[124] Paulus incriminated his former associates, pointing to Keitel, Jodl, and Gring as the defendants most responsible for the war. 1 They were convened under the authority of Control Council Law No.. The photograph shows some of the security measures taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. The defendants included some of the most famous Nazis, including Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Wilhelm Keitel. Trial issues are criminal activities or subjects at issue in a trial that are addressed by a document. Conversation between guards was extremely limited or nonexistent. 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. --. Give me information about your Dad and I will help you research about your fathers deployment to Germany. He argued that Germans needed Lebensraum (living space) and that they were looking only for land expansion. [200] The case law of the trials fleshed out the skeleton provided by the Nuremberg charter and the IMT verdict. Recently one of our readers in the US contacted us with a photo of a pair of sunglasses that were in a box in his grandfather's garage. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Number 2 was given to Karl Dnitz, former grand admiral of the German Navy. Wells, was military policeman and a Provost Sergeant in charge of a special confinement unit whose responsibilities included providing security for the war crimes trials in Nrnberg. Upon arriving in the European Theater, Prestianni, a replacement, found himself in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. He would have been 92 the following month. [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. 23rd September 2021 at 5:18pm. On 17 September, the various delegations met to discuss the indictment. The film, compiled from footage of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, shocked both the defendants and the judges, who adjourned the trial. [221] The IMT defendants required Soviet permission for release; Speer was not successful in obtaining early release, and Hess remained in prison until his death in 1987. [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). Hess, former deputy fhrer of the Nazi party and Hitlers private secretary during the early years of the National Socialist movement, was sentenced to life imprisonment and served every day of it to the age of 92 when he died in 1987 under mysterious circumstances in Berlins Spandau Prison. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 08-12-2007, 10:07 PM. All were destined for incarceration, at least during their trials, in two of Germanys most feared prisons: the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg and Spandau Prison on the western outskirts of Berlin. Seven defendants (Hess, Funk, Raeder, Dnitz, Schirach, Speer, and Neurath) were sent to Spandau Prison to serve their sentences. my father david c bergeron was a 1st LT with the guards at the war trials. Jodl, one of 10 prisoners hanged, was another who never admitted to any personal guilt. They wanted to run the whole show. All I can recall is that he was standing to the left in the court room. They, as a group, had no problem with their guilt. Between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 21 of the most important surviving leaders of Nazi Germany in the political, military, and economic spheres, as well as six German organizations. Generally, I would describe the food, as I recall, quite good, Prestianni remembers. Ribbentrop was held in low esteem by others close to Hitler due to his perceived ineptness in many areas. We used to argue democracy versus dictatorship, the free versus the suppressed. [67] Former Nazis were allowed to serve as counsel[45] and by mid-November all defendants had lawyers. Although controversial at the time for their use of ex post facto law, the trials' innovation of holding individuals responsible for violations of international law established international criminal law. He remained bombastic and arrogant right up to the end, all the while looking upon the other prisoners as inferior beings., Ribbentrop, another of Prestiannis checker opponents, was vainglorious, almost constantly given to pompous bragging and considered stupid by the other prisoners. [150] The judges barred most evidence on Allied misdeeds from being heard in court. His name was Raymond J Arsenault. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany waged war across Europe, invading Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Low Countries, France, Denmark, Norway, Yugoslavia, Greece, and the Soviet Union, among others. Hans Frank, known as the Slayer of Poles, was small, outwardly arrogant, and had a cruel face, Prestianni revealed. [105] The American prosecutors were not any more effective when presenting documentary evidence on the conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity, and ended up reaching a "saturation point of horror" by their indiscriminate selection and disorganized presentation of evidence without tying it to specific defendants. Text Size:thredup ambassador program how to dress more masculine for a woman. [177] In the latter case, the Wehrmacht leadership was not considered an organization within the meaning of the charter;[177][178] but this verdict was later misrepresented as an acquittal of the criminality of the Wehrmacht, forming one of the foundations of the clean Wehrmacht myth. Public to Get Access to Nuremberg Trials Digital Recordings And when he spoke, it was to lash out violently at anyone close to him at the time, even the guards.. It was always a battle of authority. [26], The final version of the charter only gave the court the ability to punish those crimes against humanity that had been committed "in connection with any crimes within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal". There was a constant, steady flow of rules and regulations, many of them meaningless, while others tended to be more punitive, he said. Another favorite was Alfred Jodl, former chief of the operations staff of the Army high command, who was found guilty and executed. Nrnberg trials, Nrnberg also spelled Nuremberg, series of trials held in Nrnberg, Germany, in 194546, in which former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal. [136][137] The Soviet prosecution case was generally well received and presented compelling evidence about the suffering of the Soviet people and the Soviet contribution to victory. Expressed repentance. Second, it rejected the argument that the trial and adjudication were ex post facto. The Federal Research Division (FRD) is a fee-based research and analysis unit within the Library of Congress that produces world-renowned and nonpartisan products to support research-informed policy- and decision-making. Gring was the acknowledged leader among the prisoners. The crew (left to right) Private (1st Class) Carl E McCray (Salem, Va.) and Sergeant E Wilson (Texas.)'. Efficiency Report for Henry F. Gerecke, 7/1/1945, NAID 6016856. He died about five years ago and I wished I would have asked questions. These compelling first-person accounts of the Nuremberg trials were recorded by professional historians who interviewed 11 Americans participants, including prosecutors, journalists, security guards, and even the architect who designed the courtroom. Prominent banker and economist. We jokingly told him the girls coveted the gifts American soldiers could offer and they had all forgotten his (Schirachs) Nazi National Socialism propaganda indoctrination. The first attempt to punish the perpetrators was conducted by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in the German city of Nuremberg, beginning on November . Each watch was of two hours duration, standing almost motionless looking in the cell door openings. The purpose of the armored reinforcement was to prevent any possibility of attack by groups of still-fanatic Nazis. [229] Some defenders of the trial argued that the legal principle of nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without law) was not binding in international proceedings. [2] German aggression was accompanied by immense brutality in occupied areas and the systematic murder of millions of Jews in the Holocaust. Updates? This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 21:33. Raeder kept to himself, voraciously reading and writing his memoirs, but when he interacted with the others, it was often to lash out in anger. Three of those accused were acquitted and upon their release soon faded into obscurity. BAY CITY . On that date, representatives from the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the provisional government of France signed an agreement that included a charter for an international military tribunal to conduct trials of major Axis war criminals whose offenses had no particular geographic location. we went to Germany with and my younger brother was born there, dad remained un the Army until 1960, when he retired after 32 years service. [62] Vyshinsky demanded extensive corrections to the crimes-against-peace charges, especially regarding the role of the GermanSoviet pact in starting World War II. He guarded top Nazis at Nuremberg trials; now he'll share his story By CAROL SMITH, P-I REPORTER Updated Nov 7, 2007 Jack Carver holds a portrait of top-ranking Nazi Hermann Goering, whom he met. [55], The work of drafting the indictment was divided up by the national delegations. [238][239] The Palace of Justice houses a museum on the trial and the courtroom became a tourist attraction, drawing 13,138 visitors in 2005. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Let me have that again, please. The requested reassignments were generally granted.. If one inadvertently looked up at her, she arbitrarily ordered the prisoner shot. Nazi, Alfred Rosenberg, lies dead on a casket following his execution after the Nuremberg Trials. [17] On 8 May, Germany surrendered unconditionally. Prisoners and guards were forced to wear heavy scarves to ward off the penetrating cold. My father Gordon Fitzgerald also spent several months as a guard there. In the prison cellblock, each single-occupant cell had two parallel heating pipes beneath a single, heavily scratched, plastic-covered window, the top half of which could be tilted open for limited ventilation. The note said, To a good man in remembrance of my going forth to death., Prestianni said, I have no idea why he gave it to me. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. To some, he was demeaned as the foreigner., I didnt like his looks at all. [207][208] In a 1946 poll, 78 percent of Germans assessed the trial as fair, but four years later that had fallen to 38 percent, with 30 percent considering it unfair. The Nuernberg trial records include transcripts of proceedings . John C. Woods, hangman at Nuremberg Anyone else might have been embarrassed about botching such a high-level execution. After two years he was released and promptly reestablished himself in a successful career as a financial consultant for developing nations. [50][51] Because the Soviet Union expected a show trial, its appointees were familiar with this form. They were not to be shown disrespect. [61], The problem of translating the indictment and evidence into the three official languages of the tribunal, as well as German, was severe due to the scale of the task and difficulty in recruiting interpreters, especially in the Soviet Union. events, and resources, Michael Prestianni: Guarding the War Criminals at Nuremberg. [34][35] Located in the American occupation zone, Nuremberg was a symbolic location as the site of Nazi rallies. The British worked on putting together the aggressive war charge; the French and Soviet delegations were assigned the task of covering crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the Western Front and the Eastern Front, respectively. By far the most attention--not surprisingly, given the figures involved--has focused on the first Nuremberg trial of twenty-one major war criminals. Popular radio commentator; head of the news division of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. He often went for hours without speaking to anyone. [201], At the same time as the Nuremberg Charter was finalized, the Allies also signed the Potsdam Agreement, which provided for the mass expulsion of millions of Germans from central and eastern Europe, so that certain acts for which Nazis were convicted at Nuremberg were therefore made an official policy of the Allies. Schirach, who had been replaced by Hitler as head of the youth movement in 1940 and drafted into Army service where he saw considerable combat on the Eastern Front, maintained his decorum and seldom responded to the teasing. [24][25] Although a novel construct, "crimes against humanity" covered acts that were already prohibited by the laws of most countries. Ten of those men would be hung 16 days later. By creating an Aryan nation, the world would look up to and envy Germany for its racial purity.. [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. Dnitz, who was named successor to Hitler during the waning days of the war and served 10 years in prison, remained aloof. In return, he often was rewarded with cigarettes, pipe tobacco, or other small items he coveted. [167] The judges were aware that both the Allies and the Axis had planned or committed acts of aggression, writing the verdict carefully to avoid discrediting either the Allied governments or the tribunal. These were the intellectuals; the ramrod-stiff military officers; the cunning politicians; the worlds most vicious, depraved, notorious mass murderers; an architect; a filthy-minded and sex-obsessed anti-Semitic newspaper publisher; a gentle writer of poetry; the bombastic bullies; an unrepentant, ghost-like figure; the subservient military lackeys; and even their self-appointed leader, a bloated, drug-addicted former war hero. Colonels from all four countries were running around trying to determine how it happened.. [108][109], On 12 December, Shawcross gave the opening speech for the British. [116] In contrast to the other prosecution teams, the French prosecution emphasized how Nazi ideology and pan-Germanism had led to the Nazis' crimes, and delved into the Sonderweg theory of Germany's development in the nineteenth century. It was eerie. The Nuremberg Trials ended on October 1, 1946. Patrolling the wall was cold, cold, cold, Prestianni remembered. Guards occasionally retaliated against unpopular, troublesome prisoners by rapping on the cell doors with their night sticks to disturb the occupants sleep. In most respects, fraternization between guards and prisoners was closely monitored by those who set the policies for the prisoners confinement. Like the Nazis, he was afraid (rightly) that his "God" would kill him if he refused. Number 6 was Walther Funk, former minister of economics, and Number 7 was Rudolf Hess, once Hitlers private secretary and deputy fhrer. For added security outside the prison, three American Sherman tanks, manned by MPs, were positioned at the front, side, and rear entries to the prison. 1 Feb 1946. [133], Inspired by the films shown by the American prosecution, the Soviet Union commissioned three films for the trial: The German Fascist Destruction of the Cultural Treasures of the Peoples of the USSR, Atrocities Committed by the German Fascist Invaders in the USSR, and The German Fascist Destruction of Soviet Cities, using footage from Soviet filmmakers as well as shots from German newsreels. [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. Streicher had published Der Sturmer, a widely read newspaper filled with pornography, ethnic hate, and anti-Jewish cartoons to enflame the German population. Back in 1945, his grandfather was stationed in Germany for the infamous Nuremberg trials, during which he got his hands on a pair of sunglasses allegedly worn by a high ranking Nazi. What was the name of that individual? Asked whether the 60-year myth about Streicher struggling for 20 minutes at the end of the hangmans rope was true, Prestianni said guards never witnessed the hanging and he had not heard any such rumors at the time, but guessed it could have happened. [40] Each state appointed a prosecution team and two judges, one being an alternate. 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. Prestianni particularly liked Speer, Hitlers architect and the designer of many of Berlins most spectacular buildings and later minister of armament and munitions. In one report i read, it mentioned that "K" Company of the 26th Inf., 1st Div. He was the popular picture court room scene the second on the left of the door. 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. [85] The prosecution examined 110,000 captured German documents[40] and entered 4,600 into evidence,[87] along with 30 kilometres (19mi) of film and 25,000 photographs. [211] The educational purpose of the Nuremberg Military Tribunals was a failure, in part because of the resistance to war crimes trials in German society, but also because of the United States Army's refusal to publish the trial record in German for fear it would undermine the fight against communism. She was released after four years and eventually committed suicide in a Bavarian prison. 56 high-ranking SS and other police officers, including 24 leaders of the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) and key officials in Heinrich Himmler's . Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27 million deaths in the Soviet Union alone. That was until he took his own life by biting down on a cyanide capsule a few hours before he was scheduled to be hanged., Prestianni remembered vividly the night of the executions and Grings suicide. . Among those brought to trial were. . One of the new USA light tanks (M24) on guard outside the courthouse at Nuremberg. She was given the nickname "Bloody Brigette" by the camp . Three of the defendants were acquitted: Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen, and Hans Fritzsche. He didnt really talk to me very much. During his service in Korea, Prestianni was wounded twice and decorated for valor numerous times. He held the rank of seargent when he was discharged in 1945. While he was held at Nuremberg, he portrayed himself in a quiet, unassuming demeanor. In rendering these decisions, the tribunal rejected the major defenses offered by the defendants. Batya. Even before this decision, around 1,000 former Latvian Legion soldiers had served as guards at the Nuremberg trials, guarding Nazi war criminals. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27 million deaths in the Soviet Union alone. Prestianni does not recall Raeder maintaining even a limited friendship with the other prisoners. The material which the Library possesses on this topic can be loosely divided into the following sections: Nuremberg Trial. [48] The French judges were Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, a professor of criminal law, and alternate Robert Falco, who had represented France at the London Conference. How long did it take you to learn what you are doing? he often asked. [69][37], The defendants, who were largely unrepentant,[70] included former cabinet ministers: Franz von Papen (who had brought Hitler to power); Joachim von Ribbentrop (foreign minister), Wilhelm Frick (interior minister), and Alfred Rosenberg, minister for the occupied eastern territories. All eight judges participated in the deliberations, but the alternates could not cast a vote. Nuremberg was first and foremost theater to lay bare the crimes of the Nazi regime for the general public, and symbolically prosecute one leading member of the regime for a particular segment (the Army, the Navy, the SS, the Ministry of Propaganda etc). End of the trial: Guardian report on the executions, 16 October 1946 Hermann Gring last night died by his own hand. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. [208][209] Many Germans lumped criminal trials with denazification, internment, and confrontation with the concentration camps, as illegitimate victor's justice and the imposition of collective guilt. [2] They were indicted for: He used to tell me he always did what he thought was right for the Fatherland but that just too much came to light during the trial.. 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. Of course he was amongst other guards to his left and right. I never treated him differently than I did the others I guarded.. The first of the trials was the Major War Crimes Trial, in . If he is American it will be easier to find some kind of information about him. He was largely overlooked in prison, Prestianni said of von Papen. Neurath, Konstantin von. [18], At the London Conference, held from 26 June to 2 August 1945, representatives of France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States negotiated the exact form that the trial would take. He was released in 1966. SS members were generally frowned upon and can't imagine them having anything to do with the trials except sit in the dock. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. [185] Twelve military trials were convened solely by the United States in the same courtroom that had hosted the International Military Tribunal. He was usually confrontational and argumentative with the other prisoners. Boy I wish I asked more questions of the trials. They even accused guards of watching them undress. [77] Gring, the most famous surviving Nazi, headlined the trial. Each prisoners cell was equipped with a simple, bench-like bed against one wall adjacent to the cell door, a primitive commode, a wooden table to hold the few allowed pictures and other personal items, and a chair too rickety to support the weight of a standing man. My father became an MP after the war. He was quiet by nature and spent much of his time writing his memoirs.

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