Show PAGE TWO I Trial of Nazis Historic I e t Attempt to Outlaw War WarY WarS 1 c p S f d f. f Y 73 Defense Attorneys Operate Co-Operate to Test the ther f r Validity of Effort to Prove Aggression Is Illegal Instrument of Policy C y BAUKHAGE By J I f News Nv Analyst and Commentator 1 Service Ser 1616 Eye Street N. N W. W Washington D D. D C. C r I GERMANY Glancing back across the hours and days spent In this broken city at atthe atthe atthe the tremendous effort which has gone into the presentation of ol the American case at the war criminal clarity clarity clarity clar clar- trials one can see with aching ity the pitiful shortcomings of human human hu hu- hu- hu man achievement in the spiritual field as compared to our material progress The very court house Is a reminder remind remma- er of this strange inconsistency of civilization The beautiful mento building stands in the midst of ruins which testify to the almost unbelievable power of the machines machines ma ma- chines of destruction Among the statues of the worlds world's great law givers givers ers carved upon its walls is that of Hugo Grotius the father of international international international law who lived in Holland inthe in inthe inthe the century It was he who laid down the principle that aggressive aggressive sive war was illegal by asserting I e that there was a difference between a just war of self defense and an unjust war Until now in the middle of the century no major effort has that been made to enforce I pIe Indeed the tendency veered sharply away from that concept and only today I heard comment within within within with with- in a short distance of the court room itself echoing sentiments expressed in American military circles to the effect that it was unwise to attempt to prosecute as criminals the German German German Ger Ger- man military leaders like Doenitz and Keitel and perhaps Raeder and Jodl JodI The argument which is set forth and which is the heart of the military leaders' leaders case in this trial was hinted at in the words of JodI Jodl when he made his plea that What I have done I had to do and I did It lt with a clear conscience before my people my God and the world It was taken then that the military defense would be that the high officers om cers merely carried out orders as the officers of any nation would Jackson faced that issue squarely at the very beginning and that is s why be he threw his full weight into the argument that these men all of them participated in a conspiracy to wage an aggressive war And he het t proved it with ch charts showing the organization of the Nazi party how howit it interlocked with the state and then how each step followed the preceding preceding pre pre- ceding one toward a planned goal of aggression r If the Americans win their case it will be a great achievement and andone andone one long overdue for it has taken nearly three centuries to produce a concerted effort to write into international international international inter inter- national law the concept that aggressive aggressive aggressive ag ag- ag- ag war is just what Grotius said it was illegal and that themen the themen themen men responsible for planning and carrying it out were criminals condemnation There exists universal tion of all the separate acts of murder murder murder mur mur- der pillage destruction enslavement enslavement enslavement enslave enslave- ment which war produces Jackson believes that this fact makes condemnation condemnation condemnation con con- of the thing that produces produces produces pro pro- duces them sound and logical It was very plain lain that when the German defense counsel heard Jacksons Jackson's speech and later when they like the press were almost buried under the avalanche of evidence evidence evidence evi evi- dence in the documents produced they did not have a definite plan of f defense to meet the allegations either general or specific Trial Conducted With Dignity Shortly after Jacksons Jackson's address 1 learned to my surprise of a remark of one of the leading defense lawyers I which he made to a close friend He said that he considered Justice Jacksons Jackson's presentation a splendid contribution to international law 1 I if the court should accept it and that tha be he believed that it represented a forward step of great importance o of which he himself fully approved I might say that so far throughout th the proceedings both sides have shown a keen respect for each other and anda andI j I a number of the German lawyers lawyer who are professors in universities o or accepted authorities on international t law are expected to contribute toward toward toward to to- ward the ultimate purpose of the outlawry of war Insofar as they i can do so without Injuring their theiry y- y clients' clients cases It may be possible j J that attempts will be made to sabotage sabotage sabo sabo- tage the trial by introducing test test- s. s mony which might tend to stir up ill will among the Allies As we faced the German attorneys attorneys attorneys in the press room in the court courthouse courthouse courthouse house at one of the conferences which they requested I could not help feeling that they were approaching approaching approaching ap ap- ap- ap their job lob in a businesslike manner and that they were not permitting permitting per per- the fact that it was victor versus vanquished to influence their I attitude I might add that some of pf the reporters' reporters questions were asked with ill-concealed ill emotional motives rather than a desire to obtain in in- in formation This always annoys trained newsmen They have no objection objection ob ob- when a reporter presses hard for an nn answer or makes charges in response to which he might expect I an nn explanation but baiting always brings a protest from the majority Finds Stretcher Out of Place PlaceIt It may prove to have been a mistake mistake mistake mis mis- take to include among the prisoners As one lawyer here put It it Hes in too fast company What he meant was that simply was not important enough In th the Nazi up set-up to make him I ble He was perhaps chosen as asa asa as' as asa a symbol of the particularly petty side of Nazi Jew The other I prisoners from the first have had little to do with him His newspaper newspaper newspaper per which was devoted entirely to Semitism anti-Semitism was an obscene sheet and It went out of existence when it was found that had diverted party funds I saw his sheet when I was in Germany before and it was one of those miserable attempts attempts attempts at at- tempts at satire which Is simply dirty and not at all funny This trial Is concerned with more important matters than sordid affairs and it is regrettable that he was included with the others who evil though they may be for forthe forthe forthe the most part are criminals worthy of consideration by a respectable court of law As one of the members of the American delegation said to me met the real importance of the trial is that it satisfies the allied peoples They must be assured that it is conducted fairly and they must see its signi significance cance In Justice J Jacksons Jackson's words What makes this inquest significant significant signi cant is that these prisoners represent represent rep represent rep rep- resent sinister in influences that will lurk in the world long after their bodies have turned to dust They are living symbols of intrigue and war-making war which have embroiled embroiled embroiled em em- broiled Europe generation after generation Civilization can afford afford afford af af- af- af ford no compromise with the social forces which would gain renewed strength if we deal ambiguously or r indecisively with men in whom these forces now survive When Justice Jackson spoke those words I was looking at the prison prison- ers All were listening quietly Suddenly Suddenly Suddenly Sud Sud- denly Keitel began writing feverish feverish- ly I am sure that he felt that such intrigue and war making as ne tie I had engaged in was perfectly legal I and proper I To eliminate that viewpoint is I even more important than eliminating ing Keitel German teen-agers teen one of the greatest problems in the restoration restoration restoration restora restora- tion of law and order are in some places getting one phase of democratization democratization democratization demo demo- instruction In the American national game Reports from Frankfurt indicate that inmany inmany in inmany many places American troops are lending their equipment and are teaching the Germans baseball This has been done spontaneously without any suggestions from the military government which however however however how how- ever ever looks upon it with approval Of course the GIs well known affection for children for which the soldiers of World War I were equally equal equal- ly famous tends to put the emphasis on this phase of fraternization the more youthful segment of ot the German population Naturally any perpetuation of the Hitler youth movement has been stopped and this leaves the boys especially those of high school age since the secondary schools are still closed with plenty of time on their hands Getting them to spend their time on a baseball diamond instead of on the street corners is bound to be a healthy move The commercial of the near tomorrow will follow trails to remote corners of the world that the war made possible The giant planes that will be able to carry you and your friends from the United States due east or west or north or south and back to the United States again will have weather information from hitherto incommunicable areas frequently where weather originates And the planes will land on strips air in inmany inmany inmany many places where a few years back no white man bad been seen 4 I 1 I I |