Hostage trial 1948

[David Thompson]

See also:

Source Documents on "Germanization"
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=61091
The German Resettlement Trustee Company (DUT)
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=66094
Slovenian inhabitants according to plan
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=35874
Fate of the Slavs and Poles if the Nazis won?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=218575

and the threads listed at viewtopic.php?p=1978702#p1978702

[SloveneLiberal]

Ok, thx!

[wm]

That's strange that they wanted to send all the "freshly minted Germans" to Germany - a country lacking living space, I suppose they would have ended up in annexed Polish territories.

So what would have happened to Slovenia if, it seems, everybody was going to be evacuated to Germany or Serbia.

[David Thompson]

Wm -- Let us know what you find out.

[SloveneLiberal]

WM the question if some Slovenes were deported also to annexed parts of Poland is very interesting.

Concerning the question what would happen to German occupied parts of Slovenia, i should say it was planned that Germans would replace the part of Slovene population which was expelled and German reinforced presence would then help to Germanize the country more quickly. The population was racially tested already in 1941, according with Nazi ''race science'' and Nazis were much surprised when the results showed that people in Gorenjska or Oberkrain are more of the Nordic race than people from Lower Styria ( Štajerska ). They expected to be the other way around. 85% of people from Gorenjska were judged as racially good and 15% as not so good or bad.

( Nacistična raznarodovalna politika, written by dr. Tone Ferenc, 1968, pages 220-222 ).

However because the plans of National socialists were complicated by the war and resistance movement Himmler ordered in February 1942 that Germans will come in larger numbers to the area of Gorenjska ( Oberkrain ) only after the war. Then they will be invited by radio and press. Himmler listed following exceptions which would be able to come to Oberkrain also during the time of war: war invalids, people with their families which are important as local political leaders, Germans which returned to Reich. For example in Slovenia thousands of Germans left the part of the country which was annexed by Italy and ''returned to Reich'' in fact to German occupied territory of Lower Styria.

The order of Himmler can be found in the book written by Ivan Jan, Korenine zla, published in Ljubljana, 1995, pages 164-165.

[SloveneLiberal]

Maybe i should add here something more about illegal war against Yugoslavia ( also Greece ). Soon after Hostage trial another trial called Ministries Trial also part of the same so called Subsequent Nuremberg trials concluded:

The only justification offered for the German invasion of Yugoslavia is the coup d'état which overthrew the government which had signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, and the fear that Yugoslavia would remain neutral only until such time as it might join the ranks of Germany's enemies.

The unquestioned fact is that every country, and particularly those which lay along or near German boundaries, was fully aware that German actions in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland were aggressive and unjustified, and that in attacking and invading, Hitler had broken not only the provisions of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, but the pledges which he had given to those countries; each fully disapproved of Germany's action and the question which lay in their minds was where the next blow would fall. We think there is no doubt whatsoever that every country in Europe, except its Axis partners, hoped for German defeat as the one insurance for its own safety, but such hopes cannot justify the German action against them.

The claim of self-defense is without merit. That doctrine is never available either to individuals or nations who are aggressors. The robber or the murderer cannot claim self-defense, in attacking the police to avoid arrest or those who, he fears, disapprove of his criminal conduct and hope that he will be apprehended and brought to justice.

The invasion of Austria, the invasion of Bohemia and Moravia, and the attack on Poland were in violation of international law and in each case, by resorting to armed force, Germany violated the Kellogg-Briand Pact. It thereby became an international outlaw and every peaceable nation had the right to oppose it without itself becoming an aggressor, to help the attacked and join with those who had previously come to the aid of the victim. The doctrine of self-defense and military necessity was never available to Germany as a matter of international law, in view of its prior violations of that law.

http://www.derechos.org/peace/dia/doc/dia46.html

[SloveneLiberal]

I think also that it was demonstrated here during the discussion that the conclusion from the judgement of Hostage trial which says: The evidence shows that after the capitulation of the armies of Yugoslavia and Greece, both countries were occupied within the meaning of International Law, does not apply to the occupation of Slovenia. Specially we see this from the conclusion of Nuremberg judgement which in fact compared the situation in German occupied Slovenia to the situation in illegaly annexed western Poland as it was demonstrated here. General Wilhelm List who was accused at Hostage trial was indeed responsible for occupied Serbia, but situation there during occupation was different from the situation in Slovenia.

[SloveneLiberal]

That's strange that they wanted to send all the "freshly minted Germans" to Germany - a country lacking living space, I suppose they would have ended up in annexed Polish territories.

WM according to the data collected by Slovene institute for modern history Slovenes which were expelled to Germany to be Germanized lived all over the country in around 400 camps called Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. They lived in monasteries, castles, schools, barracks etc. Men had to work in factories, mines, forests, as farm workers etc. Young women were also sent in factories or worked as bondmaids in German families. Children went in schools and were learning German. Smaller children were sent in German kindergartens and were Germanized quickly.

Himmler gave some orders in spring 1942 from which we can see that the plan was probably to use ''Germanized Slovenes'' in the process of German settlement of conquered eastern territories ( Lebensraum ). Around one third of Slovene population from Oberkrain and Lower Styria would be used for this purpose according to historian dr. Tone Ferenc ( Ferenc 2001, Sistory, Slovenci in leto 1941, pages 107-111 ).


The text is in Slovene, but also photos are included.

https://fototekamnzs.com/2019/09/24/slo ... v-nemciji/

Many other Slovenes were expelled to Croatia under ustasha regime according to ustasha-German agreement from the end of May 1941 that thousands of Slovenes will be expelled to Croatia. Ustasha regime will replace them for Serbs expelled to Serbia. To Serbia Germans also expelled thousands of Slovenes mostly considered political opponents of the Third Reich. ( Pregled zgodovine NOB, book 1, written by dr. Metod Mikuž, published in Ljubljana, 1960, pages 69-70.