed signature]Lutterloh

Ministerialdirigent

Senior Government Counsellor Dr. Gramm

Please inform the Under Secretary.

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-270PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 155

EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE IN STREICHER’S[355]“DER STUERMER,” 2 APRIL 1942, CONCERNING THE KATZENBERGER TRIAL AND JUDGMENT

Der Stuermer

DEATH TO THE RACE DEFILER

A Trial before the Nuernberg Special Court

Race defiler Katzenberger—13–14 March 1942—page 2, column 1

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The prosecutor reads the charge. The Jew Katzenberger had committed “race defilement” with the now 31-year-old businessproprietress Irene S., of Nuernberg, of German blood, from 1932 until the year 1940 (!) by exploiting this woman’s financial difficulties. He did not even shrink back from exploiting—for his Talmudic practices—the conditions caused by the war and the absence of the husband S. who has been conscripted for military service. Irene S. is charged with attempting to withhold the deserved punishment from the Jew by committing perjury in the pretrial interrogation.

How Katzenberger defends himself(p. 2, col. 1)

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How will Katzenberger try to deceive the Court and escape avenging justice?

The Jew Katzenberger developed special tactics of his own. He pretends not to have engaged in “race defiling,” but to have entertained merely “fatherly” relations with Irene S. * * * Only out of “pure fatherly” sentiment has he thrown cigarettes to her through the window and given her lots of shoes.

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Before the verdict(p. 2, col. 4)

After the presentation of evidence has been concluded, the prosecutor rises. With sharp words he characterizes the defendant as a criminal, who did not even shrink back from exploiting war conditions for his shameless activities. As a race defiler and public parasite in the sense of the law, Katzenberger has forfeited his life. Therefore, the death sentence should be pronounced against him. The other defendant, Irene S., should be sentenced to 2 years’ hard labor and loss of civil rights for 2 years.

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In his final statement the Jew Katzenberger eventually tries at least to save what can be saved.

Once more he tries to act the “benefactor,” in order to appeal to the pity of the judges. With an impudence which only a Jew can muster, he characterizes all that has been presented against him, as “backstairs’ gossip” and finally even wants to claim Frederick The Great as his principal witness. But the president does not permit a Jewish race defiler to soil the figure of the great Prussian King. The court then adjourned for deliberation.

Sentenced to death!(p. 3, col. 1)

When the court reenters the courtroom to announce the verdictone can already see from the earnest looks of the judges that the fate of the Talmudic criminal has been sealed.

As a race defiler and public parasite Katzenberger is sentenced to death.

The codefendant Irene S. gets 2 years’ hard labor and loss of civil rights for perjury. President of the District Court of Appeal R. points to words in the findings of the verdict, which prove to what extent the German judges are imbued with the tremendous importance of the racial laws. The president brands the depravity of the defendant and stamps him as an evil public parasite. “Racial defilement is worse than murder! Entire generations will be affected by it into the remotest future!” President of the district court of appeal R. in his speech also refers to the guilt of Jewry in this war. “If today German soldiers are bleeding to death, then the guilt falls upon that race which from the very beginning strived for Germany’s ruin, and still hopes today that the German people will not emerge from this struggle.” In the case of Katzenberger the court had to pronounce the death sentence. The physical destruction of the perpetrator was the only possible atonement.

The end(p. 3, col. 1)

With the findings of the verdict the sentence of the Special Court has become effective.

Why the “Stuermer” describes the Katzenberger trial in detail(p. 3, col. 2)

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The Jew Katzenberger was sentenced to death as a race defiler and public parasite. This sentence (it is not the first of this kind in the Reich) was pronounced in Nuernberg and thus honors the city whose name was bestowed upon the racial laws of 15 September 1935. For the “Stuermer” however, this sentence signifies a special satisfaction, because it was the “Stuermer” which, in a special edition of the year 1938, had demanded the death penalty for race defilers.

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If today Jewish race defilers are really sentenced to death, then this proves that the “Stuermer” has been a good prophet for many years.

Race defilers are public parasites(p. 3, col. 4)

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Jewish race defilers therefore will have to take care in the future. They do not risk their freedom only but also their heads and necks. The patience of the German people has become exhausted. It does not treat Jewish public parasites more tenderly any longer than the public parasites from our own ranks. In this sense the Katzenberger trial has received a significance which goes far beyond the Nuernberg courtroom.

Everything for the German people(p. 3, col. 4)

The world Jewry will discover that Germany knows how to defend herself with the severe measures against Jewish race defilers. Now it will again write using the old long-tried tactics, about the “medieval conditions” prevailing in Germany. It will again glorify those “poor, deplorable, harmless Jews,” who become the victims of National Socialist legislation. It will give vent to spite and malice toward Germany.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NG-154PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 152

OPINION AND SENTENCE OF THE NUERNBERG SPECIAL COURT IN THE KATZENBERGER CASE, 13 MARCH 1942, IN WHICH DEFENDANT ROTHAUG WAS PRESIDING JUDGE[356]

Sg No. 351/41

Verdict

In the name of the German People

The Special Court for the district of the Court of Appeal in Nuernberg with the District Court Nuernberg-Fuerth in the proceedings against Katzenberger, Lehmann Israel, commonly called Leo, merchant and head of the Jewish religious community in Nuernberg, and Seiler, Irene, owner of a photographic shop in Nuernberg, both at present in arrest pending trial the charges being racial pollution and perjury—in public session of 13 March 1942, in the presence of—

The President—Dr. Rothaug, Senior Judge of the District Court;

Associate Judges—Dr. Ferber and Dr. Hoffmann, Judges of the District Court;

Public Prosecutor for the Special Court—Markl; and

Official Registrar: Raisin, clerk,pronounced the following verdict:

Katzenberger, Lehmann Israel, commonly called Leo, Jewish by race and religion, born 25 November 1873 at Massbach, married, merchant of Nuernberg; Seiler, Irene, née Scheffler, born 26 April 1910 at Guben, married, owner of a photographic shop in Nuernberg, both at present in arrest pending trial have been sentenced as follows:

Katzenberger—for an offense under section 2, legally identical with an offense under section 4 of the decree against public enemies in connection with the offense of racial pollution to death and to loss of his civil rights for life according to sections 32–34 of the criminal (penal) code.

Seiler—for the offense of committing perjury while a witness to 2 years of hard labor and to loss of her civil rights for the duration of 2 years.

The 3 months the defendant Seiler spent in arrest pending trial will be taken into consideration in her sentence.

Costs will be charged to the defendants.

Findings

1. The defendant Katzenberger is fully Jewish and a German national; he is a member of the Jewish religious community.

As far as his descent is concerned, extracts from the birth registers of the Jewish community at Massbach show that the defendant was born on 25 November 1873 as the son of Louis David Katzenberger, merchant, and his wife Helene née Adelberg. The defendant’s father, born on 30 June 1838 at Massbach, was, according to an extract from the Jewish registers at Thundorf, the legitimate son of David Katzenberger, weaver, and his wife Karoline Lippig. The defendants’ mother Lena Adelberg, born on 14 June 1847 at Aschbach, was, according to extracts from the birth register of the Jewish religious community of Aschbach, the legitimate daughter of Lehmann Adelberg, merchant and his wife, Lea. According to the Thundorf register, the defendant’s parents were married on 3 December 1867 by the district rabbi in Schweinfurt. The defendant’s grandparents on his father’s side were married, according to extracts from the Thundorf register, on 3 April 1832; those on his mother’s side were married, according to an extract from the register of marriages of the Jewish religious community of Aschbach, on 14 August 1836.

The extracts from the register of marriages of the Jewish religious community at Aschbach show, concerning the marriage of the maternal grandparents, that Bela-Lea Seemann, born at Aschbach in 1809, was a member of the Jewish religious community. Otherwise the documents mentioned give no further information so far as confessional affiliations are concerned that parents or grandparents were of Jewish faith.

The defendant himself has stated that he is certain that all four grandparents were members of the Jewish faith. His grandmothers he knew when they were alive; both grandfathers were buried in Jewish cemeteries. Both his parents belonged to the Jewish religious community, as he does himself.

The court sees no reason to doubt the correctness of these statements, which are fully corroborated by the available extracts from exclusively Jewish registers. Should it be true that all four grandparents belonged to the Jewish faith, the grandparents would be regarded as fully Jewish according to the regulation to facilitate the producing of evidence in section 5, paragraph 1 together with section 2, paragraph 2, page 2 of the ordinance to the Reich Civil Code of 14 November 1935 Reichsgesetzblatt, page 1333. The defendant therefore is fully Jewish in the sense of the Law for the Protection of German Blood.[357]His own admissions show that he himself shared that view.

The defendant Katzenberger came to Nuernberg in 1912. Together with his brothers, David and Max, he ran a shoe shop until November 1938. The defendant married in 1906, and there are two children, ages 30 and 34.

Up to 1938 the defendant and his brothers, David and Max, owned the property of 19 Spittlertorgraben in Nuernberg. There were offices and storerooms in the rear building, whereas the main building facing the street was an apartment house with several apartments.

The codefendant Irene Seiler arrived in 1932 to take a flat in 19 Spittlertorgraben, and the defendant Katzenberger has been acquainted with her since that date.

2. Irene Seiler, née Scheffler, is a German citizen of German blood.

Her descent is proved by documents relating to all four grandparents. She herself, her parents, and all her grandparents belong to the Protestant Lutheran faith. This finding of the religious background is based on available birth and marriage certificates of the Scheffler family which were made part of the trial. As faras descent is concerned therefore, there can be no doubt about Irene Seiler, née Scheffler, being of German blood.

The defendant Katzenberger was fully cognizant of the fact that Irene Seiler was of German blood and of German nationality.

On 29 July 1939, Irene Scheffler married Johann Seiler, a commercial agent. There have been no children so far.

In her native city, Guben, the defendant attended secondary school and high school up to Unterprima [eighth grade of high school], and after that, for 1 year, she attended the Leipzig State Academy of Art and Book Craft.

She went to Nuernberg in 1932 where she worked in the photographic laboratory of her sister Hertha, which the latter had managed since 1928 as a tenant of 19 Spittlertorgraben. On 1 January 1938, she took over her sister’s business at her own expense. On 24 February 1938, she passed her professional examination.

3. The defendant Katzenberger is charged with having had continual extra-marital sexual intercourse with Irene Seiler, née Scheffler, a German national of German blood. He is said to have visited Seiler frequently in her apartment in Spittlertorgraben up to March 1940, while Seiler visited him frequently, up to autumn 1938, in the offices of the rear building. Seiler, who is alleged to have got herself in a dependent position by accepting gifts of money from the defendant Katzenberger and by being allowed delay in paying her rent, was sexually amenable to Katzenberger. Thus, their acquaintance is said to have become of a sexual nature, and, in particular, sexual intercourse occurred. They are both said to have exchanged kisses sometimes in Seiler’s flat and sometimes in Katzenberger’s offices. Seiler is alleged to have often sat on Katzenberger’s lap. On these occasions Katzenberger, in order to achieve sexual satisfaction, is said to have caressed and patted Seiler on her thighs through her clothes, clinging closely to Seiler, and resting his head on her bosom.

The defendant Katzenberger is charged with having committed this act of racial pollution by taking advantage of wartime conditions. Lack of supervision was in his favor, especially as he is said to have visited Seiler during the black-out. Moreover, Seiler’s husband had been called up, and consequently surprise appearances of the husband were not to be feared.

The defendant Irene Seiler is charged with having, on the occasion of her interrogation by the investigating judge of the local Nuernberg Court on 9 July 1941, made deliberately untrue statements and affirmed under oath that this contact was without sexual motives and that she believed that to apply to Katzenberger as well.

Seiler, it is alleged, has thereby become guilty of being a perjuring witness.

The defendants have said this in their defense—

The defendant Seiler—When in 1932 she arrived in the photographic laboratory of her sister in Nuernberg, she was thrown completely on her own resources. Her sister returned to Guben, where she opened a studio as a photographer. Her father had recommended her to the landlord, the defendant Katzenberger, asking him to look after her and to assist her in word and deed. This was how she became closely acquainted with the Jew Katzenberger.

As time went on, Katzenberger did indeed become her adviser, helping her, in particular, in her financial difficulties. Delighted with the friendship and kindness shown her by Katzenberger she came to regard him gradually as nothing but a fatherly friend, and it never occurred to her to look upon him as a Jew. It was true that she called regularly in the storerooms of the rear house. She did so after office hours, because it was easier then to pick out shoes. It also happened that during these visits, and during those paid by Katzenberger to her flat, she kissed Katzenberger now and then and allowed him to kiss her. On these occasions she frequently would sit on Katzenberger’s lap which was quite natural with her and had no ulterior motive. In no way should sexual motives be regarded as the cause of her actions. She always thought that Katzenberger’s feelings for her were purely those of a concerned father.

Basing herself on this view she made the statement to the investigating judge on 9 July 1941 and affirmed under oath, that when exchanging those caresses neither she herself nor Katzenberger did so because of any erotic emotions.

The defendant Katzenberger—He denies having committed an offense. It is his defense that his relations with Frau Seiler were of a purely friendly nature. The Scheffler family in Guben had likewise looked upon his relations with Frau Seiler only from this point of view. That he continued his relations with Frau Seiler after 1933, 1935, and 1938, might be regarded as a wrong [Unrecht] by the NSDAP. The fact of his doing so, however, showed that his conscience was clear.

Moreover, their meetings became less frequent after the action against the Jews in 1938. After Frau Seiler got married in 1939, the husband often came in unexpectedly when he, Katzenberger, was with Frau Seiler in the flat. Never, however, did the husband surprise them in an ambiguous situation. In January or February 1940, at the request of the husband, he went to the Seiler’s apartment twice to help them fill in their tax declarations. The last talkhe ever had in the Seiler apartment took place in March 1940. On that occasion Frau Seiler suggested to him to discontinue his visits because of the representations made to her by the NSDAP, and she gave him a farewell kiss in the presence of her husband.

He never pursued any plans when being together with Frau Seiler, and he therefore could not have taken advantage of wartime conditions and the black-out.

The court has drawn the following conclusions from the excuses made by the defendant Katzenberger and the restrictions with which the defendant Seiler attempted to render her admissions less harmful:

When, in 1932, the defendant Seiler came to settle in Nuernberg at the age of 22, she was a fully grown and sexually mature young woman. According to her own admissions, credible in this case, she was not above sexual surrender in her relations with her friends.

In Nuernberg, when she had taken over her sister’s laboratory in 19 Spittlertorgraben, she entered the immediate sphere of the defendant Katzenberger. During their acquaintance she gradually became willing, in a period of almost 10 years, to exchange caresses and, according to the confessions of both defendants, situations arose which can by no means be regarded merely as the outcome of fatherly friendliness. When she met Katzenberger in his offices in the rear building or in her flat, she sat often on his lap and, without a doubt, kissed his lips and cheeks. On these occasions Katzenberger, as he admitted himself, responded to these caresses by returning the kisses, putting his head on her bosom and patting her thighs through her clothes.

To assume that the exchange of these caresses, admitted by both of them, were on Katzenberger’s part the expression of his fatherly feelings, on Seiler’s part merely the actions caused by daughterly feelings with a strong emotional accent, as a natural result of the situation, is contrary to all experience of daily life. The subterfuge used by the defendant in this respect is in the view of the court simply a crude attempt to disguise as sentiment, free of all sexual lust, these actions with their strong sexual bias. In view of the character of the two defendants and basing itself on the evidence submitted, the court is firmly convinced that sexual motives were the primary cause for the caresses exchanged by the two defendants.

Seiler was usually in financial difficulties. Katzenberger availed himself of this fact to make her frequent gifts of money, and repeatedly gave her sums from 1 to 10 reichsmarks. In his capacityas administrator of the property on which Seiler lived and which was owned by the firm he was a partner of, Katzenberger often allowed her long delays in paying her rental debts. He often gave Seiler cigarettes, flowers, and shoes.

The defendant Seiler admits that she was anxious to remain in Katzenberger’s favor. They addressed each other in the second person singular.

According to the facts established in the trial, the two defendants offered to their immediate surroundings, and in particular to the community of the house of 19 Spittlertorgraben, the impression of having an intimate love affair.

The witnesses Kleylein, Paul and Babette; Maesel, Johann; Heilmann, Johann; and Leibner, Georg observed frequently that Katzenberger and Seiler waved to each other when Seiler, through one of the rear windows of her flat, saw Katzenberger in his offices. The witnesses’ attention was drawn particularly to the frequent visits paid by Seiler to Katzenberger’s offices after business hours and on Sundays, as well as to the length of these visits. Everyone in the house came to know eventually that Seiler kept asking Katzenberger for money, and they all became convinced that Katzenberger, as the Jewish creditor, exploited sexually the poor financial situation of the German-blooded woman Seiler. The witness Heilmann, in a conversation with the witness Paul Kleylein, expressed his opinion of the matter to the effect that the Jew was getting a good return for the money he gave Seiler.

Nor did the two defendants themselves regard these mutual calls and exchange of caresses as being merely casual happenings of daily life, beyond reproach. According to statements made by the witnesses Babette and Paul Kleylein, they observed Katzenberger to show definite signs of fright when he saw that they had discovered his visits to Seiler’s flat as late as 1940. The witnesses also observed that during the later period Katzenberger sneaked into Seiler’s flat rather than walking in openly.

In August 1940, while being in the air-raid shelter, the defendant Seiler had to put up with the following reply given to her by Oestreicher, an inhabitant of the same house, in the presence of all other inhabitants: “I’ll pay you back, you Jewish hussy.” Seiler did not do anything to defend herself against this reproach later on, and all she did was to tell Katzenberger of this incident shortly after it had happened. Seiler has been unable to give an even remotely credible explanation why she showed this remarkable restraint in the face of so strong an expression of suspicion. Simply pointing out that her father, who is over seventy, had advised her not to take any steps against Oestreicher does notmake more plausible her restraint shown in the face of the grave accusation made in public.

The statements made by Hans Zeuschel, assistant inspector of the criminal police, show that the two defendants did not admit from the very beginning the existing sexual situation as being beyond reproach. The fact that Seiler admitted the caresses bestowed on Katzenberger only after having been earnestly admonished, and the additional fact that Katzenberger, when interrogated by the police, confessed only when Seiler’s statements were being shown to him, forces the conclusion that they both deemed it advisable to keep secret the actions for which they have been put on trial. This being so, the court is convinced that the two defendants made these statements only for reason of opportuneness intending to minimize and render harmless a situation which has been established by witnesses’ testimony.

Seiler has also admitted that she did not tell her husband about the caresses exchanged with Katzenberger prior to her marriage—all she told him was that in the past Katzenberger had helped her a good deal. After getting married in July 1939 she gave Katzenberger a “friendly kiss” on the cheek in the presence of her husband on only one occasion, otherwise they avoided kissing each other when the husband was present.

In view of the behavior of the defendants toward each other, as repeatedly described, the court has become convinced that the relations between Seiler and Katzenberger which extended over a period of 10 years were of a purely sexual nature. This is the only possible explanation of the intimacy of their acquaintance. As there were a large number of circumstances favoring seduction no doubt is possible that the defendant Katzenberger maintained continuous sexual intercourse with Seiler. The court considers as untrue Katzenberger’s statement to the contrary that Seiler did not interest him sexually, and the statements made by the defendant Seiler in support of Katzenberger’s defense the court considers as incompatible with all practical experience. They were obviously made with the purpose of saving Katzenberger from his punishment.

The court is therefore convinced that Katzenberger, after the Nuernberg laws had come into effect, had repeated sexual intercourse with Seiler, up to March 1940. It is not possible to say on what days and how often this took place.

The Law for the Protection of German Blood defines extra-marital sexual intercourse as any form of sexual activity apart from the actual cohabitation with a member of the opposite sex which, by the method applied in place of actual intercourse, serves to satisfy the sexual instincts of at least one of the partners. Theconduct to which the defendants admitted and which in the case of Katzenberger consisted in drawing Seiler close to him, kissing her, patting and caressing her thighs over her clothes, makes it clear that in a crude manner Katzenberger did to Seiler what is popularly called “Abschmieren” [petting]. It is obvious that such actions are motivated only by sexual impulses. Even if the Jew had only done these so-called “Ersatzhandlungen” [sexual acts in lieu of actual intercourse] to Seiler, it would have been sufficient to charge him with racial pollution in the full sense of the law.

The court, however, is convinced over and above this that Katzenberger, who admits that he is still capable of having sexual intercourse, had intercourse with Seiler throughout the duration of their affair. According to general experiences it is impossible to assume that in the 10 years of his tête-a-tête with Seiler, which often lasted up to an hour, Katzenberger would have been satisfied with the “Ersatzhandlungen” which in themselves warranted the application of the law.

III

Thus, the defendant Katzenberger has been convicted of having had, as a Jew, extra-marital sexual intercourse with a German citizen of German blood after the Law for the Protection of German Blood came into force, which according to section 7 of the law means after 17 September 1935. His actions were guided by a consistent plan which was aimed at repetition from the very beginning. He is therefore guilty of a continuous crime of racial pollution according to sections 2 and 5, paragraph 11 of the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor of 15 September 1935.

A legal analysis of the established facts shows that in his polluting activities, the defendant Katzenberger, moreover, generally exploited the exceptional conditions arising out of wartime circumstances. Men have largely vanished from towns and villages because they have been called up or are doing other work for the armed forces which prevents them from remaining at home and maintaining order. It was these general conditions and wartime changes which the defendant exploited. As he continued his visits to Seiler’s apartment up to spring 1940, the defendant took into account the fact that in the absence of more stringent measures of control his practices could not, at least not very easily, be seen through. The fact that her husband had been drafted into the armed forces also helped him in his activities.

Looked at from this point of view, Katzenberger’s conduct is particularly contemptible. Together with his offense of racial pollution he is also guilty of an offense under section 4 of the decreeagainst public enemies. It should be noted here that the national community is in need of increased legal protection from all crimes attempting to destroy or undermine its inner solidarity.

On several occasions since the outbreak of war the defendant Katzenberger sneaked into Seiler’s flat after dark. In these cases the defendant acted by exploiting the measures taken for the protection in air raids and by making use of the black-out. His chances were further improved by the absence of the bright street lighting which exists in the street along Spittlertorgraben in peacetime. In each case he exploited this fact being fully aware of its significance, thus during his excursions he instinctively escaped observation by people in the street.

The visits paid by Katzenberger to Seiler under the cover of the black-out served at least the purpose of keeping relations going. It does not matter whether during these visits extra-marital sexual intercourse took place or whether they only conversed because the husband was present, as Katzenberger claims. The motion to have the husband called as a witness was therefore overruled. The court holds the view that the defendant’s actions were deliberately performed as part of a consistent plan and amount to a crime against the body according to section 2 of the decree against public enemies. The law of 15 September 1935 was promulgated to protect German blood and German honor. The Jew’s racial pollution amounts to a grave attack on the purity of German blood, the object of the attack being the body of a German woman. The general need for protection therefore makes appear as unimportant the behavior of the other partner in racial pollution who, however, is not liable to prosecution. The fact that racial pollution occurred at least up to 1939–1940 becomes clear from statements made by the witness Zeuschel to whom the defendant repeatedly and consistently admitted that up to the end of 1939 and the beginning of 1940 she was used to sitting on the Jew’s lap and exchanging caresses as described above.

Thus, the defendant committed an offense also under section 2 of the decree against public enemies.

The personal character of the defendant likewise stamps him as a public enemy. The racial pollution practiced by him through many years grew, by exploiting wartime condition, into an attitude inimical to the nation, into an attack on the security of the national community during an emergency.

This was why the defendant Katzenberger had to be sentenced, both on a crime of racial pollution and of an offense under sections 2 and 4 of the decree against public enemies, the two charges being taken in conjunction according to section 73 of the penal code.

In view of the court the defendant Seiler realized that the contact which Katzenberger continuously had with her was of a sexual nature. The court has no doubt that Seiler actually had sexual intercourse with Katzenberger. Accordingly the oath given by her as a witness was to her knowledge and intention a false one, and she became guilty of perjury under sections 154 and 153 of the penal code.

In passing sentence the court was guided by the following considerations:

The political form of life of the German people under national socialism is based on the community. One fundamental factor of the life of the national community is the racial problem. If a Jew commits racial pollution with a German woman, this amounts to polluting the German race and, by polluting a German woman, to a grave attack on the purity of German blood. The need for protection is particularly strong.

Katzenberger practiced pollution for years. He was well acquainted with the point of view taken by patriotic German men and women as regards racial problems and he knew that by his conduct the patriotic feelings of the German people were slapped in the face. Neither the National Socialist Revolution of 1933, nor the passing of the Law for the Protection of German Blood in 1935, neither the action against the Jews in 1938, nor the outbreak of war in 1939 made him abandon this activity of his.

As the only feasible answer to the frivolous conduct of the defendant, the court therefore deems it necessary to pronounce the death sentence as the heaviest punishment provided by section 4 of the decree against public enemies. His case must be judged with special severity, as he had to be sentenced in connection with the offense of committing racial pollution, under section 2 of the decree against public enemies, the more so, if taking into consideration the defendant’s personality and the accumulative nature of his deeds. This is why the defendant is liable to the death penalty which the law provides for such cases as the only punishment. Dr. Baur, the medical expert, describes the defendant as fully responsible.

Accordingly, the court has pronounced the death sentence. It was also considered necessary to deprive him of his civil rights for life, as specified in sections 32–34 of the penal code. When imposing punishment on the defendant Seiler, her personal character was the first matter to be considered. For many years, Seiler indulged in this contemptible love affair with the Jew Katzenberger. The national regeneration of the German people in 1933 was altogetherimmaterial to her in her practices, nor was she in the least influenced when the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor was promulgated in September 1935. It was, therefore, nothing but an act of frivolous provocation on her part to apply for membership in the NSDAP in 1937 which she obtained.

When by initiating legal proceedings against Katzenberger the German people were to be given satisfaction for the Jew’s polluting activities, the defendant Seiler did not pay the slightest heed to the concerns of State authority or to those of the people and decided to protect the Jew.

Taking this over-all situation into consideration the court considered a sentence of 4 years of hard labor as having been deserved by the defendant.

An extenuating circumstance was that the defendant, finding herself in an embarrassing situation, affirmed her—as she knew—false statement with an oath. Had she spoken the truth she could have been prosecuted for adultery, aiding, and soliciting. The court therefore reduced the sentence by half despite her guilt, and imposed as the appropriate sentence 2 years of hard labor. (Sec. 157, par. I, No. 1, of the Penal Code.)

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