Nuremberg+Trials

=The Nuremberg Trials=

With the closing of WWII came a series of trials set up by the Allies, to try & sentence those responsible for the many treacherous crimes committed during the Nazi reign. The Nuremberg Trials, as they were called, spanned from 1945 to 1949 consisting of 13 trials with over 100 defendants. The most famous of these was the first of the series; The //Trial of the Major War Criminals//. The subsequent trials however including the //Doctors` Trial// & the //Justice Trial// were extremely important as well, featuring crimes just as gruesome.

Pre-Trial
=== Plans for the Nuremberg Trials began to take place before Germany had surrendered & the war was still in full swing. In 1944, the American War Department began coming up with ways to deal with the German officials upon orders from President Roosevelt. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did not wish to hold trials at all but rather execute the accused straight away. Stalin, oddly enough, was the man who negated this idea despite his usual unjust manner. In February of 1945, the three Allied Leaders came to an agreement & issued a statement siding towards a judicial process to decide the fate of the criminals. === At the end of June, Robert Jackson American Supreme Court Justice & Chief Prosecutor of the trials, met with the major leaders in London to formulate a plan. Due to the different judicial styles of the countries represented, it was difficult to decide on a method by which to set up the processions. By August 6 an agreement had been reached & all of the men signed the “Charter of the International Military Tribunal”, which set the laws & procedures by which the trials would be run.

Location


The next part of the process was deciding where the trials would be held. The Russians favored the major city of Berlin but Munich, Leipzig & Luxembourg were also considered. Robert Jackson had the overall say & eventually decided on Nuremberg, located in Bavaria, for multiple reasons. The city held the Palace of Justice, a large courthouse that was miraculously still intact after the extensive air raids, as well as an attached prison & grand hotel nearby. It was also famous for its many large Nazi Rallies during the uprising & reign of Hitler as well as the birth place of the anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws. With the trials, it would become symbolic of both the beginning & end of the Nazi Party.

The Accused
Those who were tried during the Nuremberg trials were those guilty of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes & crimes against humanity. All of the defendants within the first trial were accused of at least two of these accounts & many faced all four. Some of the most serious offenders were not included in the trials due to acts of suicide like Hitler, Himmler & Goebbels, or disappearances as with Dr. Josef Mengele. Despite this, 24 took part in the major trial with a final 21 following through with the verdicts.

The Trial
The Trial of the Major War criminals began on November 20, 1945. Reactions & behavior of the defendants widely varied, some claiming guilty from the start & others staying true to their oath to Hitler. Hermann Goering, commander of the Luftwaffe acted in this manner, defended the policies of the Reich, never once accepting his actions as wrong or criminal. He was later sentenced to death but committed suicide in his cell before the executions took place. Another important defendant Rudolph Hess, Hitler’s former deputy, seemed to be on the verge of insanity & could not remember what had happened. He was awarded life in prison but acted as if he did not understand the meaning of the sentence due to his precarious mental state. Albert Speer, Minister of Armaments & War Production & Hitler’s architect, was one of the few who took responsibility for his part in the crimes committed. He did not wish to be connected with Hitler & the Nazis & was given a light sentence of 20 years, most likely because of this attitude. Throughout the trial an array of evidence was brought forth, much of it extremely horrific & shocking. Some of the most disturbing items were those collected from concentration camps like tattooed human skin, used for furnishings in the house of a commandant & the head of an executed man, used as a paperweight. Films confiscated from the Nazis were also shown, displaying their cruel & indecent behavior.

The Verdict
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The first trial came to a close at last on October 1, 1946. Eleven of the defendants were sentenced to death, three given life in prison, four sentenced to 10-20 years behind bars & the remaining three were let off free. Upon leaving the court room however, those acquitted were arrested again, this time under German law. On October 16, the day after Goering committed suicide, the ten remaining criminals given the death sentence were hanged. Officials had considered using a firing squad to end the lives of these men but due to the nature of their crimes, the less dignified act of hanging seemed to fit the bill.

Results: Found at []

(//in absentia//) || Deputy Führer || __ [|III and IV] __ || Death || Was missing at time of trial. Later it was discovered Bormann had died in 1945. ||
 * **Name** || **Position** || **Found Guilty of Counts** || **Sentenced** || **Action Taken** ||
 * Martin Bormann
 * Karl Dönitz || Supreme Commander of the Navy (1943) and German Chancellor || __ [|II and III] __ || 10 Years in Prison || Served time. Died in 1980. ||
 * Hans Frank || Governor-General of Occupied Poland || __ [|III and IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Wilhelm Frick || Foreign Minister of the Interior || __ [|II, III, and IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Hans Fritzsche || Head of the Radio Division of the Propaganda Ministry || __ [|Not Guilty] __ || Acquitted || In 1947 sentenced to 9 years in work camp; released after 3 years. Died in 1953. ||
 * Walther Funk || President of the Reichsbank (1939) || __ [|II, III, and IV] __ || Life in Prison || Early release in 1957. Died in 1960. ||
 * Hermann Göring || Reich Marshal || __ [|All Four] __ || Death || Committed suicide on October 15, 1946 (three hours before he was to be executed). ||
 * Rudolf Hess || Deputy to the Führer || __ [|I and II] __ || Life in Prison || Died in prison on August 17, 1987. ||
 * Alfred Jodl || Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces || __ [|All Four] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. In 1953, a German appeals court posthumously found Jodl not guilty of breaking international law. ||
 * Ernst Kaltenbrunner || Chief of the Security Police, SD, and RSHA || __ [|III and IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Wilhelm Keitel || Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces || __ [|All Four] __ || Death || Requested to be shot as a soldier. Request denied. Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Konstantin von Neurath || Minister of Foreign Affairs and Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia || __ [|All Four] __ || 15 Years in Prison || Early release in 1954. Died in 1956. ||
 * Franz von Papen || Chancellor (1932) || __ [|Not Guilty] __ || Acquitted || In 1949, a German court sentenced Papen to 8 years in work camp; time was considered already served. Died in 1969. ||
 * Erich Raeder || Supreme Commander of the Navy (1928-1943) || __ [|II, III, and IV] __ || Life in Prison || Early release in 1955. Died in 1960. ||
 * Joachim von Ribbentrop || Reich Foreign Minister || __ [|All Four] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Alfred Rosenberg || Party Philosopher and Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied Area || __ [|All Four] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Fritz Sauckel || Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation || __ [|II and IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Hjalmar Schacht || Minister of Economics and President of the Reichsbank (1933-1939) || __ [|Not Guilty] __ || Acquitted || Denazification court sentenced Schacht to 8 years in a work camp; released in 1948. Died in 1970. ||
 * Baldur von Schirach || Führer of the Hitler Youth || __ [|IV] __ || 20 Years in Prison || Served his time. Died in 1974. ||
 * Arthur Seyss-Inquart || Minister of the Interior and Reich Governor of Austria || __ [|II, III, and IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||
 * Albert Speer || Minister of Armaments and War Production || __ [|III and IV] __ || 20 Years in Prison || Served his time. Died in 1981. ||
 * Julius Streicher || Founder of __ [|Der Stürmer] __ || __ [|IV] __ || Death || Hanged on October 16, 1946. ||

The Aftermath


The Nuremberg Trials were often criticized after their completion. The system has been deemed unfair & unjust on several accounts & many feel that the Allies committed similar war time crimes. Despite the many questions raised about the trials they started a movement to create an international court of justice. This then lead to the //Statute of the International Criminal Court// some fifty years later.

//Sources//
"The Nuremberg Trials: A Chronology." //UMKC School of Law//. Web. 23 May 2011. . "Nuremberg Trials." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 23 May 2011. . "NurembergACCOUNT." //UMKC School of Law//. Web. 23 May 2011. . Overy, Professor Richard. "BBC - History - World Wars: Nuremberg: Nazis On Trial." //BBC - Homepage//. Web. 23 May 2011. .

Written by Laura Jickling