The German jurists, who collaborated so closely with Himmler’s minions, were equally willing to protect “overzealous Nazis” against the penal consequences of their worst excesses. Late in 1933 a group of “Storm Troopers” (SA) committed vicious assaults and tortures on some political prisoners who had been confined in the concentration camp of Kemna, near Wuppertal in the Ruhr. The description of this outrage by the Reich Minister of Justice reads as follows: “In the camp, some of the prisoners were exposed to the severest mishandling. “In most cases, shortly after their shipment had come in, and when they were being interrogated, they would be beaten, partly upon their bare bodies, with rubber cudgels, horsewhips, sticks, ox lashes, and other objects. In many cases they had to lie down over a special caning bench, or were forced down onto it by guards, and their mouths were kept shut or they were gagged with balls of paper, pieces of cloth, bags, or similar things, in order to prevent them from screaming. Other members of the guard in the meantime would begin to beat them up. Prisoners who fainted were kicked back to consciousness or had water thrown over them to wake them up and make them stand up again. After this, prisoners who were mistreated were frequently locked up in a small space under the stairway or in an elevator without being given any medical attention or food and drink. In some cases, the injuries the prisoners received from their beatings made it necessary to transfer them to hospitals. “Several prisoners also were forced to eat unwashed herrings from the barrel, which had also been sprinkled with salt * * *. When they had finished the herrings, the prisoners, who were naturally suffering from tormenting thirst, were not allowed to have water brought them.” Proceedings against the storm troop leaders in a disciplinary tribunal of the Nazi Party ended in a mere reprimand and deprivation of the right to hold public office for 1 year. The files of the Ministry of Justice concerning this atrocious episode contain the recommendations of various officials, including the defendant Joel, that criminal proceedings against the perpetrators should be cancelled. This recommendation was adopted and forwarded to Hitler by Minister Guertner, who, for justification, pointed to the circumstances that the culprits were not experienced concentration camp guards, that the majority of the victims were Communists, that, in some cases, the victims had been obstinate and insubordinate, and that communism had an especially strong hold in the Wuppertal area. b. 1939–1945