Judgment at Nuremberg Page #5

"who already sapped the strength

of the state for these lesser sacrifices...

"in order to prevent our being swamped

by incompetence.

"It is better for all the world...

"if, instead of waiting to execute

degenerate offsprings for crime...

"or to let them starve for their imbecility,

society can prevent their propagation...

"by medical means in the first place.

"Three generations of imbeciles

are enough."

Do you recognize it now, Dr. Wieck?

No, sir, I don't.

Actually, there is no particular reason

you should...

since the opinion upholds

the sterilization law...

in the State of Virginia,

of the United States...

and was written and delivered

by that great American jurist...

Supreme Court Justice,

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Now, Dr. Wieck.

In view of what you have just learned...

can you still say that sexual sterilization

was a novel National Socialist measure?

Yes, I can say it.

Because it was never before used

as a weapon against political opponents.

Do you personally know of a case...

where someone was sterilized

for political reasons?

I know that such things were done.

That's not the question.

Please answer the question.

Do you know of a case?

I don't know of any specific case,

or specific date...

I am asking you if you have any firsthand,

personal knowledge of such a case!

No, I have no such personal knowledge.

Thank you.

You are aware of the charges

in the indictment against Ernst Janning?

Yes, I am.

Can you honestly say

he is responsible for them?

Yes, I can.

Do you consider yourself

free of responsibility?

Yes, I do.

Did you ever swear

to the Civil Servant Loyalty Oath of ?

Your Honor, I object.

The witness doesn't have to answer

that question.

He's not on trial.

All Germany is on trial, Your Honor.

This tribunal placed it on trial

when it placed Ernst Janning on trial.

If responsibility is to be found,

the widest latitude is to be permitted.

Objection overruled.

Did you ever swear

to the Civil Servant Loyalty Oath of ?

Everyone did.

We are not interested in what everyone did.

We are interested in what you did.

Would you read the oath

from the Reich Law Gazette, March, ?

"I swear that I shall be obedient...

"to the leader of the German Reich

and people, Adolf Hitler.

"That I shall be loyal to him,

that I will observe the laws...

"and that I will conscientiously

fulfill my duties...

"so help me God."

Everyone swore to it.

It was mandatory.

Yes.

But you're such a perceptive man, Dr. Wieck.

You could see what was coming.

You could see that National Socialism

was leading Germany to disaster.

"It was clear to anyone

who had eyes and ears."

Didn't you realize...

what it would have meant if you,

and men like you...

would have refused to swear to the oath?

It would have meant that Hitler

could never have come to absolute power.

Why didn't you?

Why didn't you?

Can you give us an explanation?

Has it something to do with your pension?

Did your pension mean more to you

than your country?

Your Honor!

I object to the entire line of questioning,

and ask that it be stricken from the record.

I thought prosecuting counsel

was dedicated to finding responsibility.

Your Honor, I made an objection.

Prosecution is not interested

in finding responsibility?

There is responsibility for more here

than swearing to a loyalty oath...

- and you know it.

- There is indeed.

One thing that even the German machine,

with its monumental efficiency...

has been unable to destroy...

Order.

All the victims.

More victims than the world has ever known.

- They will walk into this courtroom...

- Order!

This tribunal will admonish both counsel.

It will tolerate nothing of this kind again.

We're not here to listen to outbursts

of this kind, but to serve justice.

Your Honor, I made an objection.

The objection is overruled.

The witness is excused.

Did you ever read any books by Janning?

No, I don't think so.

- The Meaning of the Law.

- How is it? Interesting?

All the books by Janning are interesting.

They're more than that.

They're a picture of an era,

its hopes, its aspirations.

They weren't very different from ours, really.

Listen to this, on the signing

of the Weimar constitution:

"Now we can look forward to a Germany

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