Baldur Von Schirach Defends Himmler's 'humane' Treatment Of Jews Auction (2024)

Description

BALDUR VON SCHIRACH (1907-1974) Nazi leader of the Hitler Youth and Gauleiter of Vienna. Schirach delivered a notorious speech describing his deportation of the Jews to the East as his 'contribution to European culture', and during his tenure, 65,000 Jews were deported. Sentenced at Nuremberg to twenty years for crimes against humanity. An absolutely incredible defense document from von Schirach's defense and submitted by his attorney FRITZ SAUTER (1906-1983), in which among other outrageous claims, the Hitler Youth leader claims that murderous SS leader HEINRICH HIMMLER had treated his Jewish captives in a most 'humane' manner! The document is a 'Defendant's Application for Summons for Witness', 2pp, 4to., Nuremberg, Apr. 15, 1946, signed by both von Schirach and Sauter as his counsel. It calls for the summons of Dr. Siegfried Ueberreiter, late Gauleiter Reichsstatthalter of Steiermark. The unbelievable content reads, in part: '... 1.) The visit of the defendant v. Schirach to the concentration camp Mauthausen, mentioned by the witness Marselek in his affidavit of 8 April 1946...did not take place in the fall of 1944 but in the year 1942, at a time when the treatment of Jews in concentration camps was different from that of 1944. 2.) This visit to the concentration camp of Mauthausen was made in the company of about 20 people. It had been officially announced in advance to the headquarter of the camp and took place under the guidance of the camp commander ZIEREIS...3.) The visitors, especially v. Schirach observed nothing on this visit which pointed toward cruel treatment of the inmates, toward atrocities and mass executions. On the contrary, the installations of the camp made an orderly impression and the explanations which the camp commander gave on this conducted tour were such, that all participants of this inspection trip, especially the defendant v. Schirach had a good impression of the conditions in the camp. 4.) Especially, did the visitors see or hear nothing of a gas chamber which is mentioned on page 3 of the affidavit of the witness Marsalek, also nothing of a gas automobile in which the inmates were gassed while en route. 5.) Besides, the statements on the bottom of page 4 and on top of page 5 of the affidavit of the witness MARSALEK are partly untrue, partly incomplete. When Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler issued orders at the end of March 1945, he did not mention one word that the Jews occupied with building fortifications, should be transported on foot to Mauthausen. In no way did he express or hint that these Jews should be brought to destruction during the transport or after the trip. On the contrary, he declared at the time, that these Jews should be taken care of especially well, that they should be fed perfectly, that they should receive the largest rations and that attention should be paid that they are in especially good physical condition, These instructions of the Reichsfuhrer SS were especially noticed by the witness Dr. UEBERREITER as well as the defendant v. SCHIRACH. When these orders were issued, those present discussed later on the reasons as to why Reichsfuhrer SS Himmler pursues such a humane treatment of the Jews, especially since Himmler told the camp commander Ziereis that he should treat the Jews who are in the Mauthausen camp in the same manner. These facts are relevant to my defense for the following reasons: The conditions at the concentration camp Mauthausen were quite different in 1942 from what they were in 1944, since in 1942 Hitler and Himmler evidently still believed in the solution of the Jewish question by resettlement, while in 1944 they apparently decided to reach a 'final solution" of the Jewish question by destroying the Jews. Therefore, Himmler's orders to Ziereis of March 1945 are of importance, since, at the time these orders were issued, the circle or listeners did not draw the conclusion that they intended to destroy the Jews, but exactly the contrary'. Signed at bottom by both von Schirach and Sauter. Mounted, sold with mounted official translations into English as well. Very good. On 16 August 1943, Schirach visited Mauthausen concentration camp. He was not shown the gas facility, but saw the camp crematorium being used to burn only 'bodies that had died normal deaths'. He saw a performance by the camp symphony orchestra and asked commandant Franz Ziereis if prisoners ever left the camp, and was told that they did. However, at his trial in Nuremberg, Schirach claimed he had not known about the extermination camps; however, the trial detailed his involvement in deportations of Jews and his speeches defending his actions. During Schirach's cross-examination, Thomas J. Dodd presented documents which had passed through Schirach's office, which showed that tens of thousands of Jews had been sent from Vienna to Riga, and tens of thousands of Jews in Riga had been shot. Even after completing his full 20-year jail term, von Schirach continued to deny any knowledge of the Holocaust and praised Hitler as 'a man with great gifts, a man who in some ways could be considered a genius'.

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