Show PAGE TWO I N f j Try Nazis in Ruins Ji 17 1 7 4 Of Their Handiwork r 1 Y i F Scene of the Historic Trial 91 Per Cent I 1 Destroyed by Bombings Case Sets Precedent for Outlawing War r r By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator T fI Back in Germany Baukhage reports reports' the war crimes trial of 01 21 top Nazis with the tile same sante vividness with witla which he I narrated their rite rise to power in the prewar prewar pre- pre war years ears when he teas was stationed in the reich Below is the first of 01 a series of 01 articles written from Irom Service 1016 1616 Eye Street N N. N W. W Washington D. D C. C GERMANY I have bave just left the courtroom where as I write the trial of Germanys Germany's war criminals Is still in progress The cm courtroom Is Just above me In Inthis Inthis this great stone courthouse which was almost untouched by the bombing bomb bombS bombing ing which reduced this most beautiful ful and famous city to the point I that it was declared 91 per cent I dead by the experts who followed the occupation by American troops on April 20 1945 I am writing in the press room with reporters from more than a dozen nations about me Most 1 of us are in un uniform form the majority being the uniform of the United States army which all war correspondents in our theater wore Up until recently recently recently re re- correspondents had a simulated simulated simulated simu simu- rank of captain Now we are simply uniformed civilians operating operatIng operating ing under military orders As I look back over the beginnings of this trial the earliest discussions discussions discussions discus discus- before the tribunal itself was formed I have the feeling that we weare weare weare are now looking at something very very- real actual and factual rather than theoretical and vague At the first gathering the appalling condition condition condi condi- I tion of this city produced the feeling that all about it and in it must be chaos too dates back othe o 0 othe the century and it grew into such favor and beauty that it bore the name of Germanys Germany's treasure chest It was a chest of treasures of art song and culture as well as of the gold that poured into the coffers coffers cof cof- fers of the merchants Now it is a ashell ashell shell and one of Europe's best examples examples ex ex- ex amples of the atmosphere and charm of the middle ages S is gon gone How the nearly people who are said to be living in these ruins exist it is hard to say The streets I Iare are cleared some street cars are arc running some shops are opening a city government is operating But few houses are livable In some cases parts of great office buildings have been restored Such cellars as can be cleared of rubble and roofed are crowded A huge air raid shelter shelter shel shel- ter steps below the ground contains contains con con- a small village in itself Milestone in inMan's inMans inMans inMan's inMans inMan's Mans Man's Progress It may be that what is accomplished accomplished plashed will be washed out by subS subsequent subsequent sub sub- S sequent stupidities but I believe whether we go forward immediately immediate immedIate- ly from this point or not It will remain a milestone in mans man's effort to accomplish the outlawry of war that it will be a landmark from which others may set their co course anew Grotius father of International al law held to the principle that aggressive wars were illegal As Justice Jackson pointed out it was because of the greed for land which characterized the and centuries centuries centuries cen cen- that this concept was thrust aside and the world came to accept the tenet that war in itself was not I Illegal And it seems to me that all 4 t. t attempts to stop war must be futile t so long as such a concept exists in international thinking No on one who r saw the spontaneous reaction to Justice Jacksons Jackson's opening address to the court could feel that the tremendous tremendous tremendous tre tre- tre- tre effort which has gone Into the creation and operation of this court can be completely lost For those who have witnessed these proceedings there is a striking striking ing lag symbolism i in iii the rise and fall of a nation which built a vicious I culture in less than a decade with one final objective aggressive war which very ideology destroyed it as asno asno no nation has been wrecked before Here we see before us in the flesh fleshIn a Un In some cases considerably less lessl l flesh than they were adorned with in their h hey day day y-day the men who conceived conceived con con- con conceived and carried out this plan which is the distillation of the philosophy philosophy philosophy phi phi- that might Is right a and nd which negates the whole basis of the moral law which has been established established fished by civilization Step by step with the epitome of I tons of written evidence with moving moving ing tag pictures with plans and charts the growth of the Nazi plan Is being set forth factually coldly and logical logical- ly lYe A new chapter is being written in every session of the court We watched unfold before before be be- first In the fore us step by step removal of the physical ability of the German people to resist then inthe In Inthe Inthe the gradual substitution of Nazi concepts concepts concepts con con- for the normal human concepts produced by the Christian philosophy phy One of the American attorneys quoted a comment of Dr Schacht on the effect of the destruction of the freedom of the press Schacht was quoted as having said slid at a time before he knuckled under to Hitler that thousands of Germans had been killed or imprisoned and not one word was allowed to be printed about it Of what use is martyrdom he asked when It Is so concealed that it has no value as an example to others Therein lies one of the answers to the moral failure of German German German Ger Ger- man resistance By the time the Nazis were ready reldy to fill their concentration camps with their foreign victims they had learned well the art of handling the resistance of their own people and smothering it behind a wall of utter silence As the court pointed out the first purpose of the concentration camps the persecution suppression and propaganda was the conquest of the German masses Each successive step was traced by the prosecution with the same meticulous detail detail that kept even the prisoners with their ears glued to the headphones and their eyes following the speaker or the exhibits ex ex- hibits Accused Make Brave Show However for us in the courtroom more impressive than the things that were done were the men in the prisoners prisoners' prisoners prisoners' pris pris- dock who actually did them Goering was no longer a name he was a person now leaning back and grinning now with his arms on th the edge of the rail of or the dock his chin resting on them There was Rosenberg whose task was to twist the minds of the people with his absurd story of a super race of anti anti semitism There he sat looking down his fingers nervously toying with the telephone cords There was Keitel stiff cold proud arrogant all aU Prussian in his un uniform uniform uni uni- i- i form fonn stripped though it was of every badge ribbon and Insignia He maintains himself with dignity but not for a moment does be he forget his pose At this writing the psychiatric psychiatric psychiatric atric analysis of the prisoners has not been completed and Keitel has not been reported upon but I daresay daresay daresay dare dare- say his I. I Q will be high though perhaps not equal to that of GoerIng GoerIng Goering Goer- Goer Ing who surprisingly enough stands right at the top Goering is tacitly acknowledged as leader by the oth oth- ers To the observers he appeared still the silly poseur although he seemed more reasonable appearing than the fat and grinning mannikin I saw as qs s he presided over the Reichstag Reichstag Reichstag Reich Reich- stag in his comic opera uniform Admiral who looks like a apale apale apale pale shadow is also at the top of the I. I Q list He remains almost motionless only occasionally consulting con suiting his attorney who appears ina ina in m ma a German Gennan naval uniform as he Is on duty with a part of the fleet used in mine sweeping and was released especially for the trial Down at the bottom of the list so far as intelligence goes is Julius Although of far lesser stature than the rest this miserable character is a symbol of the fall fail of because he is meeting his fate in the city in which he rose roseto roseto roseto to power power power-a a fate at which he hImself himself himself him hIm- self hinted conducted the last class In Nazi indoctrination for lawyers held in hi this very courtroom where he had been tried by the pre Nazi authorities for various misdemeanors ors and perhaps other crimes Ashe As Ashe Ashe he concluded his last lecture he pointed to the prisoners' prisoners dock and said We used to sit over there Now we are standing up here But there may be a day when we are sitting down there again He IS sitting down there today In Ina a brand brand new dock to be lie sure but bur with the same great iron eagle over the high marble frame of the doorway doorway doorway door door- way looking down on his cringing head a |