Goering's Green Folder
Encyclopedia
In the Nuremberg Trials
there was a document referred to as the "Green Folder" of
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
. This was the master policy directive for the economic
exploitation of the conquered Soviet Union. The implications of this document was
the death by starvation of millions of Slavic people, something that partially came
to pass in the Holocaust
, the neglect of Soviet soldiers captured by the Nazis which led to huge mortality rates, and the general expropriation of food in the occupied areas of the Soviet Union.
It is also referred to as Document of the Soviet Prosecution, Exhibit USSR 10.
in his book Mein Kampf
argues for
the expansion of the Germans
into eastern lands held by the Slavs
, referring
to these lands as Lebensraum
.
Following the approval of Hitler of the Operation Barbarossa
plan, the Führer instructed Reichsmarschall Goering to develop a plan for the future exploitation of conquered territory in the East. Under Goering's leadership, a plan known as Oldenburg was created to include the seizing for the service of the Reich all stocks of raw materials and large industrial enterprises in the territory between the Vistula
and the Urals.
According to this plan the most valuable manufacturing equipment was to be sent to the Reich and that which was not sent to Germany would be destroyed.
The European part of the Soviet Union would be economically decentralized and be made an agricultural appendage of Germany.
The original plan was approved at a secret meeting on March 1, 1941 (protocol 1317-PS).
Over the next two months the plan was fleshed out in detail and finally adopted on April 29, 1941 (protocol secret meeting 1157-PS). A headquarters was formed to coordinate the "Oldenburg" plan.
According to the plan, the territory to be occupied in the Soviet Union would be divided into five economic Inspectorates, three of them attached to Army Group North
(Leningrad
), Army Group Center (Moscow
), and Army Group South
(Kiev
), one for the Caucasus
(Baku
), and one held in reserve, with 23 economic commandants, as well as 12 offices.
On May 8, 1941 the "Common instructions to all Reich commissioners in the occupied eastern territories" was adopted, based on this plan (documents 1029-PS, 1030-PS).
A separate committee was formed to organize the collection of food in the occupied territories, as per Herbert Backe
's Hunger Plan
.
It was tasked with ensuring that by 1942, the German armed forces would be fully nourished by the resources of the USSR, without taking into account the needs of its population.
In accordance with the order of the Supreme Command Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Wilhelm Keitel
(dated June 16, 1941), the main economic challenge for the territories seized from the Soviet Union, was described as "an immediate and full exploitation of the occupied areas in favor of the war economy of Germany, particularly in the areas of food and oil".
Reichsmarschall Goering, directly supervising the "Oldenburg" headquarters, wrote:
At the beginning of World War II
in the East, July 15, 1941, he wrote in his "green folder":
Initially, the German military leadership believed that it was not necessary during the war to rebuild the industry and use the natural wealth of the Soviet Union and that a policy of seizing finished products and raw materials in warehouses would be sufficient.
Subsequently they made an accounting of industry and mines to ensure their safety and to establish civil administration of captured territories.
However, when the expected rapid end of the war did not materialize and Germany had suffered great losses in manpower, equipment and weapons, established stocks started to quickly deplete, and the German leadership urgently started to develop a plan of economic use of the occupied territories, during the war itself. Thus German leadership had to abandon the implementation of the plan Oldenburg, recognizing its unsuitability.
After the war ended, the activities of Staff Oldenburg was the subject of consideration and condemnation at the Nuremberg Tribunal.
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
there was a document referred to as the "Green Folder" of
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
. This was the master policy directive for the economic
exploitation of the conquered Soviet Union. The implications of this document was
the death by starvation of millions of Slavic people, something that partially came
to pass in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, the neglect of Soviet soldiers captured by the Nazis which led to huge mortality rates, and the general expropriation of food in the occupied areas of the Soviet Union.
It is also referred to as Document of the Soviet Prosecution, Exhibit USSR 10.
Background
The philosophy espoused by Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in his book Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
argues for
the expansion of the Germans
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
into eastern lands held by the Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
, referring
to these lands as Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
.
Plan Oldenburg
Plan "Oldenburg" (Goering's "Green Folder") was the code-name of the economic subsection of the planned attack of the USSR.Following the approval of Hitler of the Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
plan, the Führer instructed Reichsmarschall Goering to develop a plan for the future exploitation of conquered territory in the East. Under Goering's leadership, a plan known as Oldenburg was created to include the seizing for the service of the Reich all stocks of raw materials and large industrial enterprises in the territory between the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
and the Urals.
According to this plan the most valuable manufacturing equipment was to be sent to the Reich and that which was not sent to Germany would be destroyed.
The European part of the Soviet Union would be economically decentralized and be made an agricultural appendage of Germany.
The original plan was approved at a secret meeting on March 1, 1941 (protocol 1317-PS).
Over the next two months the plan was fleshed out in detail and finally adopted on April 29, 1941 (protocol secret meeting 1157-PS). A headquarters was formed to coordinate the "Oldenburg" plan.
According to the plan, the territory to be occupied in the Soviet Union would be divided into five economic Inspectorates, three of them attached to Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
(Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
), Army Group Center (Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
), and Army Group South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
(Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
), one for the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
(Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
), and one held in reserve, with 23 economic commandants, as well as 12 offices.
On May 8, 1941 the "Common instructions to all Reich commissioners in the occupied eastern territories" was adopted, based on this plan (documents 1029-PS, 1030-PS).
A separate committee was formed to organize the collection of food in the occupied territories, as per Herbert Backe
Herbert Backe
Herbert Backe was a German Nazi politician and Obergruppenführer in the SS.Backe was born in Batumi, Georgia, the son of a trader. He studied at the Tbilisi Gymnasium from 1905 and was interned on the outbreak of World War I as an enemy alien...
's Hunger Plan
Hunger Plan
The Hunger Plan was an economic management scheme that was put in place to ensure that Germans were given priority over food supplies, at the expense of everyone else. This plan was featured as part of the planning phase of the Wehrmacht invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941...
.
It was tasked with ensuring that by 1942, the German armed forces would be fully nourished by the resources of the USSR, without taking into account the needs of its population.
In accordance with the order of the Supreme Command Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
(dated June 16, 1941), the main economic challenge for the territories seized from the Soviet Union, was described as "an immediate and full exploitation of the occupied areas in favor of the war economy of Germany, particularly in the areas of food and oil".
Reichsmarschall Goering, directly supervising the "Oldenburg" headquarters, wrote:
- In the East, I intend to loot and pillage effectively. All that may be suitable for the Germans in the East, should be extracted and brought to Germany immediately.
At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the East, July 15, 1941, he wrote in his "green folder":
- Using the occupation of areas should be made primarily in the areas of food and oil sectors of economy. Get to Germany as much food and oil as possible - that is the main economic goal of the campaign.
Initially, the German military leadership believed that it was not necessary during the war to rebuild the industry and use the natural wealth of the Soviet Union and that a policy of seizing finished products and raw materials in warehouses would be sufficient.
Subsequently they made an accounting of industry and mines to ensure their safety and to establish civil administration of captured territories.
However, when the expected rapid end of the war did not materialize and Germany had suffered great losses in manpower, equipment and weapons, established stocks started to quickly deplete, and the German leadership urgently started to develop a plan of economic use of the occupied territories, during the war itself. Thus German leadership had to abandon the implementation of the plan Oldenburg, recognizing its unsuitability.
After the war ended, the activities of Staff Oldenburg was the subject of consideration and condemnation at the Nuremberg Tribunal.
See also
- A-A lineA-A lineThe Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line, or A-A line for short, was the military goal of Operation Barbarossa. It is also known as the Volga-Arkhangelsk line, as well as the Volga-Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line...
- Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
- Herbert BackeHerbert BackeHerbert Backe was a German Nazi politician and Obergruppenführer in the SS.Backe was born in Batumi, Georgia, the son of a trader. He studied at the Tbilisi Gymnasium from 1905 and was interned on the outbreak of World War I as an enemy alien...
's Hunger PlanHunger PlanThe Hunger Plan was an economic management scheme that was put in place to ensure that Germans were given priority over food supplies, at the expense of everyone else. This plan was featured as part of the planning phase of the Wehrmacht invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941... - World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...