Department of the Army Files
The Assistant Secretary of War (McCloy) to the Deputy Director of the Office of European
Affairs (Matthews)1
secret
[Washington,] August 28,
1944.
Dear Doc: Enclosed is a telephone
conversation I had with Secretary Stimson this morning which I think
it might be well for you to consider and perhaps show to the
Secretary of State in connection with any meetings that this new
group2 may have.
I know that Mr. Stimson is feeling very strongly about the wisdom of
imprisoning the Gestapo. I have
asked our people to check up on the size and extent of the Gestapo, so far as we have any
means of checking, with an idea of determining what is involved.
Sincerely,
[Enclosure]
Telephone Conversation With
Secretary Stimson, 12:30 P.M.
Four propositions.
- 1.
- Swift punishment should be visited on the Nazi leaders in
respect of war crimes.
- 2.
- We should then go down by steps into the subordinates
responsible for such crimes, beginning with the leaders of
the Gestapo and
investigating their individual responsibility and punishing
it accordingly.
- 3.
- As a preliminary step to the above we should immediately
upon the occupation of Germany arrest and intern the entire
Gestapo and
institute careful investigation into individual
responsibility for these crimes. Encourage the making of
such charges by the German people.
- 4.
- Institute at once an investigation as to the
responsibility of the Storm Troopers and their leaders for
similar war crimes. Consider also the method of proceeding
against the Storm Troopers in a way similar to that taken
against the Gestapo. We
should always have in mind the necessity of punishing
effectively enough to bring home to the German people the
wrongdoing done in their name, and thus prevent similar
conduct in the future, without depriving them of the hope of
a future respected German community. (Those are the two
alternatives.) Remember this punishment is for the purpose
of prevention and not for vengeance. An element in
prevention is to secure in the person punished the
conviction of guilt. The trial and punishment should be as
prompt as possible and in all cases care should be taken
against making martyrs of the individuals punished.
How far can we go under the Geneva Convention3 in
educating war prisoners against Naziism?
How far can we go in protecting the remainder of the Germans from
the contagion of the Nazis?
