Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume IIIVarious
History
Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume III
Various
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946; War crime trials -- Germany -- Nuremberg
D. Expert Opinion by Defense Witness Professor
Jahrreiss concerning the Development of
German Law
EXTRACTS FROM THE TESTIMONY OF DEFENSE WITNESS
PROFESSOR JAHRREISS[140]
_DIRECT EXAMINATION_
DR. SCHILF (counsel for defendants Klemm and Mettgenberg):
Professor Jahrreiss, may I ask you to tell us your name, your
profession, and your residence.
WITNESS JAHRREISS: Professor at Cologne University; at present
on the staff of editors of the record of IMT. Do you also wish me to
name my residence, Counsel?
Q. Yes.
A. At this time, in Nuernberg. I was born at Dresden; the date of birth
is 19 August 1894.
Q. So that I can afford the Court the opportunity to acquaint itself
with your particular research field, may I ask you briefly to describe
to us your field of research as professor of law.
A. My work since 1923 has dealt with the fields of constitutional
law, international law, and the law by the League of Nations, general
constitutional law, and philosophy of law.
Q. May I ask you, just by way of example, to mention your own
publications--those of a scientific nature.
A. Well, that is rather a lot; but publications which concern this
subject here, I could mention--_Law and Calculability_, on the
foundations of law and state; another publication on _The Relation of
the Constitution of the Reich to the League of Nations_; then in the
textbook which Anschuetz and Thoma edited on German Constitutional Law,
my work about _The Equality of the Citizens before the Law_; and
above all, my own version of _The German Constitutional System_,
of the year 1930.
Q. Concerning the first problem, the German constitutional law, that
is the subject on which I wish to start. My first question will open
the direct examination. Is it correct that Hitler in the order of the
so-called Third Reich was the supreme law giver?
A. Yes, that is correct, although that was not so from the very
beginning of that era. That only happened in the course of events. But
at the latest, if you’d like me to mention a date, that occurred when
the offices of Chancellor and Reich President were united in him; that
is to say, 1 August 1934.[141] That is the latest date.
Q. It was like this then--Hitler’s authority developed gradually until
it reached its final culmination?
A. Yes, that is correct. If I may add this, one must say that the
development under Hitler followed a development which occurred prior to
his own era.
Q. Do you mean to say by that, that 30 January 1933 did not bring about
a complete break of the development prior to Hitler?
A. Yes, that is what I would say.
Q. Do you also mean to say by this that the so-called change-over, that
is the seizure of power by the National Socialist Party, was legal?
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