Other war crimes -- The "Night and Fog Decree"

[David Thompson]

The "Night and Fog Decree" (Nacht und Nebel Erlass) was a forerunner of the "disappearances" which have become all too common in post-WWII counterinsurgency operations. At the International Military Tribunal (IMT) trials at Nuernberg, it was one of the acts charged against the German Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei - Gestapo) and the German Security Police and Security Service (Sicherheitspolizei und Sicherheitsdienst -- Sipo und SD) as criminal organizations. The indictment described the "Night and Fog Decree" this way:

(7) The GESTAPO and SD took civilians of occupied countries to Germany for secret trial and punishment ("Nacht und Nebel Erlass". On 7 December 1941 Hitler issued the directive, since called the "Nacht und Nebel Erlass" (Night and Fog Decree), under which persons who committed offenses against the Reich or occupation forces in occupied territories, except where death sentence was certain, were to be taken secretly to Germany and surrendered to the Security Police and SD for trial or punishment in Germany. An executive ordinance was issued by Keitel the same date, and on 4 February 1942 the directive and ordinance were published to the police and the SS. (L-90)

In compliance with the above directive, the military intelligence turned over cases, other than those in which the death sentence was probable, to the GESTAPO and the Secret Field Police for secret deporting to Germany. (833-PS)

After the civilians arrived in Germany, no word of the disposition of their cases was permitted to reach the country from which they came, or their relatives. Even when they died awaiting trial, the SIPO and SD refused to notify the families, so that anxiety would be created in the minds of the family of the arrested person. (668-PS)

The Gestapo, the SD and War Crimes
viewtopic.php?t=15607

Here is how the decree was worded:

Night-and-Fog Decree (Nacht-und-Nebel Erlass).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fuehrer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
[stamp] SECRET
Directives for the prosecution of offences committed within the occupied territories against the German State or the occupying power, of December 7th, 1941.

Within the occupied territories, communistic elements and other circles hostile to Germany have increased their efforts against the German State and the occupying powers since the Russian campaign started. The amount and the danger of these machinations oblige us to take severe measures as a determent. First of all the following directives are to be applied:

I. Within the occupied territories, the adequate punishment for offences committed against the German State or the occupying power which endanger their security or a state of readiness is on principle the death penalty.

II. The offences listed in paragraph I as a rule are to be dealt with in the occupied countries only if it is probable that sentence of death will be passed upon the offender, at least the principal offender, and if the trial and the execution can be completed in a very short time. Otherwise the offenders, at least the principal offenders, are to be taken to Germany.

III. Prisoners taken to Germany are subjected to military procedure only if particular military interests require this. In case German or foreign authorities inquire about such prisoners, they are to be told that they were arrested, but that the proceedings do not allow any further information.

IV. The Commanders in the occupied territories and the Court authorities within the framework of their jurisdiction, are personally responsible for the observance of this decree.

V. The Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces determines in which occupied territories this decree is to be applied. He is authorized to explain and to issue executive orders and supplements. The Reich Minister of Justice will issue executive orders within his own jurisdiction.

Source: United States, Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality,Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, 8 vols. and 2 suppl. vols. VII, 873-874 (Doc. No. L-90)
Washington, DC : Government Printing Office, 1946-1948

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/nightfog.htm

[Andreas]

I do not have anything to add to this topic except to say that my toe nails are rolling at the translation of 'Nacht & Nebel' to 'Night & Fog'. Much better would be 'Cloak & Dagger' (although that maybe too positive). In military parlance maybe 'covert ops', and in the security context 'Disappearances' are probably the best way to describe it.

In my opinion anyway.

'Nacht & Nebel' does not have a negative connotation per se (although it implies underhand dealings to some extent). Like 'cloak & dagger', it can be used in an admiring way, or in a neutral descriptive way.

Sorry for the German lesson.

[David Thompson]

Andreas -- That's okay, and thanks. "Night and Fog" is the translation used in the history books written in English. I was unaware that there was an idiomatic as well as a literal meaning in German.

[Andreas]

NP - it appears to me that the title 'Nacht & Nebel Erlaß' is quite sarcastic (those Germans, great humourists), and refers to the intended or real implementation, and not the obvious content of the document.

Very interesting post - I was not aware of this at all. Thanks a lot.

[Lucius Felix Silla]

And where are these famous words "nacht und nebel"? Can anyone show me these words in one document?

Best Regards

LFS

[David Thompson]

The "Commissar Order" doesn't have the words "Commissar Order" in it either. The same is true of the "Commando Order." So what?

[Dan]

David, I thought the SD didn't have any police powers. I wonder if either I am wrong or that the Allied charge was just a little sloppy. I would have guessed that the SD would have been involved in interogation etc.. rather than trial and punishment.

But thanks for the wording of the order, and the charge.

[xcalibur]

David, I thought the SD didn't have any police powers. I wonder if either I am wrong or that the Allied charge was just a little sloppy. I would have guessed that the SD would have been involved in interogation etc.. rather than trial and punishment.

But thanks for the wording of the order, and the charge.

Dan,

Can you clarify the question a bit?

Organizationally speaking, the Gestapo, Kripo and SD were merged into the RSHA in 1939, I think. Not sure this helps, but not sure I understood the question... I've always found Nazi bureaucratic overlays to be a "Chinese" puzzle in so far as who and what agency had a specific responsibility in a particular sphere.

To an extent one can see this in the Lammers testimony: He goes to Hiter with a specific question. Hitler demures, and refers him to Himmler. Lammers refers subsequent questions to Himmler, Himmler demures and the subject gets referred back to Hitler. I think. It's a Byzantine mess of overlapping agencies, personalities, fiefdoms, and cetera.

[David Thompson]

Dan -- You remarked:

I thought the SD didn't have any police powers. I wonder if either I am wrong or that the Allied charge was just a little sloppy. I would have guessed that the SD would have been involved in interogation etc.. rather than trial and punishment.

That's an interesting point. Dr. jur. Hans Gawlik, defense counsel for the German Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst - SD), at the International Military Tribunal (IMT) trial of major war criminals at Nuernberg, denied that the SD was involved in the execution of the “Night and Fog Decree”:

Nacht und Nebel Decree. A further point in the indictment of the SD deals with participation in the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree. Competence for the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree was divided between the Wehrmacht offices and the Gestapo, as is shown by Document L-90. The Wehrmacht offices had received instructions to impose the death penalty for criminal acts against the Reich and the occupation army, undertaken by non-German civilians. However, if no such punishment was to be expected, these civilians were, according to Paragraph IV of the first supplementary regulations to the instructions contained in Document Number 91, to be taken to Germany by the Secret Field Police, there to be turned over to a Stapo office. I also refer to the ordinance by the OKW dated 2 February 1942 (Document L-90), which shows that the RSHA (Kriminaldirektor Dr. Fischer) was competent for the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree. From the Prosecution Document L-185, the plan showing the distribution of work in the RSHA, dated I March 1941, it can be seen that Kriminaldirektor Dr. Fischer was in charge of Subsection IV E 3, Counter-Intelligence West, in Amt IV.

This state of affairs is borne out by the second Prosecution Document 833-PS of 2 February 1942, signed by Canaris, Chief of the Amt Ausland Abwehr in the OKW. These instructions provide that subjects of foreign countries coming under the Nacht und Nebel Decree were to be sentenced by the competent military courts in the territories occupied by Germany, provided that (a) the sentence involves capital punishment, (b) sentence is passed within 8 days after arrest. In all other cases the counter-intelligence agencies were to determine the time of arrest. The counter-intelligence agencies were to communicate any arrests to the RSHA, attention of Kriminaldirektor Dr. Fischer. The RSHA would then name a Stapo office which was to take over the prisoners. The distribution too shows that Aemter III, VI, and VII were in no way involved. The next Prosecution Document 668-PS, a letter by the Chief of the Security Police and the SD, dated 24 June 1942, with equal clarity shows the sole Competence of the Gestapo. The letter was issued by Amt IV, specifically by Subsection IV D 4. Had the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree come within the competence of the SD, this letter would have had to have been issued by one of the Aemter III, VI, or VII.

I further refer to the testimony of the witness Dr. Ehlich before the Commission and to the testimony of the witness Knochen. Both have stated in conformity that the SD was not competent for the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree and did not take part therein.

As to the decree by the OKW, signed by Keitel on 18 August 1944, it is true that it says that civilians were to be turned over to the SD; however, in this

32
27 Aug. 46

respect I refer to the affidavit by Keitel (SD-52). The same applies to the decree issued by Westerkamp on 13 September 1944, where the reference can also only be taken to mean the Gestapo.

In Document D-762, Exhibit Number GB-892, under Figure 1, the SD is not mentioned, but only the Wehrmacht, the SS, and the Police. The method of expression used in Figure 2 is unclear. Instead of "the nearest local office of the Security Police and the SD" it should have stated "the Chief of the Security Police and the SD." Document D-764, Exhibit Number GB-299, under Figure 4 correctly mentions the office of the Security Police and the SD. According to the whole context, Figure 5a can thus be taken as referring by "SD" to the competent police body. The SD was not even kept informed, as can be seen from the distribution. Of Document D-764, 11 copies were prepared; copies 1 to 10 were sent out to the Wehrmacht commanders, while copy 11 was communicated to the Gestapo. Had the SD been competent, the decree would have to have been sent to them as well.

In connection with the decrees signed by Keitel (Session of 11 April 1946), in which it says that certain persons were to be turned over to the SD, I refer to the testimony of Keitel, according to which the designation "SD" has erroneously been used instead of "Security Police."

I also submitted 270 affidavits which show that in the occupied territories of Poland, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Lorraine, Belgium, Eupen-Malmedy, and in the following regions of Germany: Munich-Upper Bavaria, Rhine Province, Wuerttemberg, Hamburg, Saar-Palatinate, Silesia, Berlin, Styria, Thuringia, Sudetenland, Upper Silesia, the Tyrol, Saxony, Baden, Central Germany, Westphalia, East Prussia, Hesse, Moselle District, Eastern Bavaria, Holstein, Swabia, West Prussia, the SD had nothing to do with the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree. These statements cover the period from 1941 to 1945.

From the affidavits by Schellenberg (Affidavit SD-61) and Dittel (Affidavit SD-63) it is clear that Aemter VI and VII also had no hand in the execution of the Nacht und Nebel Decree.

viewtopic.php?t=15723

The IMT judgment, however, found that the SD had participated:

Local units of the Security Police and SD were also involved in the shooting of hostages, the imprisonment of relatives, the execution of persons charged as terrorists and saboteurs without a trial, and the enforcement of the "Nacht und Nebel" decree under which persons charged with a type of offense believed to endanger the security of the occupying forces were either executed within a week or secretly removed to Germany without being permitted to communicate with their family and friends.
viewtopic.php?t=15732 at p. 510 of the text

[Toivo]

Well SD was Sicherheitsdienst/Security Police, intelligence service of SS. Amt III of RSHA. This means they had number of agents spying after officers and population wether they are loyal or show signs of dissent. There was about 3000 members in late war.

Now I'm not expert on this field but from this quote it looks to me some are even less competent:

Local units of the Security Police and SD were also involved in the shooting of hostages, the imprisonment of relatives, the execution of persons charged as terrorists and saboteurs without a trial, and the enforcement of the "Nacht und Nebel" decree under which persons charged with a type of offense believed to endanger the security of the occupying forces were either executed within a week or secretly removed to Germany without being permitted to communicate with their family and friends.

SD AND Security Police? Huh?!

And regarding "Nacht und Nebel":

Within the occupied territories, communistic elements and other circles hostile to Germany have increased their efforts against the German State and the occupying powers since the Russian campaign started. The amount and the danger of these machinations oblige us to take severe measures as a determent. First of all the following directives are to be applied:

Maybe I got this wrong but "Night and Fog" was ment against partisan and resistance activity on occupied territory, right? But SD was ment to look after dissent on GERMAN territory...

Regards

[David Thompson]

Toivo -- You remarked:

SD AND Security Police? Huh?!

That was the official title -- Sicherheitspolizei und Sicherheitsdienst / Sipo und SD. You can see it on scores of official documents. Reinhard Heydrich, and after him Ernst Kaltenbrunner, held the title of "The Chief of the Security Police and the SD." It's on their stationary. I attached a photocopy so you can see for yourself.

Also, check the correspondence reproduced on this thread:

Einsatzgruppen Operational Situation Reports USSR
viewtopic.php?t=50368

You also said:

Maybe I got this wrong but "Night and Fog" was ment against partisan and resistance activity on occupied territory, right? But SD was ment to look after dissent on GERMAN territory...

I think you're mistaken. In the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshaupt - RSHA) there was an inland affairs SD office (Amt III) and a foreign affairs SD office (Amt VI). You can see both offices on this organizational chart:

http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3100

SD officers served in the Einsatzgruppen in Poland, the USSR and former Yugoslavia. You can see the report of the war crimes trial of an SD officer by a Norwegian court at: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/flesch.htm

The JuNSV website at http://www1.jur.uva.nl/junsv/brd/Dienstdeufr.htm shows West German trials of former SD officials for offenses committed in Libau, Lublin, Pinsk and Tilsit, and there's an East German trial for offenses committed at Rennes.

http://www1.jur.uva.nl/junsv/ddr/ddrdienststfr.htm

If you'd like, I'll dig up the names of a bunch of SD officers who were tried for war crimes by the Netherlands -- I think I posted the names and dispositions of the Sipo and SD command in Rotterdam about a year or two ago.

There's a lot more information on these threads too:

The Gestapo, the SD and war crimes
viewtopic.php?t=15607
Defense of the SD
viewtopic.php?t=15723
Defense of the Gestapo
viewtopic.php?t=15675
IMT judgment on the criminality of the Gestapo and SD
viewtopic.php?t=15732

[Toivo]

My mistake, I somewhy thought it was said SD is also Secret Police.

I think you're mistaken. In the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshaupt - RSHA) there was an inland affairs SD office (Amt III) and a foreign affairs SD office (Amt VI). SD officers served in the Einsatzgruppen in Poland, the USSR and former Yugoslavia.

I am aware of duties of both Inland-SD and Ausland-SD. So you're saying foreign affairs SD personel served in Einsatzgruppen? I haven't read about these things too much, will take look on previous discussions but no need to dig up more information.

With newbie-look it just appeared questionable wether SD offices ment to deal with intelligence and sabotage both on own and on occupied territory would waste limited resources for trials.

As I said I'm not experts. Thanks for taking your time.

Regards

[walterkaschner]

The following document may be of interest, and I think should satisfy LFS' request for a document relating specifically to the Nacht und Nebel decree by name, as well as putting paid to his assertion on another thread that the term did not appear until after the war. (Sorry I don't have the German text in front of me, but I see no need to doubt the accuracy of the translation):

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1932-PS
Source: Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Vol.IV. USGPO, Washington, 1946, pp. 579-580
Letter from Office of Chief of Department D of WVHA,
Concerning Handling of Prisoners Who Fall Under Night and Fog Decree

7 June 1943

SS Main Economic Administrative office
[ SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt]

Oranienburg 7 June 1943

Office group D, Concentrations Camps
D I/ 1 Az: 14 c 2 / Ot / S.-Secret diary No. 743/ 43

Subject : Treatment of prisoners who fall under the night and fog decree. [ NN-Erlass] .

Reference : Reich Security Main Office [Reichssicherheitshauptamt] IV c 2 General No. 103/ 42 g -issued 5 May, 1943

Annexes : None

SECRET

To the Camp commanders of the Concentrations Camps

Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwalde, Mauthausen, Flossenburg, Neumarkt, Auschwitz, Gross-Rosen, Natzweiler, Stu., Ravenbruck, Herz., Riga, Lublin and the Civilian Camp Bergen-Belsen.
[Da., Sah., Bu., Mau., Flo., Neu., Au., Gr.-Ro., Natz., Stu., Rav., Herz., Ri., Lub., und Zil Bergen-Belsen.]

I send the following decree of the Reich Security Main Office [Reichssicherheitshauptamt] regarding treatment of Night and Fog [NN] prisoners for acknowledgement and strictest observation.

The purpose of the NN decree is the elimination of all anti-German forces in the occupied territories and their being brought into the Reich.

The relatives and the population are to be kept in uncertainty about the fate of these persons. In order to achieve this, the NN decree further provides that prisoners of this kind should be placed under prohibitions to write, to receive mail and parcels, to talk, or that information should be given about them. In this regard it is irrelevant whether it is the question of a NN-prisoner of the old or new type. By NN-prisoners of the old type are understood those whom the military courts have handed over to the disposing agencies for shipment to the Reich, while the so-called New-Type NN-prisoners have been brought directly by the arresting agencies of the Security-Police and of the SD to the concentration camps (KL) in the Reich without the participation of military courts.

The Agencies of the security police and of the SD in question are instructed to submit to the Reich security Main Office and to the concentration camp in charge questionnaires on all prisoners who fall under the NN-decree. This questionnaire should contain detailed personal data, data on racial origin, the reason for arrest, the former place of custody and other incriminating elements. These questionnaires are to be marked by a seal "Night and Fog" [ Nacht und Nebel] .

Upon the reports of the agencies of the Security Police and of the SD a collective order for protective custody will be issued here with the questionnaires attached and the agencies will be further instructed to transfer the arrestees to a concentration camp.

Insofar as Germanic NN-prisoners are concerned, they will be transferred from here to the concentration camp of Natzweiler exclusively in all other cases the NN-prisoners will be shipped to a concentration camp depending on the location of the transferring agency of the Security Police and of the SD with consideration of the echelon division and of capacity of the concentration camp.

The camp commanders of concentration camps in which there are already NN-prisoners have to order immediately that the prisoners should be investigated according to racial points of view and that the Germanic NN-prisoners should be transferred to the concentration camp of Natzweiler. Compliance with this order is to be reported on individual questionnaires for each prisoner. The camp commander of the concentration camp of Natzweiler has to take care that the NN-prisoners are to be kept separated from the other prisoners.

In other respects the directives of the RSHA-Referat ND 4-which have been sent together with the secret letter No. 551/ 42, dated 18 Aug. 1942, are referred to.

Furthermore it is pointed out again as has been ordered already in the circular decree, issued 2 Feb. 1943, secret diary No. 111/ 43 -that death notices of NN-prisoners are to be submitted exclusively to the agency particular transferring agency of the Security Police and of the SD, to the RSHA and to this agency, in order to exclude divulgence of the place of custody of an NN-prisoner. Hereby the decrees regulating the procedure in cases of death, particularly any notification of the relatives are cancelled. The effects of deceased Night and Fog prisoners are to be sent in their entirety to the transferring agency in charge which will guard it until further notice.

The chief of the central office
[signature illegible]
SS Lt. Colonel


Document compiled by Dr S D Stein
Last update 02/02/99
Stuart.Stein@uwe.ac.uk
©S D Stein

http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/nacht1.htm

I have so far been unable to locate primary documentary evidence of the fact, but several secondary sources state that the "Nacht und Nebel" Decree was placed into effect only in the occupied territories in the West - and that some 7,000 victims, mostly French, fell victim to its "Nacht und Nebel" provisions and were deported to Germany. This of course does not include those who were summarily executed pursuant to the command in Section 1 of the Decree.

Although I am not a native German speaker, I think (hope) that I have at least a rudimentary command of that language and, as a native English (or rather American) a somewhat better command of English. So with some trepidation and with respect, I have to strongly disagree with Andreas' selections of translations of the German idiom "Nacht und Nebel" into English. I think none of them really fit.

Neither "Cloak & Dagger" nor "covert ops." nor even "Disappearances" conveys the the sense of one mysteriously and secretly disappearing into the fog of the night, so that no one - friends, relatives or loved ones - has any idea of what has happened to the person or his (her) ultimate fate. This was a tactic of Nazi terror subsequently and notoriously aped by the Chileans and the Argentinians, and, I understand of several other repressive régimes.

Here is an analysis of the phrase (together with my rough and ready attempts at translation shown in brackets) taken from an extremely helpful web-site for one interested in German idiom, which can be found at:

http://www.redensarten-index.de/info.html

Redensarten Suchergebnis [Results of Idiom Search]

Einen Eintrag gefunden mit der Suchbedingung "genauer Text" [One entry found with the search requirement "specific text".]

Redensart [Idiom]: bei Nacht und Nebel

Erläuterung: [synonym]: im Verborgenen / Geheimen [hidden, secret.]

Beispiele [Examples]:

"Wer sich bei Nacht und Nebel davonmacht und niemanden über seine Abwesenheit informiert, ist gegen einen Einbruch nicht gefeit" [Whoever makes himself disappear through Nacht und Nebel and informs no one of his absence is not immune from burglary.]

"Kinder und Jugendliche beiderlei Geschlechts werden ohne Angabe von Gründen ihren Elternhäusern entrissen, bei Nacht und Nebel entführt, verhört und dabei mit unvorstellbarer Grausamkeit gefoltert"; [Children and youths of both sexes shall be snatched away from the houses of their parents, without any statement of the grounds therefor, and abducted, interrogated, and tortured with unimaginable cruelty.]

"Nur zwei Wochen ertrugen sie es miteinander, dann packte er in einer Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion seine Sachen und verschwand"; [For only two weeks did they tolerate it together, then he packed up his things in a Nacht und Nebel operation and disappeared.]

"In einer Nacht-und Nebel-Aktion, von der die Öffentlichkeit erst im Nachhinein erfuhr, wurden die Bilder aus Donaueschingen abtransportiert"
[The paintings from Donaueschingen were transported away in a Nacht und Nebel operation, which first became publicly known later.]

Idiomatic translation can be extremely difficult, for so often the nuances derived from the cultural, historical and even geographical background applicable to one language may not exist in case of another. But in the instant case, IMHO (and obviously in the opinion of all other translators of the phrase I am familiar with) "Night and Fog" is the best we can come up with in English.

And BTW, the exact translation "Noche y Niebla" is that customary in Spanish, and "Nuit et Broulliard" in French - a French documentary film dealing with this exact subject and bearing this precise title having been produced by Alain Resnais in the mid-1950s.

Regards, Kaschner

[David Thompson]

Toivo -- Anytime. Nobody is born having already learned this stuff, and I'm still finding surprises after many years of reading.

[David Thompson]

Walter -- Thanks for the facts and the background. This is an example of the sort of surprise I had just mentioned to Toivo. As ever, I appreciate your learned participation.