Tapping Hitler's Generals

NEUFFER: Their pretext in the case of the Polish and Russian Jews–and undoubtedly it was to some extent justified–was that the Jews would have assisted the partisans or had done so already. Good Heavens, for one thing the Jews are afraid, and for another thing you can’t blame them for working against us. But things are always like that with us; sheer mass murder.[246] Our Luftgau hadn’t much room at SMOLENSK; therefore two-thirds of them were stationed at MINSK, among others also all the workshops, tailors, shoemakers and so on. All the craftsmen there were Jews, and sometimes they failed to appear–they had been shot by the Gestapo. As a result, those people didn’t want to leave their workshops any more.

BASSENGE: And couldn’t your Luftgau commander have kept some craftsmen for himself?

NEUFFER: Well, FISCHER[247] was a perfect fool in that respect. I have nothing against him otherwise, but that man hasn’t the faintest idea of military matters. Then he was so stupid in the things he said, he told his driver when they encountered large crowds of people at SMOLENSK: ‘Oh, just drive on at full speed, it doesn’t matter if you run over a few of them.’ etc. He had no conscience in that respect.

Document 98

CSDIC (UK) SR REPORT, SRGG 839 [TNA, WO 208/4168]

HANS CRAMER–General der Panzertruppe (GOC German Afrika Korps)–Captured 12 May 43 in Tunisia.

KURT KÖHNCKE–Oberstleutnant (Commander, 372 Heavy Flak Battery)–Captured 8 May 43 in Tunisia.

Information received: 15 Feb. 44

CRAMER (re GERMANY’s war guilt): The worst thing is that we are very much to blame for the way things have gone.

KÖHNCKE: Yes, of course.

CRAMER: In the Great War we could say: we were the decent ones and were dragged into it, and cheated, and deceived,[248] and we fought decently; but in this war it’s all the other way round. We are the attackers, the blusterers, we started everything, we have behaved like beasts.

KÖHNCKE: That’s the depressing thing, Sir!

Document 99

CSDIC (UK), GRGG 153

Report on information obtained from Senior Officers (PW) on 3 July 44 [TNA, WO 208/4363]

[…]

SCHLIEBEN: You have some remarkable experiences with these young ‘Leutnants’ who come from the Hitler Youth![249] During the Yugoslavian campaign I had a few Serbian officers in the vicinity of my battle HQ who were PW. They were standing about; there were carts there so I said: ‘Let them sit down.’ Suddenly one of my staff officers, a fanatical Nazi, a GSC I (Ops) actually came up and said: ‘Sir’–I was an ‘Oberstleutnant’ at the time–‘shall I shoot them?’ It’s crazy! They had learnt those methods in POLAND. Once, in RUSSIA, I was woken up one night by an extraordinary sound of firing; it was my ‘Adjutant’ who, with the clerk or somebody, had suddenly shot about seven Russians in the night. We were quartered in a sort of school and I thought–I suddenly heard a sound of tommy-guns and afterwards I found out that they’d shot these people. They were civilians… The number of people they killed in POLAND alone!

SATTLER: I heard that, too!

SCHLIEBEN: They have become completely brutalised. I remember once visiting a ‘Batterie’ in RUSSIA as ‘Regimentskommandeur’; the ‘Batterie’ was in my immediate neighbourhood. A Russian soldier who had just been taken prisoner was standing there. I said: ‘What’s up with him?’ ‘Well, we’re just about to shoot him.’ I asked why. ‘Well, he fired at us.’ ‘But he is a soldier and has every right to shoot.’ If I hadn’t turned up that man would probably have been dead two minutes later.[250]

Document 100

CSDIC (UK), GRGG 169

Report on information obtained from Senior Officers (PW) on 2–4 Aug. 44 [TNA, WO 208/4363]

SATTLER: Yes, we have shot people. That began in POLAND back in 1939. The SS is said to have wreaked terrible havoc.

?SCHLIEBEN: That was probably the reason why BLASKOWITZ was dismissed.

SATTLER: Yes, of course, and KÜCHLER, too, because he severely punished a few SS men who had murdered people. Thereupon there was the hell of a row and after that the SS got their special court, that is, SS men could be had up only before SS courts martial, not ordinary service ones, whereas up to then the SS was supposed to come under the armed forces. That followed on the disgraceful behaviour of the SS in POLAND, because the military authorities said: ‘This dirty scoundrel goes around shooting women and children; it’s the death sentence for him.’ Then HIMMLER came along and said: ‘That’s out of the question.’ I had actual experience of that myself.[251]

SPONECK: But even before that business we were not allowed to take proceedings against them. I know the case of the Director of Music of the ‘Leibstandarte’ whom we dragged off his band-wagon, because he had shot so many Jews in a mad lust for blood. We had him brought before HOTH’s court martial. The man was immediately taken out of HOTH’s jurisdiction, sent to BERLIN and came back again, still as Director of Music.[252]