Report of Proceedingsbefore the Supreme Court in Leipzig
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I I GERMAN WAR TRIALS. I ; Report of Proceedings before the Supreme Court in Leipzig. I WITH APPENDICES. jrznteb to arIimntt Inj (omirunb f iz ajtt. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from N.M. STAflONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: IMPERIAL HOUSE, KINGSWAY, LONDON, W.C. 2, 28, ABINGDON STREET, LONDON, S.W. 1; I 37, PEEEa STREET, MANCHESTER; 1, ST. ANDREW’S CRESCENT, CASDIFF; 23, FORTH STREET, EDINDVRGH or from E. PONSONBY, LTD., 116, GRETON STREET, DUBLIN. 1921. Fyice 6d. Net. [Cmd. 1450.] • r BEFO • The INDEX Provisic PAGE REPORT 3 APPENDIX I. Allied Note to President of German Dele gation respecting War Criminals ... 17 APPENDIX II. Judgment the ‘ in Case of Karl Heynen 18 APPENDIX III. Judgment in the Case of Emil Muller ... 26 • APPENDIX IV. Judgment in the Case of Robert Neumann 36 , APPENDIX V. Judgment in the Case of Karl Neumann ... 42 APPENDIX VI. Judgment in the Case of Lieutenants Dithmar and Boldt ... ... •.. 45 ‘‘ “1 ( (B.5c68) 3 GERMAN WAR TRIALS. REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT IN LEIPZIG. INTRODUCTORY. The Treaty of Peace with Germany contains the following Provisions :— Article 228. “The German Government recognises the right of the PAGE Allied and Associated Powers to bring before military 3 “tribunals persons accused of having committed acts in “violation of the laws and customs of war. Such persons German Dele “shall, if found guilty, be sentenced to punishments laid Lina1 ... 17 down by law. This provision will apply notwithstanding any proceedings or prosecution before a tribunal in 1 Heynen 18 “Germany or in the territory of her allies. “The German Government shall hand over to the LMüller ... 26 “Allied and Associated Powers, or to such one of them as “shall so request, all persons accused of having committed )ert Neumann 36 “an act in violation of the laws and customs of war, who “are specified either by name or by the rank, office or Neumann ... 42 “employment which they held under the German Author ities. Lieutenants Article 229. 45 “Persons guilty of criminal acts against the nationals “of one of the Allied and Associated Powers will be “brought before the military tribunals of that Power. “Persons guilty of criminal acts against the nationals “of more than one of the Allied and Associated Powers “will be brought before military tribunals composed of “members of the military trihunaig of the Powers con “cerned. “In every case the accused will be entitled to name his “own Counsel. Article 230. “The German Government undertakes to furnish all “documents and information of every kind, the production “of which may be considered necessary to ensure the full “knowledge of the incriminating acts, the discovery of “offenders and the just appreciation of responsibility.” (B5968) Wt. 12444—5. 1260 & 90. 8/21. Gp. 32. : 4 In accordance with Article 228, lists of accused persons were prepared by the principal Allied Governments, and a final list was compiled and presented to the German Government, on the 3rd February, 1920. This list contained a very large number of names, and amongst them were those of many of the principal military and naval leaders in Germany. The German Government represented that if the Allied Powers. insisted upon the surrender of the persons accused, grave political difficulties would ensue, which might seriously imperil the Govern ment’s existence. By way of compromise, therefore, they proposed that the accused persons should be put upon trial before the Supreme Court of the Empire in Leipzig. An Inter-Allied Commission, appointed to examine this pro offer of the German Government was posal, reported that the Ger compatible with the execution of Article 228 of the Treaty of the Allied Governments accordingly decided that thai Peace, and agai without taking any part in the Trials, so as to leave full and they would evjd complete responsibility with the German Government, the leave to that Government the duty of proceeding with the prosecu tion and judgment upon the understanding that the Allies would was results of these prosecutions and whether arra thereafter consider the stat( Government were sincerely resolved to administer 1 the German app justice in good faith. If it should be shown that the procedure san proposed by Germany did not result in just punishment being awarded to the guilty, the Allied Powers reserved in the most I express manner the right of bringing the accused before their own of th tribunals. (See Text of Note, Appendix I). ont In pursuance of this decision, certain cases were selected for evid submission to the Supreme Court at Leipzig, and on the 7th May, was 1920, an abridged list containing 45 names was handed to the miss: German Government with a note communicating to them the Allied Governments and the conditions of their I] decision of the were acquiescence in this proposal. To this list the British Govern byti ment contributed the names of seven persons, who were charged .4 with grav/e outrages against the laws of war. The names of these persons/and short particulars of the outrages with which they were ciarged were as follows :— ‘(1) COMMANDER HELMUT PATZIG, who was charged with having sunk, without warning, the British Hospital They Ship “Liandovery Castle” and with having subse bring quently fired on and sunk the boats containing the enqui survivors with the consequent loss of 234 lives. addre (2) LIEUT.-COMMANDER KARL NEUMANN, who was charged Lieut. with having torpedoed, without warning, the British was ri Hospital Ship “Dover Castle,” when homeward bound Wern from the Eastern Mediterranean fully laden with sick but h: and wounded with the loss of six lives. trated ,. 5 (3) LIEUT.-COMMANDER WILHELM WERNER, who was accused persons were charged with having sunk the British S.S. “Torring ments, and a final list ton,” and with having subsequently drowned the whole n Government, on the of the crew, with the exception of the Master, by submerging while they were on the deck of the Sub i. very large number of • nany of the principal marine. (4) KARL HEYNEN, who was charged with ill-treating Prisoners of War at the Friedrich der Grosse Mine. at if the Allied Powera ccused, grave political (5) CAPTAIN EMIL MULLER, who was charged with ill- sly imperil the Govern treating Prisoners of War at Flavy-le-Martel Camp. Lerefore, they proposed. (6) & (7) HEnraIcH TRINKE and ROBERT NEUMANN, who l1 upon trial before the were charged with ill-treating Prisoners of War at the Working Camp at Pommerensdorf Chemical Works. to examine this pro- After receiving the abridged list of accused persons, the nan Government was German Government represented to the Allied Governments 228 of the Treaty of that difficulties were being experienced in obtaining evidence rdingly decided that against the persons accused by reason of the fact that much of the as to leave full and evidence and information necessary to secure conviction was in vernment, they would the possession of the Allied Governments. A general conference ding with the prosedu was accordingly held at Spa on the 9th July, 1920, at which it was th he Allies would arranged that the Allied Governments should collect and provide ecu.ons and whether statements of the evidence against the persons whose names solved to administer appeared in the abridged list and transmit them to the Oberreich n that the procedure sanwalt (Public Prosecutor) in Leipzig. ist punishment being reserved in the most H.M. Government immediately put in hand the completion used before their own of the evidence against all the persons whom they had named, and, on the 26th October, 1920, a printed volume containing the evidence in the cases in which they were immediately concerned, ases were selected for to the German Ambassador in London for trans May, was handed and on the 7th mission to the Oberreichsanwalt in Leipzig. s was handed to the oicating to them the In due course the German Government intimated that they he conditions of their were in a position to proceed against four of the persons named the British Govern by the British Government, namely :— ns, who were charged The names of these Karl Heynen, with which they Captain Emil Muller, ages Robert Neumann, Lieut.-Commander Karl Neumann. charged with P ho was not in a position to the British Hospital They explained, however, that they were subse bring to justice Commander Patzig, who was stated, after official -w having at Rosenberg, to have an boats containing the enquiries had been made by the Sheriff whose present whereabouts were unknown. ss of 234 lives. address in Danzig, but Lieut.-Commander Werner could not be traced at all, and Trinke charged NN, who was was resident in Poland. Warrants for the arrest of Patzig and warning, the British Werner, on the charge of murder, and of Trinke had been issued hen homeward bound but had not been executed, but their property had been seques fully laden with sick trated. lives. P 6 At a later date (June, 1921) the German Government further on that da intimated that as a result of the enquiries made into the Case of nesses bei Commander Patzig, they had decided to put upon trial two officers deposition serving in the same Submarine, Lieutenants Dithmar, an officer Supreme C in the German Navy, and Boldt, a retired officer of the German of the acci Navy, who appeared to be implicated and responsible for a part in the outrage with which Patzig was charged. The question how best to make available at the trial of the The ca accused the evidence of the British witnesses was one which presented considerable difficulty K Three of the cases to be tried involved the ill-treatment of R Prisoners of War at Prison Camps in Germany, and in these cases Li a conviction was only likely to be obtained if a large number of and the tn witnesses could be collected and produced at the trial to give May 23rd.