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Other absent and dead men including Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, Adolf Eichmann, and Bormann were also blamed. Raeder was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released for poor health on September 26, 1955. [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. Master Sgt. [103], Much of the American case focused on the development of the Nazi conspiracy before the outbreak of war. [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. My dad was a guard at the trials he had a Picture of himself standing behind the prisoners he died at 86 in 2015 the picture is gone and he never wanted to talk about he was a sgt and received a purple heart. [205] Where the prosecution was disappointed by some of the verdicts, the defense could take satisfaction. We were given strict orders to have no contact whatsoever with these women, no conversation, no nothing and to stay well away from them, noted Prestianni. My Dad was murdered, hanged, when I was 5 years old in 1965. Some of these camps, such as Treblinka, were death camps, intended to kill every prisoner that passed through their gates. What was the name of that individual? She kept a scrapbook which had photos of her group and many signatures of court officials and army officers commending them for their service. Beginning on November 20, 1945, all sessions of the tribunal were held in Nrnberg under the presidency of Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence (later Baron Trevethin and Oaksey), the British member. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27 million deaths in the Soviet Union alone. 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. Known as the Jew Baiter, even in the United States, he was rabidly anti-Semitic. The Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949 to try those accused of Nazi war crimes. -. Answer (1 of 5): None of the footage I have seen of the trials revealed anyone but American MPs. Prestianni and another guard handcuffed Streicher and walked him silently to the gallows chamber, where they rapped on the door with their truncheons. [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. The guards at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials The guards at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials Accession Number 72-850 7.25x9.5 inches Black & White Printer-Friendly Version Order This Image Keywords Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946 Soldiers HST Keywords Nurnberg Trials; Germany - Nurnberg He did mention seeing the prisoners in their cells. I look forward to hearing from him. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. All guards were forced to stand practically motionless at parade rest behind their assigned prisoner seated before them in the dock. Ribbentrop, Prestianni related, was a man without humor. [187] Pursuant to this law, United States forces had arrested almost 100,000 Germans as war criminals. He was a true Nazi all the way in every way, Prestianni recalled. It was difficult and tiring duty. Some, over time, even grew to despise him. The British government was still opposed, unable to see the benefit of such a trial and preferring summary execution of Nazi leaders. Series of military trials at the end of World War II, This article is about the series of international trials. 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. Many were resistance fighters or political opponents. [228] The most controversial charge was crimes against peace. 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. One passing recollection I have of Schirach, said Prestianni, was teasing him about how much the prison guards were enjoying his former girls and how pretty we considered them. They merely brushed the guilt away with self-serving claims that they were following orders from superiors or perhaps even from Hitler himself in an atmosphere where failure to do so often meant banishment to a concentration camp, Gestapo torture, or even a summary execution. Noticeable dislike existed between the prisoners and most of their Soviet guards. [156], On 31 August, closing arguments were presented. [88], The charter allowed the admissibility of any evidence deemed to have probative value, including depositions. These sketches were given to guards who requested them and to prison officials. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. The night Gring pulled that off on October 16, 1946, now that was quite a night, he recalled. [163] Contrary to the prosecution, the verdict dated the planning of aggression to the 1937 Hossbach Memorandum and not to the founding of the Nazi Party. While they walked, the prisoners were separated by a prescribed number of yards. The intentionally weakened table and chair, Prestianni said, prevented possible suicide attempts by hanging. [95] None of the defendants tried to assert that the Nazis' crimes had not occurred; instead, they attempted to divert blame from their own actions. For the subsequent trials held by the United States, see, "International Military Tribunal" redirects here. So the court then allowed him to choose any lawyer he wanted and Stahmer was his pick. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. The prisons concrete walls, most of which were more than three feet thick, encased the solitary cell window that offered the prisoners no view of the outside world. He was found innocent and released but sentenced in 1949 by a German court to nine years in prison. He reportedly carried a whip during liaisons with numerous women. 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. They were not to be shown disrespect. [54] The Soviet judges and prosecutors were not permitted to make any major decisions without consulting a commission in Moscow led by Soviet politician Andrei Vyshinsky; the resulting delays hampered the Soviet effort to set the agenda. Generally, I would describe the food, as I recall, quite good, Prestianni remembers. [99] Nevertheless, defense lawyers (although not most of the defendants) often argued that the prosecution was trying to promote German collective guilt and forcefully countered this as a strawman argument. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment: Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder. Twelve sets of trials, involving over a hundred defendants and several different courts, took place in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949. All I can recall is that he was standing to the left in the court room. He was a man of some stature with flowing white hair, but he would still never be noticed much in a crowd. 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. Two of the six were acquitted, two given prison terms and two sentenced to death. 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. The Russians always were a problem and only cooperated with the other countries about 10 percent of the time. Other Units at Nuremberg were The US Constabulary, the 793rd MP . Twelve of the defendants would be sentenced to death. 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. Per newspaper accounts of the scene, when the inmates heard the news they "shouted with joy" and "chattering excitedly, hastily shed the red . He was released in 1966. Three others were acquitted. [71][72] The military leaders were Hermann Gring, Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, Erich Raeder, and Karl Dnitz. Three of the defendants were acquitted: Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen, and Hans Fritzsche. Again, without a word being spoken, the door was slammed shut. But Woods, an almost charmingly hapless man with a checkered. [4], In early 1942, representatives of eight governments-in-exile in the United Kingdom issued a declaration on Punishment for War Crimes, which demanded an international court to try the Axis crimes committed in occupied countries. Guards gradually learned through everyday observation, however, that the prisoners collective makeup truly spanned a psychologically intricate cross-section of those who had served Hitler. [52][46] The Soviet personnel's lack of knowledge of English, lack of interpreters, and unfamiliarity with diplomacy and international institutions also limited their influence. John C. Woods, hangman at Nuremberg Anyone else might have been embarrassed about botching such a high-level execution. Jodl, one of 10 prisoners hanged, was another who never admitted to any personal guilt. [87][149] United States admiral Chester Nimitz testified that the United States had used the same methods of submarine warfare that the German admirals were accused of; Dnitz's counsel successfully argued that this meant that such actions could not be crimes. Read about WWII here. The first attempt to punish the perpetrators was conducted by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in the German city of Nuremberg, beginning on November . 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. In July 1945 the 98 th set up operations in a hospital in Munich, and several months later Col. Burton C. Andrus, prison commandant at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, requested Gerecke's service. How Gring obtained the lethal capsule has never been firmly established. He was the first of 10 hanged on October 16, 1946. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. 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. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. Besides Speer, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner, and Jodl, Prestianni also guarded Luftwaffe Reichsmarshal Hermann Gring, Grand Admiral Dnitz, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Reich financier Hjalmar Schacht, Governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Konstantin von Neurath, Nazi philosopher Alfred Rosenberg, virulent anti-Semite Julius Streicher, diplomat Franz von Papen, Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick, Grand Admiral Raeder, Hess, and Hans Frank, the governor general of occupied Poland. Im always looking for pictures of the guards and hoping one day I will see him as a young soldier. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. 1. While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. Joined: Oct 14, 2007 Messages: 2,804 [2] German aggression was accompanied by immense brutality in occupied areas and the systematic murder of millions of Jews in the Holocaust. 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. On October 1, 1946, the International Military Tribunal handed down its verdicts in the trials of 22 Nazi leaders - eleven were given the death penalty, three were acquitted, three were given life imprisonment and four were given imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years. 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. My father Ed Rossi was also a guard at the Nuremberg trials. Prompt medical attention was readily available to all prisoners. , That used to shut him up but usually only for a few minutes, and then he would start up again with the jokes. They saw the horrible films the NAZIs took and heard the case the prosecution presented with all the evidence and saw the brutal photos, It was very hard on these young women, but they did their job they were asked to do. Twelve paid with their lives. 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. [142] In contrast, most defendants avoided incriminating each other. The first, held by an international tribunal (American, British, French, and Russian), was the "War. He promoted an intentionalist view of the Nazi state and its overall conspiracy to commit all of the crimes mentioned in the indictment. [121], On 8 February, the Soviet prosecution opened its case with a speech by Rudenko that covered all four prosecution charges, highlighting both aggressive war and the devastation of Eastern Europe[122] and listing many crimes committed by the German occupiers against the Soviet people. [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. Goring had been given a list of approved lawyers by the US authorities, but rejected every name on it. The International Military Tribunal (IMT) delivered its judgment against the Nazi leaders on September 30 and October 1, 1946. 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 were told they would be part of history. Most certainly. Whether the prisoners availed themselves of this privilege was by individual choice. [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. Emilio DiPalma (right) stands on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. He was good, real sharp, Prestianni related. During our conversations, he often asked questions about the United States, a subject in which he appeared to be quite interested, Prestianni added. On October 1, 1946, the verdicts on 22 of the original 24 defendants were handed down for the Nrnberg trials. [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. [152] The defendants' witnesses sometimes managed to exculpate them, but other witnessesincluding Rudolf Hss, the former commandant of Auschwitz, and Hans Bernd Gisevius, a member of the German resistanceeffectively incriminated the defendants. The same routine was followed for each of the condemned prisoners. Michael Prestianni served as a guard at Nuremberg as high-ranking Nazis stood trial for their lives. He was strictly military during the three months I observed him. Outside the cellblock complex, a small courtyard with a few scraggly pear trees allowed each prisoner the opportunity to walk for 20 minutes each day. That was enough. [80][81] The aim was to have these organizations declared criminal, so that their members could be tried expeditiously for membership in a criminal organization. Number 3 was Konstantin von Neurath, a former high-ranking politician. My father was also a guard, but he said he always was on the outside guarding. Many of the worst offenders were not prosecuted, for logistical or financial reasons. [171] Only eight defendants were convicted on that charge; all of whom were also found guilty of crimes against peace. After 216 court sessions, on October 1, 1946, the verdict on 22 of the original 24 defendants was handed down. [44] As the numerically strongest delegation, it would take on the bulk of the prosecutorial effort. [111][112] The British case covered invasions, from that of Poland to that of the Soviet Union, which Shawcross covered in the second part of his speech;[113] these charges took three days to present, with Maxwell Fyfe detailing 15 treaties broken by Germany. 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. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Their voices speak directly to the reader and reflect upon the meaning of justice in the post . When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Prisoners and guards were forced to wear heavy scarves to ward off the penetrating cold. 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. Q. Does anyone know where I can read about the nuremberg trials from the guards perspective? [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. [63] Jackson also rewrote the indictment with the intent of keeping the proceedings under American control by separating out an overall conspiracy charge from the other three charges. The first session, under the presidency of Gen. I.T. The purpose of the armored reinforcement was to prevent any possibility of attack by groups of still-fanatic Nazis. What were the verdicts of Nrnberg trials? [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. [92], The International Military Tribunal began trial on 20 November 1945,[93] after postponement requests from the Soviet prosecution, who wanted more time to prepare its case, were rejected. Martin Bormann was tried and condemned to death in absentia, and Hermann Gring committed suicide before he could be executed. The food, prepared in an American-staffed kitchen, offered identical German menus for each prisoner. Other prisoners were outspoken in their condemnation of Hess as a traitor to the Fatherland when he flew to England in May 1941, ostensibly to arrange a peace between Hitlers Germany and Great Britain. A huge crowd of soldiers stands at . [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". [38], In early 1946, there were a thousand employees from the four countries' delegations in Nuremberg, of which about two-thirds were from the United States. He died 21 months later on August 15, 1956. Convicted and hanged, Rosenbergs ideology led to an appointment as minister of the occupied eastern territories in 1941. Of course he was amongst other guards to his left and right. In addition to this brass pot I have three skeleton keys to the cells that held the Nazi war criminals, as well as a pair of wooden spoons used by them. List of Judges Francis Biddle (American) John J Parker (American) Edward Francis Carter (American) Colonel Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, Lord Justice (British, President of the Tribunal) Sir Norman Birkett (British) Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (French) Robert Falco (French) Major General Iona Nikitchenko (Soviet) Twelve further trials were conducted by the United States against lower-level perpetrators, which focused more on the Holocaust. The Nuernberg trial records include transcripts of proceedings . [132][169] Through a compromise among the judges, the charge of conspiracy was narrowed to a conspiracy to wage aggressive war. 1,148 Nuremberg Trials Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 1,148 Nuremberg Trials Premium High Res Photos Browse 1,148 nuremberg trials stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Prestianni particularly liked Speer, Hitlers architect and the designer of many of Berlins most spectacular buildings and later minister of armament and munitions. Eighteen-inch rectangular holes were cut from the heavy, oaken cell doors, slightly below eye level. 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. [155] In the context of the brewing Cold War, the trial became a means of condemning not only Germany but also the Soviet Union. [37] Nineteen states ratified the charter and were admitted as observers. [185] Twelve military trials were convened solely by the United States in the same courtroom that had hosted the International Military Tribunal. He would just lie on his bed staring at the ceiling with expressionless, sunken eyes and fallow, sort of ashen, death-like skin. [182] Nikichenko released a dissent approved by Moscow that rejected all the acquittals, called for a death sentence for Hess, and convicted all the organizations. This brass pot held the holy water that an attending priest sprinkled on the condemned immediately before their execution. Uncover the topics related to the Nuremberg trials. The most infamous of the female prisoners during Prestiannis tour of duty was Ilse Koch, known to guards as the Bitch of Buchenwald. With her husband, Karl Koch, the camp commander, Ilse often rode a horse through the camp compound, whipping prisoners. He guarded the prisoners in their cells and also stood guard in the court room. She was given the nickname "Bloody Brigette" by the camp . His initial assignment was as a guard at the Nuremberg prison. There was also a picture of him guarding Hitler. Institutional rivalries hampered the search. He served in that capacity for three months, bringing him in daily contact with 16 of the 22 accused war criminals. Some passively resigned themselves to their futures while others fought it off and never fully accepted their fates. This is a good documentary on the Nuremberg Trials that occurred after the end of the war. Each of the governing countries, the United States, England, France, and Russia, had its own interpretation of punishment. Hildegard Lchert (AKA "Bloody Brigette" or "Beast") Hildegard Lchert was conscripted to join the Nazi women in 1942, at the age of 22. [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. [129] The Soviet prosecution also attempted to fabricate German responsibility for the Katyn massacre, which had in fact been committed by the Soviet Union. She was released after four years and eventually committed suicide in a Bavarian prison. Front row, from left to right: Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walther Funk, Hjalmar Schacht. The seventh series of Ravensbrck trials was held between July 2nd and July 21st, 1948 to hear the cases of Aufseherin accused of maltreatment of prisoners and making selections for the gas chambers. Former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals for their conduct by the International Military Tribunal. View full size Courtesy, U.S. Army The Military Tribunal proceedings in Nuremberg, Germany, Herman Goering sits between two guards, the left one being Andrew Wendland of Bay City. During his service in Korea, Prestianni was wounded twice and decorated for valor numerous times. Considered by some as the most intelligent and talented prisoner, he was the quintessential gentleman. Prestianni played checkers and chess with four of the prisoners and argued politics with others. The authority of the International Military Tribunal to conduct these trials stemmed from the London Agreement of August 8, 1945. . Had I known just who these prisoners were at the time and what they had been accused and convicted of having done, I probably would not have had such a close relationship with them. William L Shierer "the Rise and Fall of the third Reich", part IV, Nuremberg-chapter, the United States committed the same breach, Last and Near-Last Words of the Famous, Infamous and Those In-Between, "The International Military Tribunal for Germany", The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_defendants_at_the_International_Military_Tribunal&oldid=1114903079, Successor to Hess as Nazi Party Secretary. [215] Early releases of those convicted by the Nuremberg Military Tribunals began in 1949;[216] and in 1951, High Commissioner John J. McCloy overturned most of the sentences. [224][225][226] During the two decades after the trial, opinions were predominantly negative. 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). My dad, Frederick M. Bencriscutto, was in the field artillery in the 1st Infantry Division during WWII. [212], The German churches, both Catholic and Protestant, were vociferous proponents of amnesty,[213] which had cross-party support in West Germany, which was established in 1949. By far the most attention--not surprisingly, given the figures involved--has focused on the first Nuremberg trial of twenty-one major war criminals. [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. His name was David C. Porter from Pennsylvania. [233] In 1950, the International Law Commission drafted the Nuremberg principles to codify international criminal law, although the Cold War prevented the adoption of these principles until the 1990s. 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.