1 They were convened under the authority of Control Council Law No.. When I once asked him why he had done what he was convicted of doing, he replied that he only did what the Fatherland [Germany] instructed him to do. Hitler's Minister of Economics; succeeded Schacht as head of the, Hitler's Deputy Fhrer until he flew to Scotland in 1941 in an attempt to broker peace with the United Kingdom. ;"God protect Germany. [92], The International Military Tribunal began trial on 20 November 1945,[93] after postponement requests from the Soviet prosecution, who wanted more time to prepare its case, were rejected. Where they lived. A defendant was entitled to receive a copy of the indictment, to offer any relevant explanation to the charges brought against him, and to be represented by counsel and confront and cross-examine the witnesses. Convicted and hanged, Rosenbergs ideology led to an appointment as minister of the occupied eastern territories in 1941. [215] Early releases of those convicted by the Nuremberg Military Tribunals began in 1949;[216] and in 1951, High Commissioner John J. McCloy overturned most of the sentences. jkeller, Aug 11, 2010 #16. macrusk Proud Daughter of a Canadian WWII Veteran. [241][242], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}492716N 110254E / 49.45444N 11.04833E / 49.45444; 11.04833. Goring had been given a list of approved lawyers by the US authorities, but rejected every name on it. [214] By then, the Americans were hoping to use the offer of pardon to convicted war criminals in order to bind West Germany to the Western Bloc. I do remember that Schacht, like most of the others, steadfastly maintained his innocence, never admitting to guilt in any form. He was found innocent and released but sentenced in 1949 by a German court to nine years in prison. After two years he was released and promptly reestablished himself in a successful career as a financial consultant for developing nations. He often went for hours without speaking to anyone. The trial, which had lasted nearly 10. Emilio DiPalma (right) stands on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. He was physically one tough guy, Prestianni offered. Following the Second World War, many concentration camps such as Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz were liberated. Despite this precaution, such limited, semiamicable relationships did exist. On October 15, 1946, guards and prisoners listened to the pounding of the gallows being constructed. I have searched photos of the trials to see if I could find my dad. Three others were acquitted. Four were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years: Karl Dnitz, Baldur von Schirach, Albert Speer, and Konstantin von Neurath. The most infamous of the female prisoners during Prestiannis tour of duty was Ilse Koch, known to guards as the Bitch of Buchenwald. With her husband, Karl Koch, the camp commander, Ilse often rode a horse through the camp compound, whipping prisoners. Her guards were repulsed, and some requested reassignment to another cellblock. The Wiener Holocaust Library's holdings on war crime trials largely pertain to those crimes committed by the Nazis and their allies during the Second World War. The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. , That used to shut him up but usually only for a few minutes, and then he would start up again with the jokes. Ambassador-Plenipotentiary 193536. Others were deemed "unfit" for Nazi society: Jews, lesbians, sex workers or homeless women. How Gring obtained the lethal capsule has never been firmly established. Because of the tragic manner in which my father died, we did not often speak of the trials. [161][162], The International Military Tribunal agreed with the prosecution that aggression was the gravest charge against the accused, stating in its judgement that because war in general is evil, "To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. Later 19 other nations accepted the provisions of this agreement. [157] Over the course of the trial, crimes against humanity and especially against Jews (who were mentioned as victims of Nazi atrocities far more than any other group) came to upstage the aggressive war charge. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. Frick, one of Hitlers closest advisers during the early years of the Nazi regime, was one of those hanged. Minister of Foreign Affairs 193845. SS members were generally frowned upon and can't imagine them having anything to do with the trials except sit in the dock. Stahmer fought hard for his clie. Other prisoners were outspoken in their condemnation of Hess as a traitor to the Fatherland when he flew to England in May 1941, ostensibly to arrange a peace between Hitlers Germany and Great Britain. Examine the Nrnberg (Nuremberg) trials of formerleaders of Nazi Germany for war crimes, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Nurnberg-trials, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - The Nuremberg Trials, Famous Trials - Nuremberg Trials (1945-49), Nuremberg Trials - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Nuremberg trials - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Konstantin von Neurath at the Nrnberg trials, Ernst Kaltenbrunner at the Nrnberg trials. End of the trial: Guardian report on the executions, 16 October 1946 Hermann Gring last night died by his own hand. [175][176], Four organizations were ruled to be criminal: the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, the SS, the Gestapo, and the SD, although some lower ranks and subgroups were excluded. The only part of the French charges that were accepted by the judges was the deportation of Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe. My father Paul Davis Smith served at a guard at Nuremberg though he never really talked much about it so I dont know in what capacity. [231], The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trial) borrowed many of its ideas from the IMT, including all four charges. An avid reader, he availed himself of a well-stocked library with a steady supply of books. During his three-month tour of duty at Nuremberg prison, Prestianni was assigned to 16 different prisoners. [190][191] Also on trial were industrialistsin the Flick trial, the IG Farben trial, and the Krupp trialfor using forced labor, looting property from Nazi victims, and funding SS atrocities. Verdicts were handed down on October 1, 1946. (Robert Ley committed suicide while in prison, and Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbachs mental and physical condition prevented his being tried.) [14][15] The exact form that retribution would take was left unresolved at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. During our conversations, he often asked questions about the United States, a subject in which he appeared to be quite interested, Prestianni added. Another, Hermann Goring, opted to commit . Those incarcerated at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg were allowed very limited and sporadic visitation rights with lawyers and family members. Answer (1 of 3): Yes, he was a German lawyer named Otto Stahmer from Kiel. Institutional rivalries hampered the search. [132][169] Through a compromise among the judges, the charge of conspiracy was narrowed to a conspiracy to wage aggressive war. During his service in Korea, Prestianni was wounded twice and decorated for valor numerous times. New Patient Forms; The food, prepared in an American-staffed kitchen, offered identical German menus for each prisoner. Attitudes toward certain prisoners were determined by the prisoners themselves, their demeanor in captivity, and their personality traits and attitudes toward their American, British, or French guards. He was usually confrontational and argumentative with the other prisoners. [117] The French prosecutors, more than their British or American counterparts, emphasized the guilt of the German people;[118] they barely mentioned the charge of aggressive war and instead focused on forced labor, economic plunder, massacres, and Germanization. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. [194] Luftwaffe general Erhard Milch was tried for using slave labor and deporting civilians. This wasnt authorized, but it was done on occasion, Prestianni smiled. After his release from prison in Nuremberg, a Stuttgart court sentenced him to eight years in a work camp. Some were gassed. 1 Feb 1946. [45] At Jackson's recommendation, the United States appointed judges Francis Biddle and John Parker. [67] Former Nazis were allowed to serve as counsel[45] and by mid-November all defendants had lawyers. In July 2020, Dey was found guilty and given a two . The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials tried major war criminals, but of lower ranks than those tried in the first trial. Read about WWII here. Most of the defendants had surrendered to the United States Army, but the Soviet Union also held a few top Nazis who were extradited for trial at Nuremberg. He was sent to Nuremburg and stood guard at the Judges quarters. Like the Nazis, he was afraid (rightly) that his "God" would kill him if he refused. Ambassador to the United Kingdom 193638. After Ley hanged himself, this strict suicide watch was instituted, Prestianni explained. When the needling did not abate and became somewhat annoying, Prestianni said he used to give the former World War I ace his own version of a little dig in return. [197] The trials heard 1,300 witnesses, entered more than 30,000 documents into evidence, and generated 132,855 pages of transcripts, with the judgements themselves totaling 3,828 pages. [34][35] Located in the American occupation zone, Nuremberg was a symbolic location as the site of Nazi rallies. When he failed to respond to the periodic shouted challenges from the sergeant-of-the-guard, Prestianni was taken to a hospital in Nuremberg where he remained for two weeks before returning to duty. I never really got to know him very well during the few months before he was released, commented Prestianni, but at one time he tried to teach me an intricate German card game, but I never could catch on to it. [163] Contrary to the prosecution, the verdict dated the planning of aggression to the 1937 Hossbach Memorandum and not to the founding of the Nazi Party. The Nuremberg Trials: Complete Tribunal Proceedings (V. 4): Trial Proceedings From 17th December 1945 to 8th January 1946 by International Military Tribunal (shelved 1 time as nuremberg-trial) avg rating 0.0 0 ratings published Want to Read Rate this book 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars He was proud of his physique, saying he was strong like Germany.. He, like the others, was always bumming cigarettes or cans of Prince Albert tobacco for his pipe. Nuremberg Trials Nuremberg Trials after WWII Nuremberg Trials post Second World War Categories: General news, War and unrest, Government and politics, Military and defense, Social affairs; Location: Germany Display: All Displaying 1 - 124 of 124 Results < Prev | 1 | Next > 4508300110 4508301118 4508310176 4508310168 451007142 490414058 490414049 Gring was one of the surviving leaders of the Third Reich and the highest-ranking Nazi to be tried at the Nuremberg Trials where he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death. Guards, for the most part, were not allowed to talk to each other or to prisoners while on security duty. My mother gave the journal to my oldest brother who died in 1998. [186] These trials were held under Law No. was on Court room duty. These were people, Neurath reasoned, of whom Germany was cleansing the world.. 125. He maintained an air of superiority toward Dnitz, considering him still a subordinate officer. I tried to treat each prisoner without rancor.. The defense lawyers saw themselves as acting on behalf of their clients, but also the German nation;[78] they prioritized the Wehrmacht's reputation over the lives of the generals on trial. I look forward to hearing from him. [152] The defendants' witnesses sometimes managed to exculpate them, but other witnessesincluding Rudolf Hss, the former commandant of Auschwitz, and Hans Bernd Gisevius, a member of the German resistanceeffectively incriminated the defendants. She was released after four years and eventually committed suicide in a Bavarian prison. [52][46] The Soviet personnel's lack of knowledge of English, lack of interpreters, and unfamiliarity with diplomacy and international institutions also limited their influence. My father was an MP at The Nuremberg Trails. [234][235] Further developments in international criminal law in the aftermath of the trials included the Genocide Convention (1948) and the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). The Estonian Guard Co. 4221 was formed to answer the need to guard the Nuremberg courthouse and the prison where accused Nazi War Criminals were held. Also represented were some leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG) and former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht.[2]. [202] All four powers later fought independence movements using methods that had been ruled illegal at Nuremberg. I would like any information that would lead me to a more detailed understanding of what my father did while part of this undertaking. Most of the time the prison was dank, uncomfortably cold, and forbidding, especially during the winter months. [60] Conspiracy charges were especially central to the cases against propagandists and industrialists; the former were charged with providing the ideological justification for war and other crimes, while the latter were accused of economic mobilization without which no war would have been possible. [39] Besides legal professionals, there were many social-science researchers, psychologists, translators and interpreters, and graphic designers, the latter to make the many charts used during the trial. [223], The International Military Tribunal, and the drafters of its charter, invented international criminal law essentially from nothing. They wanted to run the whole show. [37] Nineteen states ratified the charter and were admitted as observers. Gifts, usually clothing, soap, tobacco, and family photos, could be given to prisoners after inspection by a guard. While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. A huge crowd of soldiers stands at . Guards occasionally retaliated against unpopular, troublesome prisoners by rapping on the cell doors with their night sticks to disturb the occupants sleep. That was enough. [90][91] The bringing of conspiracy charges also slowed the trial, as the same evidence ended up being read out multiple times, when it was relevant to both substantive and conspiracy charges. There was a constant, steady flow of rules and regulations, many of them meaningless, while others tended to be more punitive, he said. He has little or no memory of the six remaining defendants, Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach, Labor Front head Robert Ley, Minister of Economics Walther Funk, Plenipotentiary for Labor Deployment Fritz Sauckel, propagandist Hans Fritzsche, or Artur Seys-Inquart, the administrator of the occupied Netherlands. Ten of them Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart were hanged on October 16, 1946. Others subjected inmates to horrific experiments and torture. The Nrnberg trials began on November 20, 1945. Thank you so much for your time and I am looking forward to getting into many discussions. The International Military Tribunal (IMT) delivered its judgment against the Nazi leaders on September 30 and October 1, 1946. The Rome Statute establishing a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), which had been proposed in 1953, was finally agreed to in 1998. [54] The Soviet judges and prosecutors were not permitted to make any major decisions without consulting a commission in Moscow led by Soviet politician Andrei Vyshinsky; the resulting delays hampered the Soviet effort to set the agenda. One of the new USA light tanks (M24) on guard outside the courthouse at Nuremberg. Three days on and three days off with shifts of four hours on, four hours off each day was the standard work assignment for guards. Streicher had published Der Sturmer, a widely read newspaper filled with pornography, ethnic hate, and anti-Jewish cartoons to enflame the German population. The judgement argued that aggressive war had already been illegal, even if no one had been punished for it, and therefore the German leaders could not count on immunity from prosecution. For example, Baldur von Schirach, former head of the Hitler Youth, was known only as Number 1. The Nuremberg Trials were 13 trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II. The defendants at Nuremberg. During numerous argumentative discussions, Neurath referred to the Polish population and others that were slaughtered by German troops as untermenschen, the German expression for inferior beings. One spoon has a carving of a skeleton key on its handle, the other an engraving of N 19 P. I could never determine the significance of the latter carving. My Dad was a guard at the Nuremberg trials. The indictment lodged against them contained four counts: (1) crimes against peace (i.e., the planning, initiating, and waging of wars of aggression in violation of international treaties and agreements), (2) crimes against humanity (i.e., exterminations, deportations, and genocide), (3) war crimes (i.e., violations of the laws of war), and (4) a common plan or conspiracy to commit the criminal acts listed in the first three counts. I did nothing to be here, he stated. [13] Planners in the United States Department of War were drawing up plans for an international tribunal in late 1944 and early 1945. The speech was favorably received by the prosecution, the tribunal, the audience, historians, and even the defendants. [87] Over the course of the trial, Western judges allowed the defendants additional leeway to denounce the Soviet Union, which was ultimately revealed to be a co-conspirator in the outbreak of World War II. [95] None of the defendants tried to assert that the Nazis' crimes had not occurred; instead, they attempted to divert blame from their own actions. All war crimes prisoners ate from a single German menu. [151], In order to appease concerns about fair process, the defendants were allowed a free hand with their witnesses and a great deal of irrelevant testimony was heard. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials that occurred in post-World War II Germany to provide a platform for justice against accused Nazi war criminals. After the first trial ended in October 1946, the United States held 12 other trials at Nuremberg under the authority of the International Military Tribunal. He could never understand why he had been tried for war crimes. All I can recall is that he was standing to the left in the court room. Pre-war president of the. [224][225][226] During the two decades after the trial, opinions were predominantly negative. My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of peace, there should be an understanding between East and West. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. He thought a mature, Lutheran, German-speaking chaplain who had worked in prisons . [80][81] The aim was to have these organizations declared criminal, so that their members could be tried expeditiously for membership in a criminal organization. Meals were brought to the prisoners on a precise schedule each day on wheeled, double-tiered push carts by German prisoners from other sections of the prison who were being held for civil crimes. By special arrangement with a guard or prison official, he gave his handwritten notes to be mimeographed and returned to him. Number 4 was assigned to Erich Raeder, the Navys former grand admiral before being replaced by Dnitz. After trial, incarcerated at. Prestianni said that during his guard duties he tried to adhere to his fathers advice. Alfred Rosenberg, Joachim von Ribbentrop and others were condemned on 16th October, 1946. [84][85] The American prosecution drew on reports of the Office of Strategic Services and information provided by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the American Jewish Committee. [150] The judges barred most evidence on Allied misdeeds from being heard in court. He served in that capacity for three months, bringing him in daily contact with 16 of the 22 accused war criminals. The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.. [123] The next week, the Soviet prosecution suddenly produced former field marshal Friedrich von Paulus, captured after the Battle of Stalingrad, as a witness and questioned him about the preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In the Hostages case, several generals were tried for executing thousands of hostages and prisoners of war, looting, using forced labor, and deporting civilians in the Balkans. Three of the defendants were acquitted. An accomplished horseman, Streicher continued to wear high leather boots and riding britches during his confinement. [142] In contrast, most defendants avoided incriminating each other. Dnitz remained an unrepentant Nazi until his death in 1980. Sixteen of these captives were guarded by Pfc. [3] War losses in the Soviet Union alone included 27 million dead, mostly civilians, which was .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}17th of the prewar population. By far the most attention--not surprisingly, given the figures involved--has focused on the first Nuremberg trial of twenty-one major war criminals. He was quiet by nature and spent much of his time writing his memoirs. The tribunal consisted of a member plus an alternate selected by each of the four signatory countries. Guards gradually learned through everyday observation, however, that the prisoners collective makeup truly spanned a psychologically intricate cross-section of those who had served Hitler. The purpose of the trial was not just to convict the defendants but also to assemble irrefutable evidence of Nazi crimes, offer a history lesson to the defeated Germans, and delegitimize the traditional German elite. The tribunal was given the authority to find any individual guilty of the commission of war crimes (counts 13 listed above) and to declare any group or organization to be criminal in character. Courtroom 600 in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice was the site of the famous Nuremberg trials, a series of military tribunals that took place between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946. [130] The defense presented evidence of Soviet responsibility,[131] and Katyn was not mentioned in the verdict. I rather liked him for the way he acted toward us. I have been searching for evidence that my Dad was a guard, so that the stories I have been told since I was a child could be documented. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [88], The charter allowed the admissibility of any evidence deemed to have probative value, including depositions. Prestianni said of von Neurath, He looked like the movie version of a Prussian general with his mop of white hair and erect bearing. [120] Ultimately, the French prosecution was unable to convince the court that Germanization was a crime against humanity, and incidents such as the German annexation of AlsaceLorraine went unmentioned in the final verdict. William L Shierer "the Rise and Fall of the third Reich", part IV, Nuremberg-chapter, the United States committed the same breach, Last and Near-Last Words of the Famous, Infamous and Those In-Between, "The International Military Tribunal for Germany", The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_defendants_at_the_International_Military_Tribunal&oldid=1114903079, Successor to Hess as Nazi Party Secretary. [155] In the context of the brewing Cold War, the trial became a means of condemning not only Germany but also the Soviet Union. My father was also a guard, but he said he always was on the outside guarding. FRD provides custom research services to federal agencies, the District of Columbia government, and authorized federal contractors. This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 21:33. He reportedly carried a whip during liaisons with numerous women. [22][23] War crimes already existed in international law as criminal violations of the laws and customs of war. Bragging of his ability to mass murder millions of Jews, Frank never admitted to his brutal inhumanity during the war crimes trial but was sentenced nonetheless to hang. [165] The official interpretation of the IMT held that all of the charges had a solid basis in customary international law,[166] which was elaborated in the verdict. [125], More so than other delegations, Soviet prosecutors showed the gruesome details of German mistreatment of prisoners of war and forced laborers, as well as the systematic murder of Jews in eastern Europe. Ribbentrop was held in low esteem by others close to Hitler due to his perceived ineptness in many areas. The British government was still opposed, unable to see the benefit of such a trial and preferring summary execution of Nazi leaders. [181] All three acquittals (Papen, Schacht, and Fritzsche) were based on a deadlock between the judges; these acquittals surprised observers. I inherited all of it. Efficiency Report for Henry F. Gerecke, 7/1/1945, NAID 6016856. Kaltenbrunner had perpetrated extreme barbarism in the extermination of Jews through the planning and execution of the Final Solution. Second, it rejected the argument that the trial and adjudication were ex post facto. I have a brass pot, called an aspersorium, obtained by my father. [153] Midway through the trial, Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech denouncing the Soviet threat delighted the defense. His face had an animal look to it, Prestianni stated. Movement was extremely restricted and closely monitored, even for the guards. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. Friedrich Jeckeln was found guilty and was executed in Riga, Latvia. [89] Because of the loose evidentiary rules, photographs, charts, maps, and films played an important role in making incredible crimes believable. While they walked, the prisoners were separated by a prescribed number of yards. Hans Frank, known as the Slayer of Poles, was small, outwardly arrogant, and had a cruel face, Prestianni revealed. [8][9] On 1 November 1943, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States issued the Moscow Declaration to "give full warning" to the Nazi leadership of the Allies' intent to "pursue them to the uttermost ends of the earthin order that justice may be done". [236][237], The trials were the first use of simultaneous interpretation, which stimulated technical advances in translation methods. Emilio "Leo" DiPalma, a World War II veteran and a guard for some of the most notorious Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials, died Wednesday along with several other veterans who. [24][25] Although a novel construct, "crimes against humanity" covered acts that were already prohibited by the laws of most countries. [79] Initially, the Americans had planned to try fourteen organizations and their leaders, but this was narrowed to six: the Reich Cabinet, the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, the Gestapo, the SA, the SS and the SD, and the General Staff and High Command of the Wehrmacht.
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