[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. Tags International Military TribunalNurembergGermanywar crimes trialstrials National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD 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. She kept a scrapbook which had photos of her group and many signatures of court officials and army officers commending them for their service. Seven defendants (Hess, Funk, Raeder, Dnitz, Schirach, Speer, and Neurath) were sent to Spandau Prison to serve their sentences. [82], Over the summer, all of the national delegations struggled to gather evidence for the upcoming trial. The first session, under the presidency of Gen. I.T. Some were gassed. The . These parapets included watchtowers at the four corners equipped with telephones to contact or summon supervising sergeants or lieutenants, who were constantly on call to resolve problems that might develop. 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. [174] The judges interpreted crimes against humanity narrowly; they determined that crimes against German Jews before 1939 were not under the court's jurisdiction because the prosecution had not proven a connection to aggressive war. [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. Generally, I would describe the food, as I recall, quite good, Prestianni remembers. [60] The American prosecution became derailed during attempts to provide evidence of the German annexation of Austria. [34][35] Located in the American occupation zone, Nuremberg was a symbolic location as the site of Nazi rallies. [81] Senior American officials believed that convicting organizations was a good way of showing that not just the top German leaders were responsible for crimes, without condemning the entire German people. [19], The Nuremberg Charter upended the traditional view of international law by holding individuals, rather than states, responsible for breaches of international law. Alfried was tried in a separate Nuremberg trial (the Krupp Trial) for the use of slave labor, thereby escaping worse charges and possible execution; found guilty in 1948, pardoned and all property returned 1951. [110] Unlike Jackson, he attempted to minimize the novelty of the aggression charges. [223], The International Military Tribunal, and the drafters of its charter, invented international criminal law essentially from nothing. I never treated him differently than I did the others I guarded.. Of course he was amongst other guards to his left and right. He told multiple stories of his time there. After the war, she and other WACS were asked to stay for the Nuremburg trials to serve as stenographers . FRD provides custom research services to federal agencies, the District of Columbia government, and authorized federal contractors. [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. I have searched photos of the trials to see if I could find my dad. [230] The selectivity in trying Germans but not the Allies has garnered the most persistent criticism. The authority of the International Military Tribunal to conduct these trials stemmed from the London Agreement of August 8, 1945. These were people, Neurath reasoned, of whom Germany was cleansing the world.. Today I found out that most of the soldiers who guarded the high ranking Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials were in fact former members of Baltic SS . Jobs People Learning . Long live Germany.. [188] The Office of Chief Counsel for War Crimes identified 2,500 major war criminals, of whom 177 were tried. He was totally indifferent to the world around him and to world affairs. At this time, 24 former Nazi leaders were charged with the perpetration of war crimes, and various groups (such as the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police) were charged with being criminal in character. The most frequently offered scenario, after intensive investigations, has been that the capsule was retrieved from Grings luggage in a storage room and was given to him by an American, Lieutenant Jack Tex Wheelis. [159] During the closing statements, most defendants disappointed the judges by their lies and denial. My father was a guard in the courtroom (Palace of Justice) at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. Joachim von Ribbentrop's body after his execution. [154] The United States controlled the prison where the defendants and some of the witnesses were held, and tried its best to shut the Soviets out of the proceedings. He was good, real sharp, Prestianni related. Some were convicted of historys most barbaric crimes against humanity. Does anyone know where I can read about the nuremberg trials from the guards perspective? Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. [56][57] After this division of formulating the charges, the British and American delegations decided to work jointly in drafting the charges of conspiracy to wage aggressive war. He was the popular picture court room scene the second on the left of the door. Considered by some as the most intelligent and talented prisoner, he was the quintessential gentleman. They were individually handcuffed to guards, driven by ambulance to a nearby airfield, and flown to Berlin, where they were processed at Spandau Prison. Like the Nazis, he was afraid (rightly) that his "God" would kill him if he refused. [71][72] The military leaders were Hermann Gring, Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, Erich Raeder, and Karl Dnitz. 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. The Nuremberg Trials After the war, the top surviving German leaders were tried for Nazi Germany's crimes, including the crimes of the Holocaust. Many were resistance fighters or political opponents. His remembrance of duty at Nuremberg remains vivid. The night Gring pulled that off on October 16, 1946, now that was quite a night, he recalled. The prisoners were restricted to groups of six to eight, which were strictly segregated from one another. 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. Other generals were tried in the High Command Trial for plotting wars of aggression, issuing criminal orders, deporting civilians, using slave labor, and looting in the Soviet Union. He would just lie on his bed staring at the ceiling with expressionless, sunken eyes and fallow, sort of ashen, death-like skin. The small letters, tav, shin, and zayin in the list of Haman's ten sons (Esther 9), with the combined numerical value of 707, are seen as a "prophetic" code hinting to the future hanging of the ten Nazis convicted at the Nuremberg trials in the year 5707, which Julius Streicher declared as "Purimfest 1946" before he was hanged. [64] The division of labor, and the haste with which the indictment was prepared, resulted in duplication, imprecise language, and lack of attribution of specific charges to individual defendants. [135] The Soviet Union also called two Holocaust survivors as witnesses, Samuel Rajzmana Treblinka survivorand poet Abraham Sutzkever, who eloquently described the murder of tens of thousands of Jews from Vilna, although their testimony did not directly incriminate any of the defendants. [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. [17] On 8 May, Germany surrendered unconditionally. It was only sometime later that I realized in retrospect that I had become part of history, Prestianni said. Mark Felton Productions. In this capacity, he was ultimately responsible for the use of slave laborers from the occupied territories in armaments production. The Rome Statute establishing a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), which had been proposed in 1953, was finally agreed to in 1998. During our conversations, he often asked questions about the United States, a subject in which he appeared to be quite interested, Prestianni added. [28] The charter limited the jurisdiction of the court to Germany's actions because the Allies did not want to answer to an international court for their own actions;[29] only Germans could be tried. 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. The door was opened just enough to allow Streicher to enter. In one report i read, it mentioned that "K" Company of the 26th Inf., 1st Div. list of guards at nuremberg trialsdelpark homes sutton list of guards at nuremberg trials. For the subsequent trials held by the United States, see, "International Military Tribunal" redirects here. This is evidenced by the change of the guards uniforms back and forth from the heavier, darker, winter uniform to the lighter colored summer uniform. Updates? Speer was a favorite of the guards. With the change of command by rotating countries every month, each of the countries altered the previous countrys rules. [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". [32] The trial was held under modified common law. 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. [202] All four powers later fought independence movements using methods that had been ruled illegal at Nuremberg. As well as the tank three Military Policemen can be seen on duty. Still others displayed docile and taciturn mannerisms and personalities. Gifts, usually clothing, soap, tobacco, and family photos, could be given to prisoners after inspection by a guard. Designated as protector of Bohemia and Moravia in August 1943, he played a major role in developing the concentration- and labor-camp network for the slaughter of millions. 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. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. Ten of themHans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, and Arthur Seyss-Inquartwere hanged on October 16, 1946. She was given the nickname "Bloody Brigette" by the camp . 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. Other absent and dead men including Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, Adolf Eichmann, and Bormann were also blamed. He was proud of his physique, saying he was strong like Germany.. [47] Although the chief British judge, Sir Geoffrey Lawrence (Lord Justice of Appeal), was the nominal president of the tribunal, in practice Biddle exercised more authority. The two men were deep in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, venue for the Nuremberg War Crimes trials of Germany's Nazi leaders. [101] He described the fact that the defeated Nazis received a trial as "one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason". Soldiers in tank stand guard in front of the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg where the International Military Tribunal . His name was Raymond J Arsenault. These once powerful leaders of Nazi Germany were the accused of the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. 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. [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". Waffen-SS Soldiers Guarded the Nuremberg Trials Mark Felton Productions 1.82M subscribers Subscribe 81K 4.3M views 2 years ago Unbelievable but true - an entire unit of former Waffen-SS. The Palace of Justice was relatively intact but needed to be renovated for the trial due to bomb damage; it had an attached prison where the defendants could be held. [228] The most controversial charge was crimes against peace. . [65], Some of the most prominent NazisAdolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbelshad committed suicide and therefore could not be tried. When asked how the individual personalities, habits, and mannerisms differed, Prestianni responded that they were varied. While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. An enduring mystery of the 1946 Nuremberg trials was apparently solved yesterday when an American former prison guard claimed it was he who, as an unwitting accomplice, passed to Hermann. The International Military Tribunal (IMT) delivered its judgment against the Nazi leaders on September 30 and October 1, 1946. His name was David C. Porter from Pennsylvania. [12] The United States insisted on a fair trial as a means of reforming Germany. I sure would like to find out more about his service. The Nuremberg Trials: Table of Contents | Indictments | Defendants & Verdicts Click Left/Right to Scroll American guards maintain constant surveillance over Nazi war criminals in the Nuremberg prison. During the Nuremberg Trial, American guards maintain constant surveillance over the major Nazi war criminals in the prisonattached to the Palace of Justice. [158][136] In contrast to the opening prosecution statements, all eight closing statements highlighted the Holocaust; and the French and British prosecutors made this the main charge, as opposed to that of aggression. So the court then allowed him to choose any lawyer he wanted and Stahmer was his pick. Before his execution, he aligned himself with Jodl and, to a lesser extent, Raeder and Dnitz, the military clique. [132] The inclusion of Katyn in the charges undermined the credibility of Soviet evidence in general. Hildegard Lchert (AKA "Bloody Brigette" or "Beast") Hildegard Lchert was conscripted to join the Nazi women in 1942, at the age of 22. My father was an MP at The Nuremberg Trails. 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. Gerald lives in MN. Also represented were some leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG) and former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht. [44] As the numerically strongest delegation, it would take on the bulk of the prosecutorial effort. The priest was most likely the Nrnberg prisons Lutheran chaplain, Henry F. Gerecke. The trial, which had lasted nearly 10. On October 15, 1946, guards and prisoners listened to the pounding of the gallows being constructed. He was usually confrontational and argumentative with the other prisoners. Colonels from all four countries were running around trying to determine how it happened.. Nazi, Alfred Rosenberg, lies dead on a casket following his execution after the Nuremberg Trials. Neurath, Konstantin von. 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. Upon arriving in the European Theater, Prestianni, a replacement, found himself in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. [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. I only patrolled there once. [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. 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. One of the new USA light tanks (M24) on guard outside the courthouse at Nuremberg. All of those with whom I came in contact spoke flawless English, he remembered. Koch was later tried at Buchenwald and sentenced to life imprisonment. [108][109], On 12 December, Shawcross gave the opening speech for the British. My father Ed Rossi was also a guard at the Nuremberg trials. Postal Service. The crew (left to right) Private (1st Class) Carl E McCray (Salem, Va.) and Sergeant E Wilson (Texas.)'. The Nazi war criminal, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, after execution at Nuremberg. He was made an MP after the war William A Shoemaker from North Carolina. They were told they would be part of history. Guards occasionally retaliated against unpopular, troublesome prisoners by rapping on the cell doors with their night sticks to disturb the occupants sleep. The speech was favorably received by the prosecution, the tribunal, the audience, historians, and even the defendants. Prompt medical attention was readily available to all prisoners. Number 6 was Walther Funk, former minister of economics, and Number 7 was Rudolf Hess, once Hitlers private secretary and deputy fhrer. [87] In France, some verdicts were met with outrage from the media and especially from organizations for deportees and resistance fighters, as they were perceived as too lenient. Some smiled while others snarled at each other or harshly criticized other individuals. Each of the governing countries, the United States, England, France, and Russia, had its own interpretation of punishment. [224][225][226] During the two decades after the trial, opinions were predominantly negative. Popular radio commentator; head of the news division of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment: Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder. He was short but very powerfully built. During watch on one bitter cold night, Prestianni contracted pneumonia and collapsed, unconscious. Twelve paid with their lives. [132][169] Through a compromise among the judges, the charge of conspiracy was narrowed to a conspiracy to wage aggressive war. Two and a quarter hours before he was to be executed he took poison under the. Q. BAY CITY . [94] All defendants pleaded not guilty. [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. Streicher, sentenced to death, was perhaps the most despised prisoner of all due to his complete obsession with sex. Staff Sgt. None outwardly felt they had done anything to warrant being in prison.. They were not to be shown disrespect. Whenever these female prisoners, most of whom were former concentration camp guards, created a problem, we merely, as instructed, called the sergeant-of-the-guard to resolve the situation. Seven others, over time, were reduced by lengthy prison sentences to hollow, shuffling shadows of their former selves. Thank you so much for your time and I am looking forward to getting into many discussions. [203], In all, 249 journalists were accredited to cover the IMT[40] and 61,854 visitor tickets were issued. [143] Although a few defense lawyers inverted the arguments of the prosecution to assert that the Germans' authoritarian mindset and obedience to the state exonerated them from any personal guilt, most rejected such arguments. my father david c bergeron was a 1st LT with the guards at the war trials. 18008 Bothell Everett Hwy SE # F, Bothell, WA 98012. [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. 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. [85] After the American prosecution flooded the trial with untranslated evidence, the judges insisted that all of the evidence be read into the record, which slowed the trial. How Gring obtained the lethal capsule has never been firmly established. Master Sgt. To move from one corridor to another, guards carried different colored passes. Schacht had been imprisoned in July 1944, under suspicion of being part of an assassination conspiracy against Hitler. [231], The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trial) borrowed many of its ideas from the IMT, including all four charges. [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. Her guards were repulsed, and some requested reassignment to another cellblock. He was largely overlooked in prison, Prestianni said of von Papen. 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. I never heard him speak, Prestianni remembered. Joined: Oct 14, 2007 Messages: 2,804 Frick, one of Hitlers closest advisers during the early years of the Nazi regime, was one of those hanged. [5] Soviet jurist Aron Trainin developed the concept of crimes against peace (waging aggressive war) which would later be central to the proceedings at Nuremberg. Im always looking for pictures of the guards and hoping one day I will see him as a young soldier. [2] German aggression was accompanied by immense brutality in occupied areas and the systematic murder of millions of Jews in the Holocaust. In most respects, fraternization between guards and prisoners was closely monitored by those who set the policies for the prisoners confinement. [67] Also prosecuted were leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG), former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht, and economic planners Albert Speer and Walther Funk, along with Speer's subordinate and head of the forced labor program, Fritz Sauckel. Sentenced to death, Reich Law Leader 193345 and Governor-General of the, Hitler's Minister of the Interior 193343 and. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. [73] Also on trial were propagandists Julius Streicher and Hans Fritzsche; Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy who had flown to Britain in 1941; Hans Frank, governor-general of the General Governorate of Poland; Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach; Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands; and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the leader of Himmler's Reich Main Security Office. He could never understand why he had been tried for war crimes. Others were deemed "unfit" for Nazi society: Jews, lesbians, sex workers or homeless women. [98] Jackson maintained that while the United States did "not seek to convict the whole German people of crime", neither did the trial "serve to absolve the whole German people except 21 men in the dock". What was the name of that individual? [146][147] Defense lawyer Alfred Seidl[de] repeatedly tried to disclose the secret protocols of the GermanSoviet pact. This wasnt authorized, but it was done on occasion, Prestianni smiled. Guards were, on occasion, somewhat lenient and allowed some prisoners, based on previous friendships and compatible personalities, to walk in pairs. [67] Former Nazis were allowed to serve as counsel[45] and by mid-November all defendants had lawyers. It was difficult and tiring duty. At the time, I saw these men only as individual prisoners, guilty of unknown crimes. [59] The conspiracy charge was used to charge the top Nazi leaders, as well as bureaucrats who had never killed anyone or perhaps even directly ordered killing. They [the prisoners] were to always be considered innocent until proven guilty. If anyone knows how I can verify that he was a guard, please let me know. We used to argue democracy versus dictatorship, the free versus the suppressed. My father became an MP after the war. [1] The defendants included some of the most famous Nazis, including Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Wilhelm Keitel. Guards were randomly assigned to prisoners, and the assignments were generally not known by the guards until the duty roster was posted or announced each morning during roll call. First, it rejected the contention that only a state, and not individuals, could be found guilty of war crimes; the tribunal held that crimes of international law are committed by men and that only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced. They just never admitted to it. Twelve of the defendants would be sentenced to death. Throughout the trial, he steadfastly maintained his innocence, saying they had arrested and charged the wrong person. The culmination of the unprecedented War Crimes trials in the German city of Nuremberg, where the Nazis had staged their infamous pre-war rallies. All female prisoners were segregated on a third tier. Other Units at Nuremberg were The US Constabulary, the 793rd MP . 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. Another, Hermann Goring, opted to commit . He was able to get to get the Hitler peoples autographs. 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. [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.