Cross-examination: Alexander Schmorell

Schmorell babbled out some kind of an excuse that because his mother was Russian, and he was half-Russian, he somehow wanted to unify Germans and Russians. This led to such an abysmal aberration, which can be seen from his statement during the trial that he had decided that – as a German soldier – he would “fire upon neither Germans nor Russians”!!! National Socialist jurisprudence of course requires us to consider the personality of the perpetrator.

But that same jurisprudence can not and will not allow us to consider misguided and unpatriotic attitudes. Especially the People’s Court must take care that no other schism intrudes upon our nation in this time of war. Schmorell is a German soldier. He swore an oath of loyalty to the Führer. He was able to continue his education at the expense of the national community. He has no right to mental reservations about being half-Russian. The ethics of reservatio mentalis has no place in a German courtroom.

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Source: Verdict with reasons, second trial