Nuremberg War Crime Trials The Downfall of Nazi Germany

After the war, the Allies faced the task of cleaning up the aftermath and punishing war criminals. This marked the first time leaders would be criminally charged for their actions during a conflict. Rules for international military tribunals had to be prepared especially for this trial, and it set a precedent for the many to follow soon after.

The Location The city of Nuremberg, Germany was chosen as the location for the trials. Once the site of huge Nazi Party rallies, it would now bring to justice the former leaders of that party. The seat of the international military tribunal was kept in Berlin to appease the Soviets.

The Palace of Justice was where the trials were held The Palace of Justice was where the trials were held. It required extensive renovations to repair the building so the trial could be held. Luckily, this building was one of the few to escape major damage in the Allied bombings of Nuremberg during the war.

The Prosecution United States Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson was chosen as the United States’ chief prosecutor in the trial. Roman Rudenko was the chief prosecutor for the Russians. Sir Hartley Shawcross was the British prosecutor.

The Judges Francis Biddle – Former U.S. Attorney General and American justice on the court. Henri de Vabres Donnedieu – French justice on the court. Sir Geoffrey Lawrence – British justice and president of the court. Ion Timofeevich Nikitchenko – Major general of jurisprudence and Soviet justice on the court.

The Trial The defendants all faced charges related to the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany during the war. 1. Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace 2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression 3. War-Crimes 4. Crimes against humanity Not all defendants faced all charges. The trial lasted 218 days and included testimony from 360 witnesses. Verdicts were announced on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 1946. The executions were all carried out on Oct. 16, 1946 in the old gymnasium of the Nuremberg prison.

The Defendants Twenty two Nazi leaders were tried, including one, Martin Bormann, in absentia after not being found. He was later discovered to have died in 1945. These were all top ranking Nazis, with trials of lower ranked criminals occurring later resulting in thousands of sentences being handed out. Twelve of those tried at Nuremberg were given the sentence of death by hanging, including Martin Bormann.

Hermann Goering Reichsmarschall and Chief of the Air Force He was Hitler’s heir apparent until days before the war’s end when he fell out of favor. He was sentenced to death by hanging but committed suicide using a cyanide pill three hours before his sentence could be carried out.

Hans Frank Governor-General of occupied Poland Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Wilhelm Frick Minister of the Interior Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Alfred Jodl Chief of Army Operations Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946. In 1953 a German appeals court found him not guilty of breaking international law but… it was a little late.

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Chief of Reich Main Security Office whose departments included the Gestapo and SS. Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Wilhelm Keitel Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946 despite request to be shot as a soldier.

Alfred Rosenberg Minister of the Occupied Eastern Territories Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Fritz Sauckel Labor leader Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Arthur Seyss-Inquart Commisar of the Netherlands Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Julius Streicher Editor of the newspaper Der Sturmer and Director of the Central Committee for the Defence against Jewish Atrocity and Boycott Propaganda Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Joachim von Ribbentrop Minister of Foreign Affairs Sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on October 16, 1946.

Three of the remaining ten defendants were acquitted of all charges: Hans Fritzsche, Hjalmar Schacht, and Franz von Papen. Albert Speer, Baldur von Schirach, Konstantin von Neurath, and Karl Dönitz all were given between 10 and 20 year prison sentences. Erich Raeder, Rudolf Hess, and Walther Funk were all given life sentences. Erich and Walther were both released early, Rudolf died in prison.

Leaders CAN be held accountable for their actions during war!!! “By the judgment of the Nuremberg Tribunal, October 1, 1946, it was established that the highest officials of a government are answerable before the bar of international courts for committing war crimes, crimes against peace, and—in connection with either of these—crimes against humanity.” - Harry S. Truman Leaders CAN be held accountable for their actions during war!!!

Later Trials Following the Nuremberg trial came many smaller trials of German and Japanese war criminals. Other war criminals who escaped were brought to justice through the efforts of Nazi hunters and Israel’s Mossad.

Nuremberg Influence The Nuremberg trials had a great influence on the development of international criminal law. The Conclusions of the Nuremberg trials served as models for: The Genocide Convention, 1948. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. The International Criminal Court (headquartered at the Hague in Netherlands).

Genocide Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group”. At the Nuremberg trials, defendants claimed they had violated NO laws! As a direct response, in 1948, the UN Passed the Genocide Convention which made genocide a crime.

Genocide Convention, 1948 Adopted by the United Nations It defines genocide in legal terms Defined acts punishable as genocide: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

United Nations In an effort to maintain peace, the Allies formed the United Nations, which officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, and adopted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, as a common standard for all member nations.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

The Hague Establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court. The Nuremberg trials initiated a movement for the prompt establishment of a permanent international criminal court, eventually leading over fifty years later to the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Potsdam Conference: July, 1945 FDR dead, Churchill out of office as Prime Minister, Stalin only original. Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification. Stalin set himself up to take ALL of East Germany ……….the Cold War begins. Prime Minister President Joseph Clement Atlee Truman Stalin

The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. emerged as the Two Superpowers of the late 20th century