章節 299: 299
Episode 299: War crimes trial (1)
July 2, 1944
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
The funeral of Anton Drexler, founder and first leader of the Nazi Party, and first governor of the Protectorate of Poland, was held in his hometown of Munich with a state funeral.
To put it bluntly, Drexler's name was only barely known to the public, but since a large number of high-ranking Nazi Party officials and generals, including myself, attended, people naturally flocked like a cloud.
Friedrich Schiller's was played with tens of thousands of people gathered. Eventually, when Drexler's coffin appeared, being transported on a gun carriage, people all raised their right arms to show respect for the deceased's final journey.
"Dear German people, "We lost one comrade today."
I personally recited the eulogy. The coffin covered in Hakenkreuz contained Drexler's remains.
"I have a few things to say to this dead man. As the founder of National Socialism, he was one of the greatest National Socialists, laid the foundation for the birth of the Third Reich, and was the most sincere worker among all the workers of the Empire.
He fulfilled his assigned duties until the last moment. Having been called by God, he now deserves to rest in peace. As leader of the National Socialist Workers' Party and Fuhrer of the Third Reich, I award you, dear Comrade Drexler, the German Diamond Cross. "You deserve this medal."
Drexler was buried in the military cemetery in Munich. A bust and monument designed by sculptor Arnaud Brecker were to be erected in his honour.
After returning to Berlin after the funeral, I commemorated the end of the war and awarded medals to generals who made military achievements during the war.
Göring, Keitel, Brauchitsch, Rundstedt, Manstein, Guderian, Leder, Reichenau, Weber, Dönitz, and Richthofen, who made the greatest contributions throughout the war, were awarded the Self-Propelled Diamond Mammoth Grand Iron Cross, established to commemorate the end of World War II. It was awarded.
Mülders, Gallant, Bück, Modell, Kleist, Hausser, Dietrich, Hort, etc. were awarded the Knight's Cross with Golden Diamonds and Swords.
Rommel, who is still in China, and Falkenhausen, who was previously dispatched to China and commanded the National Revolutionary Army, are also scheduled to receive the medal upon their return to Germany.
Todt and Speer, who were not soldiers but also made great achievements during the war, Ribbentrop, who faithfully followed my orders, and Goebbels, who did an amazing job of propaganda, were also awarded the German Diamond Cross.
Himmler was debating whether he should give it or not, but he also seemed to want to receive it, so he gave it to him with the thought of being generous.
Still, doesn't it seem a bit odd that he is the leader of the SS Empire in name and appearance but doesn't give it to him? Still, I have become a better person than before. In his refusal, he also gave it to Hess.
"I think the rewards have been roughly organized like this... … ."
All that remains now is the task of punishing the criminals who started the war.
In order to go beyond simple revenge and make it clear to the world and future generations who is responsible for this war, a trial must be held.
And only when war criminals are put on trial, their crimes are exposed in detail, and appropriate punishment is given, will people know whose fault the war was.
In fact, it is a little embarrassing to talk about good and evil, order and justice as the starting point of the war.
Even though it is said to have been fabricated, strictly speaking, it will look very different from the Polish people, who were invaded, and the Czechs, who did nothing wrong but whose entire country was taken over by Germany.
But what can I do? It's the winner who writes history.
This is an immutable law that has never been broken since the beginning of human history.
Through the trial, Germany can enjoy several advantages.
The best of these is that Germany is good and justice, and that the countries that opposed Germany can be defined as evil and harshly criticized.
And it can instill in people the perception that Germany is a country that enforces justice for a long time.
To do that, this trial needs a more spectacular performance than ever before.
"Where would you like the trial to be held?"
"Hmm, I'm worried."
Where should we choose as the location for the rare trial in human history? This was something that I usually worried about.
"The war started in Poland, so why not go to Warsaw or Cracow?"
Although I thought Goebbels had a point, I quickly shook my head because of the practical issues.
"Poland is dismissed. Among the criminals to be put on trial, Poles make up a very small number, and if the Poles riot during the trial and the war criminals escape, it will be very difficult."
The subjugation of the Polish partisans was virtually complete and Polish public sentiment was relatively good, but there were concerns about various security issues in holding a trial in Poland.
From the Polish perspective, it would seem strange for the Germans who invaded their homeland to hold a trial while talking about justice, but would the trial be held in the city where they live? It may have symbolism, but I don't think it's a very wise choice.
France was once an enemy, but it is now a clear ally, so it cannot be held in Paris.
Even now, France considers it a shame that they surrendered after only four weeks. However, now that they are allied with Germany, they just don't show it openly.
But the trial is being held in Paris? Do you think the proud French will just sit back and watch?
"Then how about opening it in Germany?"
"Let's open it in Germany?"
"yes. By holding a trial in a German city, we are implicitly informing the world that Germany is the only place of law and order. "Wouldn't it be a very nice picture if Germany, the victor, held a trial in its own city and punished the defendants?"
Goebbels' words were quite persuasive. But after much thought, I rejected Goebbels' proposal.
"no. "Why?"
"Of course, what you say makes sense. But think about it. If we try war criminals in Berlin or Munich, there is a risk that the significance of the war crimes trials will fade. There is a possibility that Germany, the winner, may appear to be wielding its power as it pleases. Therefore, a trial must be held in the city of the country that started the war in order to clearly recognize whose fault the war was."
The United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain could also hold trials in their own cities, but they held them in Nuremberg and Tokyo. To clearly show who is responsible for the war.
So the idea of holding a trial in a German city was very attractive, but it was ultimately rejected.
"How is London?"
"It's London… … "Not bad."
As the actual world war began with Youngf's declaration of war against Germany, there were few cities as symbolic as London to hold the trial.
Although most of London's landmarks were destroyed by the Luftwaffe's heavy bombing during the war, enough places remain to hold trials.
As I was contemplating whether London should be used as a trial venue for this issue, I suddenly got a call from Free Russia.
Shouldn't a military trial be held in Moscow?
In terms of political symbolism alone, Moscow is by no means inferior to London.
Rather, since the Soviet Union was the country that surrendered later than Britain and Moscow was the capital of the Soviet Union, it was very appropriate to hold the trial in Moscow.
Vlasov even said he could give the Kremlin Palace to be used as a venue during the trial.
He said that only then will the world know the crimes committed by Stalin and the Communist Party and the remaining communist tendencies among Russians will completely disappear.
And a trial in Moscow could bring significant humiliation to the Soviet Union, which still has some remnants of it.
"Let's go to Moscow. Goebbels, what do you think?"
"I have no disagreement."
"Then it is decided."
Moscow was selected as the venue for the trial of the century.
***
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Arthur Harris, Commander of RAF Bomber Command.
These two were the most well-known and interested in the public among the British figures taken prisoner by the German army.
All of the upper-class figures who commanded Britain with Churchill, such as Attlee, Eden, and Brooke, were in Canada.
In addition to these, there are several soldiers who are scheduled to be tried on charges of war crimes, but they are all of low rank and their names, let alone their existence, are unknown.
The situation of Soviet war criminals was not much different from that of Britain.
Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin.
Soviet Army Lieutenant General Andrei Yeryomenko.
Soviet Prosecutor General Andrei Vyshinsky tried to flee to Siberia by plane at the end of the war.
However, the commander of the unit guarding him changed his mind and betrayed him, surrendering to the Germans and handing over Vyshinsky.
These three were the only ranks that could be called named, and most of the rest had ranks of high or low, but the number was much higher in the Soviet Union than in the United Kingdom.
If we expand to include the Communist Party as a whole rather than nationality, there were also Josip Broz Tito and his staff member Milovan Djilas, who were captured by the German army early on.
Enrique Lister, a Republican general in the Spanish Civil War who fled to the Soviet Union and served in the Red Army, also became a prisoner of the German army during the Second German War.
When Franco heard that Lister had been taken prisoner in Germany, he demanded Lister's repatriation, but Germany refused, saying the trial took priority.
It took time to gather the evidence needed for the trial and convert the interior of the Kremlin's Senate Palace into a trial venue.
While trial preparations were underway, news of the war criminals' trial to be held in Moscow spread around the world.
The British government-in-exile, which had established itself in Canada, protested, calling it the height of Juan Juan's recklessness and outrageous acts, but the United States' response was muted.
The Soviet Union also showed no reaction to the news that its secretary general was being put on trial.
The United States was preparing for a trial in Japan like Germany, and the Soviet Union did not want to get into trouble with Germany over the issue of compensation and tribute owed to Germany.
Preparations for the trial proceeded steadily, whether or not Canada's exiled governments were going crazy with blood on their necks.
November is when the hot summer has passed and the season has passed through fall and entered winter.
The trial finally began.
***
November 20, 1944
free russia moscow kremlin palace
The Kremlin Senate Palace, built by order of Catherine II, Empress of the Russian Empire, was used as the building of the Senate, Russia's highest legislative body, during the Russian Empire, and was used as Lenin's official residence after the founding of the Soviet Union through the Russian Revolution.
Stalin, who took power after Lenin's death, kept a private study in the Senate Palace.
However, as the German-German War broke out and the Battle of Moscow took place, the Senate Palace was also swept up in the devastation of the battle.
As a result, it was easy to find traces of the battle outside and inside the palace.
The interior of the Senate Palace, now transformed into a trial hall, was filled with war criminals brought in for trial.
The nationalities of most war criminals were Soviet and British.
Each of them had a lifeless face, looked emaciated as if they had starved for several days, and rolled their eyes in fear and worry about what would happen to them in the future.
Among the war criminals, the most notable were Churchill and Stalin.
Those who were responsible for determining the direction of the world's superpowers, Britain and the Soviet Union, have now become defendants and await the disposition of the victor, Germany.
Both Churchill and Stalin kept their mouths shut and their heads down, looking at their hands as if they had made a promise.
"What happened to the world… … ."
"Oh my God."
"The country that Comrade Lenin founded... … ."
Some who still could not accept the reality grumbled and poured out their complaints and laments.
Every time that happened, the German military police officers in charge of guarding the trial court stared at them with sharp eyes, and the war criminals, who received the military police's sharp glare, secretly lowered their eyes.
Ironically, many of the military police officers who guarded the court were from Britain and the Soviet Union.
Wearing the uniforms of the Waffen-SS, they were responsible for monitoring and guarding war criminals of the same nationality, and because they were fluent in German, they served as a communication channel between German military officers and war criminals.
However, this did not mean that they had sympathy for war criminals.
On the contrary, most of the British SS gendarmes were members of the British Free Corps, and most of the Ukrainian SS gendarmes were imprisoned in gulags under the brutal rule of the Communist Party.
Therefore, they were fully prepared to swing the black clubs they had been provided with if war criminals did anything foolish.
The judges in charge of the trial arrived and the full-scale trial began.
The German judges who would be in charge of the Moscow war crimes trial were some of the most powerful figures in Germany.
Former Minister of Justice of the Third Reich Franz Schlegelberger, National Tribunal President Roland Freisler, and National Tribunal Judge Ernst Lautz.
In addition to these, there were judges from Denmark, Norway, and Finland, which had suffered greatly from the British and Soviet invasions.
They all had stronger hatred for war criminals than Germany, but not less.
The trial began and the prosecutors in charge of the prosecution read out the charges against the defendants brought to trial.
"I am not guilty."
When given the opportunity to argue, this was the first thing Churchill said.
innocence.
German prosecutors and judges laughed at those words. The Danish and Norwegian judges glared at Churchill as if he were going to kill him.
"Not guilty. "On what basis does the defendant make such a statement?"
Freisler asked Churchill.
He wanted to coolly scold the loser who lost the war and ask if he was still bragging, but the whole world was watching and he was warned under the guise of Hitler's advice that he would be very disappointed if he didn't show self-respect, so he ended up cosplaying as a very normal judge. was doing
"Of course my actions were for my country. "How can something done out of patriotism be considered guilty?"
Although he lost weight while incarcerated and became so emaciated that one wondered if it was him, his unique courage was still at work in the courtroom.
"I'll say it again. I am not guilty, I am not guilty! "It's not me who's in this courtroom, it's you!"
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