Because of his moral corruption, the other prisoners shunned him. The food, prepared in an American-staffed kitchen, offered identical German menus for each prisoner. In some cases, this arrogance lingered into their years of incarceration. , That used to shut him up but usually only for a few minutes, and then he would start up again with the jokes. Three others were acquitted. I dont remember the name of the game after all these years. [95][96] As Jackson made clear, the purpose of the trial was not just to convict the defendants but also to assemble irrefutable evidence of Nazi crimes, establish individual responsibility and the crime of aggression in international law, offer a history lesson to the defeated Germans, delegitimize the traditional German elite,[97] and allow the Allies to distance themselves from appeasement. The Nazi Defendants in the Major War Criminal Trial in Nuremberg My father Gordon Fitzgerald also spent several months as a guard there. [12] The United States insisted on a fair trial as a means of reforming Germany. Nazis Executed at Nuremberg | History Today [144] Most defendants argued their own insignificance within the Nazi system, but Gring took the opposite approach, presenting himself as Hitler's loyalist and expecting that while he would be executed, the German people would eventually appreciate his loyalty. Hildegard Lchert (AKA "Bloody Brigette" or "Beast") Hildegard Lchert was conscripted to join the Nazi women in 1942, at the age of 22. Michael Prestianni served as a guard at Nuremberg as high-ranking Nazis stood trial for their lives. [127] Evidence was presented on the murder of children, attempts to cover up atrocities,[128] systematic plunder of occupied territories, and confiscation or destruction of cultural heritage. Ambassador to the United Kingdom 193638. On October 1, 1946, the verdicts on 22 of the original 24 defendants were handed down for the Nrnberg trials. You can contact me via email at RebeccaLeuchter@aol.com. Some, over time, even grew to despise him. He was a physical fitness fanatic who threw his cell window open in mid-winter and splashed toilet water over his bare chest and then did pushups, before meals, after meals, most any time, over and over. [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. He was proud of his physique, saying he was strong like Germany.. Prestianni said of von Neurath, He looked like the movie version of a Prussian general with his mop of white hair and erect bearing. Emilio DiPalma (right) stands on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. Gring was the acknowledged leader among the prisoners. Hans Frank, known as the Slayer of Poles, was small, outwardly arrogant, and had a cruel face, Prestianni revealed. The Nuremberg Trials - Home | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans Eighteen-inch rectangular holes were cut from the heavy, oaken cell doors, slightly below eye level. 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. As a good military officer I was only following orders, he steadfastly maintained with quiet military bearing. Nazi, Alfred Rosenberg, lies dead on a casket following his execution after the Nuremberg Trials. [223], The International Military Tribunal, and the drafters of its charter, invented international criminal law essentially from nothing. [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. In one report i read, it mentioned that "K" Company of the 26th Inf., 1st Div. It was always a battle of authority. Epidemic jaundice experiments High . All eight judges participated in the deliberations, but the alternates could not cast a vote. He just celebrated his 93 birthday, and is smart and caring as he has always been. No favoritism was shown nor was a selection offered. It was the last thing Streicher was known to have written. Omissions? Nuremberg Trials On November 20, 1945, six months after the surrender of Nazi Germany to allied forces, twenty-one military, political, media, and business leaders of the Third Reich filed into the dock of the Palace of Justice in the devastated and occupied German city of Nuremberg. 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. As well as the tank three Military Policemen can be seen on duty. 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. Other Units at Nuremberg were The US Constabulary, the 793rd MP . Adam Weishaupt, Abraham: The World's First Psychopath. 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. He was short but very powerfully built. Prestianni does not recall Raeder maintaining even a limited friendship with the other prisoners. [146] The Nuremberg Laws were compared to discriminatory laws in the United States. [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. He was a true Nazi all the way in every way, Prestianni recalled. Later 19 other nations accepted the provisions of this agreement. [183][184] The judges proved their independence from the governments that appointed them, the defendants were seen as receiving due process, and the evidence of guilt amassed by the prosecution was overwhelming. Between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 24 of the most important political and military leaders of Nazi Germany. It was a very old, ancient, almost primitive prison, Prestianni recalls. Brush with infamy: Mercer man, 95, oversaw guards at Nuremberg trials Generally, due to rivalries and animosity toward each other during their glory years, most adhered to this policy and opted to walk, stand, or sit alone, not engaged in conversations to any degree. The trial started in November 1945. She was released after four years and eventually committed suicide in a Bavarian prison. After 216 court sessions, on October 1, 1946, the verdict on 22 of the original 24 defendants was handed down. [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. However, fraternization did occur on a regular basis and, for the most part, went unpunished by the prison administration. Did guards favor some prisoners over others? During his service in Korea, Prestianni was wounded twice and decorated for valor numerous times. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. [6][7] Trainin's ideas were reprinted in the West and widely adopted. Twelve sets of trials, involving over a hundred defendants and several different courts, took place in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949. After being rotated home in 1949, he reenlisted and soon found himself on Okinawa prior to deployment to Korea. [36][35] On 8 August, the Nuremberg Charter was signed in London. How long did it take you to learn what you are doing? he often asked. The film, compiled from footage of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, shocked both the defendants and the judges, who adjourned the trial. [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. 10 issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Nuremberg Trials were 13 trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II. 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. Friedrich Jeckeln was found guilty and was executed in Riga, Latvia. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. This is a good documentary on the Nuremberg Trials that occurred after the end of the war. We needled him by saying his girls wanted to abandon the Fatherland, marry Americans, and emigrate to the United States.. The prisoners were restricted to groups of six to eight, which were strictly segregated from one another. Prompt medical attention was readily available to all prisoners. Stahmer fought hard for his clie. He guarded top Nazis at Nuremberg trials; now he'll share his The speech was favorably received by the prosecution, the tribunal, the audience, historians, and even the defendants. During our conversations, he often asked questions about the United States, a subject in which he appeared to be quite interested, Prestianni added. [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. This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 21:33. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. . Minister of Foreign Affairs 193238, succeeded by Ribbentrop. While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. Some were gassed. [188] The Office of Chief Counsel for War Crimes identified 2,500 major war criminals, of whom 177 were tried. [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. [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. There was a large clock on the wall that was above his right shoulder. 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. I sure would like to find out more about his service. [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. 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. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. The Nuremberg Trials After the war, the top surviving German leaders were tried for Nazi Germany's crimes, including the crimes of the Holocaust. 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. This brass pot held the holy water that an attending priest sprinkled on the condemned immediately before their execution. Staff Sgt. 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. His remembrance of duty at Nuremberg remains vivid. [204] In the United Kingdom, although a variety of responses were reported, it was difficult to sustain interest in a long trial. He was strictly military during the three months I observed him. Minister of Foreign Affairs (until 1938), then Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia. Neurath, Konstantin von. The whole focus was on keeping the prisoners under surveillance through the opening in the cell doors, Prestianni said. Im always looking for pictures of the guards and hoping one day I will see him as a young soldier. He had been instrumental in establishing a totalitarian state. Q. 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. Photographs of the Nuremberg Trial - Jewish Virtual Library His name was David C. Porter from Pennsylvania. 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. After one of those accused, Robert Ley, former director of the nations Labor Front, hanged himself from a drain pipe with a torn towel, prisoners were kept under constant visual surveillance by guards, and while sleeping were forced to do so with their faces and hands exposed above their blankets at all times. They were told they would be part of history. The defendants at Nuremberg. Others were deemed "unfit" for Nazi society: Jews, lesbians, sex workers or homeless women. The first attempt to punish the perpetrators was conducted by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in the German city of Nuremberg, beginning on November . [32] The trial was held under modified common law. Verdicts were handed down on October 1, 1946. Speer managed to distinguish himself from other defendants, giving the impression of apologizing, although without assuming personal guilt or naming any victims other than the German people. 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. Somewhat regularly, cellblock guards also pulled duty patrolling the parapet-style walls 50 feet above the cellblock and the courtyard, where observation of strolling prisoners below could be maintained. 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. Kaltenbrunner had perpetrated extreme barbarism in the extermination of Jews through the planning and execution of the Final Solution. [22][23] War crimes already existed in international law as criminal violations of the laws and customs of war. Most certainly. Three of those accused were acquitted and upon their release soon faded into obscurity. The survivor's silence: Remembering the Nuremberg trials [37] Nineteen states ratified the charter and were admitted as observers. On 1 October 1946, 12 death sentences were passed down by the judges of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg on some of the most high-ranking and influential members of Nazi Germany. Number 3 was Konstantin von Neurath, a former high-ranking politician. Prestianni did not recall any such instances. [88], The charter allowed the admissibility of any evidence deemed to have probative value, including depositions. US guard tells how Nazi girlfriend duped him into helping Goering evade 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. Call us at (425) 485-6059. -. [139] Some defendants denied their involvement in, or knowledge of, certain crimes,[140] even resorting to implausible lies. The SA, the Reich Cabinet, and the General Staff and High Command were not ruled to be criminal organizations. [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. American guards ate in separate, enlisted mess halls and slept in segregated, barracks-like rooms, six to a room. [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. [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. It was an appointment that, when coupled with his Baltic origin, brought him into sharp conflict with most of those in Hitlers entourage. [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. The purpose of the armored reinforcement was to prevent any possibility of attack by groups of still-fanatic Nazis. 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. After the war, she and other WACS were asked to stay for the Nuremburg trials to serve as stenographers . I would have kept my distance from them.. [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. [68] Most of the defendants had surrendered to the United States or United Kingdom. He was the popular picture court room scene the second on the left of the door. [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. Subsequent Nuremberg Trials (December 1946 - April 1949) [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. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment. SS members were generally frowned upon and can't imagine them having anything to do with the trials except sit in the dock.
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