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Is victors justice justice justified or not...?
Citation preview
Research paper on Nuremberg trail
Competition of lord of international law
Topic
Victors justice is justified or not?
Team
Victors
Ahsan Qadeer
Yahya Bukhari
Aqsa rasool
Iram yousaf
Contents
Background of Nuremberg trail
During the First World War, the Allied leaders came up with a new concept, that as soon as their
victory was achieved, defeated enemy leaders should face criminal charges for international law
violations made during the war. On 25 January 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, the
Allied governments established the Commission of Responsibilities to make recommendations to
that effect. As a result, articles 227-230 of the Treaty of Versailles stipulated for the arrest and
trial of German officials defined as war criminals by the allied governments. Article 227
stipulated for a special tribunal to be established, presided by a judge from each one of the major
allied powers - Great Britain, France, Italy, United States and Japan. It also defined the former
Kaiser Wilhelm II as war criminal and demanded an extradition request to be addressed to the
Dutch government, which had given him asylum in Holland since he abdicated in November
1918. Article 228 allowed the Allied governments to try in their military tribunals any German
war criminal they deemed necessary, notwithstanding any proceedings taken against the same
persons in German courts. The German government was demanded to comply with any
extradition order issued by the Allied powers to that effect.
Following the conclusion of the treaty, the Allied government began their legal and diplomatic
efforts to arrest the former Kaiser. On 28 June 1919, the same day the treaty was signed, the
President of the Paris Peace Conference addressed a diplomatic note to the Dutch government,
requesting the extradition of the ex-Kaiser. On 7 July came the Dutch reply that any extradition
of the former Kaiser would be a violation of Dutch neutrality. Eventually the issue of trying the
ex-Kaiser was dropped, and he remained in Holland until his death on 4 June 1941.
On 3 February 1920, the Allies submitted to the German government a list of 900 names of other
individuals accused of committing alleged war crimes. However, the Germans refused to
extradite any German citizens to Allied governments, and suggested instead trying them in the
German justice system, i.e. the Reichsgericht in Leipzig. This proposal was accepted by the
Allied leaders, and in May 1920 they handed the German government a reduced list of 45
persons to be tried. Not all these people could be traced, and in many cases there was difficulty
in finding credible evidence. In the event only twelve individuals were brought to trial.
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the Allied forces of World
War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and
economic leadership of Nazi Germany. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg. The first
and best known of these trials, described as "the greatest trial in history" by Norman Birkett, one
of the British judges who presided over it, was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before
the International Military Tribunal (IMT). Held between 20 November 1945 and 1 October
1946, the Tribunal was given the task of trying 23 of the most important political and military
leaders of the Third Reich, though one of the defendants, Martin Bormann, was tried in absentia,
while another, Robert Ley, committed suicide within a week of the trial's commencement. Not
included were Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels, all of whom had
committed suicide several months before the indictment was signed. The second set of trials of
lesser war criminals was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10 at the US Nuremberg
Military Tribunals (NMT); among them included the Doctors' Trial and the Judges' Trial. This
article primarily deals with the IMT; see the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials for details on those
trials.
Nazi Anti-Jewish Laws
Shortly after Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933, the
Reichstag (German parliament) began to institute a series of anti-Jewish decrees. Sections
of these laws are quoted below:
April 7, 1933
Laws for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service "Civil servants who are not of Aryan (non-Jewish) descent are to be retired."
April 7, 1933
Law Regarding Admission to the Bar "Persons who, according to the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
of April 7, 1933, are of non-Aryan descent may be denied admission to the bar."
April 25, 1933
Law Against the Crowding of German Schools
and Institutions of Higher Learning "In new admissions, care is to be taken that the number of Reich Germans who,
according to the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service of April 7,
1933, are of non-Aryan descent, out of the total attending each school and each faculty,
does not exceed the proportion of non-Aryans within the Reich German population."
Nuremberg Laws
With the passage of the Nuremberg Laws by the Reichstag on September 15, 1935, the
first direct attack on individual Jews was launched. These laws mark a sharp progression
toward an irreversible anti-Semitic policy. In the future, no Jew would be able to escape
intensified persecution.
September 15, 1935
Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor "Marriages between Jews and subjects of German or kindred blood are
forbidden...Extramarital intercourse forbidden between Jews and subjects of German or
kindred blood...Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich and national flag and to display Reich
colors...They are, on the other hand, allowed to display the Jewish colors...Whoever
violates the prohibition...will be punished by penal servitude."
September 15, 1935
Reich Citizenship Law "A Reich citizen is only that subject of German or kindred blood who proves by his
conduct that he is willing and suited loyally to serve the German people and the Reich."
November 14, 1935
First Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law "A Jew cannot be a Reich citizen. He is not entitled to the right to vote on political
matters; he cannot hold public office...A Jew is anyone descended from at least three
grandparents who are fully Jewish as regards race...Also deemed a Jew is a Jewish
Mischlung subject who is descended from two fully Jewish grandparents and...who
belonged to the Jewish religious community...who was married to a Jew...who is the
offspring of a marriage concluded by a Jew...who is an offspring of extramarital
intercourse with a Jew..."
August 17, 1938
Second Decree for the Implementation of the
Law Regarding Changes of Family Names
"Jews may be given only such given names as are listed in the Guidelines on the Use of Given
Names issued by the Reich Minister of the Interior... Insofar as Jews have other given names
than those which may be given to Jews...they are obligated, beginning January 1, 1939, to
assume an additional given name, namely the given name Israel in the case of males and the
given name Sarah in the case of females."
Holocaust
The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of
approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word
of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire." The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in
January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed
"inferior," were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community.
During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their
perceived "racial inferiority": Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples
(Poles, Russians, and others). Other groups were persecuted on political, ideological, and
behavioral grounds, among them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and
homosexuals.
WHAT WAS THE HOLOCAUST?
In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe stood at over nine million. Most European Jews lived
in countries that Nazi Germany would occupy or influence during World War II. By 1945, the
Germans and their collaborators\ b killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of
the "Final Solution," the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe. Although Jews, whom the
Nazis deemed a priority danger to Germany, were the primary victims of Nazi racism, other
victims included some 200,000 Roma (Gypsies). At least 200,000 mentally or physically
disabled patients, mainly Germans, living in institutional settings, were murdered in the so-called
Euthanasia Program.
As Nazi tyranny spread across Europe, the Germans and their collaborators persecuted and
murdered millions of other people. Between two and three million Soviet prisoners of war were
murdered or died of starvation, disease, neglect, or maltreatment. The Germans targeted the non-
Jewish Polish intelligentsia for killing, and deported millions of Polish and Soviet civilians for
forced labor in Germany or in occupied Poland, where these individuals worked and often died
under deplorable conditions. From the earliest years of the Nazi regime, German authorities
persecuted homosexuals and others whose behavior did not match prescribed social norms.
German police officials targeted thousands of political opponents (including Communists,
Socialists, and trade unionists) and religious dissidents (such as Jehovah's Witnesses). Many of
these individuals died as a result of incarceration and maltreatment.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE "FINAL SOLUTION"
In the early years of the Nazi regime, the National Socialist government established
concentration camps to detain real and imagined political and ideological opponents.
Increasingly in the years before the outbreak of war, SS and police officials incarcerated Jews,
Roma, and other victims of ethnic and racial hatred in these camps. To concentrate and monitor
the Jewish population as well as to facilitate later deportation of the Jews, the Germans and their
collaborators created ghettos, transit camps, and forced-labor camps for Jews during the war
years. The German authorities also established numerous forced-labor camps, both in the so-
called Greater German Reich and in German-occupied territory, for non-Jews whose labor the
Germans sought to exploit.
Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units)
and, later, militarized battalions of Order Police officials, moved behind German lines to carry
out mass-murder operations against Jews, Roma, and Soviet state and Communist Party officials.
German SS and police units, supported by units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS, murdered
more than a million Jewish men, women, and children, and hundreds of thousands of others.
Between 1941 and 1944, Nazi German authorities deported millions of Jews from Germany,
from occupied territories, and from the countries of many of its Axis allies to ghettos and to
killing centers, often called extermination camps, where they were murdered in specially
developed gassing facilities.
Historical Importance of Auschwitz: At Auschwitz, the largest of the Nazi's death camps, 1.1
million people were murdered, mostly Jews. Auschwitz has become a symbol of death, the
Holocaust, and the destruction of European Jewry.
Dates: May 1940 -- January 27, 1945
Camp Commandants: Rudolf Hss, Arthur Liebehenschel, Richard Baer
An Overview of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp:
Auschwitz, one of the five "death camps" constructed by the Nazis, was the most streamlined
mass killing center ever created.
Auschwitz Was Established
On April 27, 1940, Heinrich Himmler ordered the construction of a new camp near Oswiecim,
Poland (about 37 miles or 60 km west of Krakow). The Auschwitz Concentration Camp
("Auschwitz" is the German spelling of "Oswiecim") quickly became the largest Nazi
concentration and death camp. By the time of its liberation, Auschwitz had grown to include
three large camps and 45 sub-camps.
Auschwitz I (or "the Main Camp") was the original camp. This camp housed prisoners, was the
location of medical experiments, and the site of Block 11 (a place of severe torture) and the
Black Wall (a place of execution). At the entrance of Auschwitz I stood the infamous sign that
stated "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("work makes one free"). Auschwitz I also housed the Nazi staff that
ran the entire camp complex.
Auschwitz II (or "Birkenau") was completed in early 1942. Birkenau was built approximately
1.9 miles (3 km) away from Auschwitz I and was the real killing center of the Auschwitz death
camp. It was in Birkenau where the dreaded selections were carried out on the ramp and where
the sophisticated and camouflaged gas chambers laid in waiting. Birkenau, much larger than
Auschwitz I, housed the most prisoners and included areas for women and Gypsies.
Auschwitz III (or "Buna-Monowitz") was built last as "housing" for the forced laborers at the
Buna synthetic rubber factory in Monowitz. The 45 other sub-camps also housed prisoners that
were used for forced labor.
Arrival and Selection
Jews, Gypsies (Roma), homosexuals, asocials, criminals, and prisoners of war were gathered,
stuffed into cattle cars on trains, and sent to Auschwitz. When the trains stopped at Auschwitz II:
Birkenau, the newly arrived were told to leave all their belongings on board and were then forced
to disembark from the train and gather upon the railway platform, known as "the ramp."
Families, who had disembarked together, were quickly and brutally split up as an SS officer,
usually a Nazi doctor, ordered each individual into one of two lines. Most women, children,
older men, and those that looked unfit or unhealthy were sent to the left; while most young men
and others that looked strong enough to do hard labor were sent to the right. Unbeknownst to the
people in the two lines, the left line meant immediate death at the gas chambers and the right
meant that they would become a prisoner of the camp. (Most of the prisoners would later die
from starvation, exposure, forced labor, and/or torture.)
Once the selections had been concluded, a select group of Auschwitz prisoners (part of
"Kanada") gathered up all the belongings that had been left on the train and sorted them into
huge piles, which were then stored in warehouses. These items (including clothing, eye glasses,
medicine, shoes, books, pictures, jewelry, and prayer shawls) would periodically be bundled and
shipped back to Germany.
Gas Chambers and Crematoria at Auschwitz
The people who were sent to the left, which was the majority of those who arrived at Auschwitz,
were never told that they had been chosen for death. The entire mass murder system depended on
keeping this secret from its victims. If the victims had known they were headed to their death,
they would most definitely have fought back.
But they didn't know, so the victims latched onto the hope that the Nazis wanted them to believe.
Having been told that they were going to be sent to work, the masses of victims believed it when
they were told they first needed to be disinfected and have showers.
The victims were ushered into an ante-room, where they were told to remove all their clothing.
Completely naked, these men, women, and children were then ushered into a large room that
looked like a big shower room (there were even fake shower heads on the walls). When the doors
shut, a Nazi would pour Zyklon-B pellets into an opening (in the roof or through a window)
which would turn into poison gas once it contacted air.
The gas killed quickly, but it was not instantaneous. Victims, finally realizing that this was not a
shower room, clambered over each other, trying to find a pocket of breathable air. Others would
claw at the doors until their fingers bled.
Once everyone in the room was dead, special prisoners assigned this horrible task
(Sonderkommandos) would air out the room and then remove the bodies. The bodies would be
searched for gold and then placed into the crematoria.
Although Auschwitz I did have a gas chamber, the majority of the mass murdering occurred in
Auschwitz II: Birkenau's four main gas chambers, each of which had its own crematorium. Each
of these gas chambers could murder about 6,000 people a day.
Life in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Those that had been sent to the right during the selection process on the ramp went through a
dehumanizing process that turned them into camp prisoners. All of their clothes and any
remaining personal belongings were taken from them and their hair was shorn completely off.
They were given striped prison outfits and a pair of shoes, all of which were usually the wrong
size. They were then registered, had their arms tattooed with a number, and transferred to one of
Auschwitz's camps for forced labor.
The new arrivals were then thrown into the cruel, hard, unfair, horrific world of camp life.
Within their first week at Auschwitz, most new prisoners had discovered the fate of their loved
ones that had been sent to the left. Some of the new prisoners never recovered from this news.
In the barracks, prisoners slept cramped together with three prisoners per wooden bunk. Toilets
in the barracks consisted of a bucket, which had usually overflowed by morning. In the morning,
all prisoners would be assembled outside for roll call (Appell). Standing outside for hours at roll
call, whether in intense heat or below freezing temperatures, was itself a torture.
After roll call, the prisoners would be marched to the place where they were to work for the day.
While some prisoners worked inside factories, others worked outside doing hard labor. After
hours of hard work, the prisoners would be marched back to camp for another roll call.
Food was scarce and usually consisted of a bowl of soup and some bread. The limited amount of
food and extremely hard labor was intentionally meant to work and starve the prisoners to death.
Medical Experiments
Also on the ramp, Nazi doctors would search among the new arrivals for anyone they might want
to experiment upon. Their favorite choices were twins and dwarves, but also anyone who in any
way looked physically unique, such as having different colored eyes, would be pulled from the
line for experiments.
At Auschwitz, there was a team of Nazi doctors who conducted experiments, but the two most
notorious were Dr. Carl Clauberg and Dr. Josef Mengele. Dr. Clauberg focused his attention on
finding ways to sterilize women, by such unorthodox methods as X-rays and injections of
various substances into their uteruses. Dr. Mengele experimented on identical twins, hoping to
find a secret to cloning what Nazis considered the perfect Aryan.
Liberation
When the Nazis realized that the Russians were successfully pushing their way toward Germany
in late 1944, they decided to start destroying evidence of their atrocities at Auschwitz. Himmler
ordered the destruction of the crematoria and the human ashes were buried in huge pits and
covered with grass. Many of the warehouses were emptied, with their contents shipped back to
Germany.
In the middle of January 1945, the Nazis removed the last 58,000 prisoners from Auschwitz and
sent them on death marches. The Nazis planned on marching these exhausted prisoners all the
way to camps closer or within Germany.
On January 27, 1945, the Russians reached Auschwitz. When the Russians entered the camp,
they found the 7,650 prisoners who had been left behind. The camp was liberated; these
prisoners were now free.
THE END OF THE HOLOCAUST
In the final months of the war, SS guards moved camp inmates by train or on forced marches,
often called death marches, in an attempt to prevent the Allied liberation of large numbers of prisoners. As Allied forces moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Germany, they
began to encounter and liberate concentration camp prisoners, as well as prisoners en route by
forced march from one camp to another. The marches continued until May 7, 1945, the day the
German armed forces surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. For the western Allies, World
War II officially ended in Europe on the next day, May 8 (V-E Day), while Soviet forces
announced their Victory Day on May 9, 1945.
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, many of the survivors found shelter in displaced persons (DP)
camps administered by the Allied powers. Between 1948 and 1951, almost 700,000 Jews
emigrated to Israel, including 136,000 Jewish displaced persons from Europe. Other Jewish DPs
emigrated to the United States and other nations. The last DP camp closed in 1957. The crimes
committed during the Holocaust devastated most European Jewish communities and eliminated
hundreds of Jewish communities in occupied eastern Europe entirely.
World War II (19391945) Allied Countries
Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria)
Versus
Allies (U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark,
Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia).
1939 Germany invades Poland and annexes Danzig; Britain and France give Hitler ultimatum
(Sept. 1), declare war (Sept. 3). Disabled German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee
blown up off Montevideo, Uruguay, on Hitler's orders (Dec. 17). Limited activity
(Sitzkrieg) on Western Front. 1940
Nazis invade Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (May 10). Chamberlain resigns as
Britain's prime minister; Churchill takes over (May 10). Germans cross French frontier
(May 12) using air/tank/infantry Blitzkrieg tactics. Dunkerque evacuation > about 335,000 out of 400,000 Allied soldiers rescued from Belgium by British civilian and
naval craft (May 26June 3). Italy declares war on France and Britain; invades France (June 10). Germans enter Paris; city undefended (June 14). France and Germany sign
armistice at Compigne (June 22). Nazis bomb Coventry, England (Nov. 14).
1941 Germans launch attacks in Balkans. Yugoslavia surrendersGeneral Mihajlovic continues guerrilla warfare; Tito leads left-wing guerrillas (April 17). Nazi tanks enter
Athens; remnants of British Army quit Greece (April 27). Hitler attacks Russia (June
22). Atlantic CharterFDR and Churchill agree on war aims (Aug. 14). Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Philippines, Guam force U.S. into war; U.S. Pacific fleet crippled (Dec.
7). U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Germany and Italy declare war on U.S.;
Congress declares war on those countries (Dec. 11).
1942 British surrender Singapore to Japanese (Feb. 15). Roosevelt orders Japanese and
Japanese Americans in western U.S. to be exiled to relocation centers, many for the remainder of the war (Feb. 19). U.S. forces on Bataan peninsula in Philippines surrender
(April 9). U.S. and Filipino troops on Corregidor island in Manila Bay surrender to
Japanese (May 6). Village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia razed by Nazis (June 10). U.S.
and Britain land in French North Africa (Nov. 8).
1943 Casablanca ConferenceChurchill and FDR agree on unconditional surrender goal (Jan. 1424). German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingradturning point of war in Russia (Feb. 12). Remnants of Nazis trapped on Cape Bon, ending war in Africa (May 12).
Mussolini deposed; Badoglio named premier (July 25). Allied troops land on Italian
mainland after conquest of Sicily (Sept. 3). Italy surrenders (Sept. 8). Nazis seize Rome
(Sept. 10). Cairo Conference: FDR, Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek pledge defeat of Japan,
free Korea (Nov. 2226). Tehran Conference: FDR, Churchill, Stalin agree on invasion plans (Nov. 28Dec. 1).
1944 U.S. and British troops land at Anzio on west Italian coast and hold beachhead (Jan. 22).
U.S. and British troops enter Rome (June 4). D-DayAllies launch Normandy invasion (June 6). Hitler wounded in bomb plot (July 20). Paris liberated (Aug. 25). Athens freed
by Allies (Oct. 13). Americans invade Philippines (Oct. 20). Germans launch
counteroffensive in BelgiumBattle of the Bulge (Dec. 16). 1945
Yalta Agreement signed by FDR, Churchill, Stalinestablishes basis for occupation of Germany, returns to Soviet Union lands taken by Germany and Japan; USSR agrees to
friendship pact with China (Feb. 11). Mussolini killed at Lake Como (April 28). Admiral
Doenitz takes command in Germany; suicide of Hitler announced (May 1). Berlin falls
(May 2). Germany signs unconditional surrender terms at Rheims (May 7). Allies
declare V-E Day (May 8). Potsdam ConferenceTruman, Churchill, Atlee (after July 28), Stalin establish council of foreign ministers to prepare peace treaties; plan German
postwar government and reparations (July 17Aug. 2). A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima by U.S. (Aug. 6). USSR declares war on Japan (Aug. 8). Nagasaki hit by A-bomb (Aug.
9). Japan agrees to surrender (Aug. 14). V-J DayJapanese sign surrender terms aboard battleship Missouri (Sept. 2).
LONDON AGREEMENT OF 8 AUGUST 1945
Agreement by the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional
Government of the French Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics for the Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals
of the European Axis.
WHEREAS the United Nations have from time to time made declarations of their intention
that war criminals shall be brought to justice;
AND WHEREAS the Moscow Declaration of 30 October 1943 on German atrocities in
Occupied Europe stated that those German officers and men and members of the Nazi Party
who have been responsible for or have taken a consenting part in atrocities and crimes will be
sent back to the countries in which their abominable deeds were done in order that they may be
judged and punished according to the laws of these liberated countries and of the free
Governments that will be created therein;
AND WHEREAS this Declaration was stated to be without prejudice to the case of major
criminals whose offenses have no par-ticular geographic location and who will be punished by
the joint decision of the Governments of the Allies;
NOW THEREFORE the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional
Government of the French Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Repub- lics
(hereinafter called "the Signatories") acting in the interests of
a.11 the United Nations and by their representatives duly authorized thereto have concluded this
Agreement.
Article 1. There shall be established after consultation with the Control Council for Germany an
International Military Tribunal for the trial of war criminals whose offenses have no particular
geo- graphical location whether they be accused individually or in their capacity as members of
organizations or groups or in both capacities.
Article 2. The constitution, jurisdiction, and functions of the Inter- national Military Tribunal
shall be those set out in the Charter annexed to this Agreement, which Charter shall form an
integral part of this Agreement.
Article 3. Each of the Signatories shall take the necessary steps to make available for the
investigation of the charges and trial the. major war criminals detained by them who are to be tried by the International Military Tribunal. The Signatories shall also use their best endeavors to
make available for investigation of the charges against and the trial before theJnternationa1
Military Tribunal such of the major war criminals as are not in the territories of any of the
Signatories.
Artide 4. Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice. the provisions established by the Moscow
Declaration concerning the return of war criminals to the countries where they committed their
crimes.
Article 5. Any Government of the United Nations may adhere to this Agreement by notice given
through the diplomatic channel to the Government of the United Kingdom, who shall inform the
other
signatory and adhering Governments of each such adherence.* .
Article 6. Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice the jurisdic- tion or the powers of any
national or occupation court established or to be established in any Allied territory or in
Germany for the trial of war criminals.
drticle 7. This Agreement'shall come into force on the day of sig- nature and shall remain in
force for the period of one year and shall continue thereafter, subject to the right of any Signatory
to give, through the diplomatic channel, one month's notice of inten- tion to terminate it. Such
termination shall not prejudice any pro- ceedings already taken or any findings already made in
pursuance of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Undersigned have signed the pres- ent Agreement.
DONE in quadruplicate in London this 8th day of August 1945 each in English, French, and
Russian, and each text to have equal authenticity.
For the Government of the United States of America
1s I ROBERT H. JACKSON
For the Provisional Government of the French Republic
IS/ ROBERT FALCO
For the Govern.ment of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland /SJ' JOWITT
For the ~overnment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics s
I. NIKITCHENKO 1s1 A. TRAININ
* In accordance with Article 5, the following Governments of the United Nations have expressed their adherence to the Agreement: Greece, Denmark, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Caeeho-slovakia, Poland, Belgium, Ethiopia, Australia, Honduras,
Norway, Panama, Luxembourg, Haiti, New Zealand, India, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
CHARTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL
I. CONSTITUTION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL
Article 1. In pursuance of the Agreement signed on the 8th day of August 1945 by the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional-Government of the French Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, there shall be
established an International Military Tribunal (hereinafter called "the Tribunal") for the just and prompt trial and
punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis.
Article 2. The Tribunal shall consist of four members, each with an alternate. One member and one alternate shall be
appointed by each of the Signatories. The alternates shall, so far as they are able, be present at all sessions of the
Tribunal. In case of illness of any member of the Tribunal or his incapacity for some other reason to fulfill his
functions, his alternate shall take his place.
Article 3. Neither the Tribunal, its members nor their alternates can be challenged by the Prosecution, or by the
defendants or their counsel. Each Signatory may replace its member of the Tribunal pr his alternate for reasons of
health or for other good reasons, except that no replacement may take place during a Trial, other than by an
alternate.
Article 4.
(a) The presence of all four members of the Tribunal or the alternate for any absent member shall be necessary to
con- stitute the quorum.
(b) The members of the ~ribunal shall, before any trial begins, agree among themselves upon the selection from
their num- ber of a President, and the President shall hold office during that trial, or as may otherwise be agreed by a
vote of not less than three members. The principle of rotation of presi- dency for successive trials is agreed. If,
however, a session of the Tribunal takes place on the territory of one of the four signatories,' the representative 'of
that Signatory on the Tribunal shall preside.
(c) Save as aforesaid the Tribunal shall take decisions by a majority vote and in case the votes are evenly divided,
the vote of the President shall be decisive: provided always that convictions and sentences shall only be imposed by
affirm- ative votes of at least three members of the Tribunal.
Article 5. In case of need and depending 'on the number of the matters to be tried, other Tribunals may be set
up; and the estab- lishment, functions, and procedure of each Tri'bunal shall be iden- tical, and shall be
governed by this Charter.
11. JURISDICTION AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES Article 6. The Tribunal established by the
Agreement referred to in Article 1 hereof for the trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the
European Axis countries shall have the power to try and punish persons who, acting in the interests of
the European Axis countries, whether as individuals or as members of organiza- tions, committed any of
the following crimes. The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within
the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility:
(a) CRIMES AGAINST PEACE: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war
in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a Common Plan or Conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing;
(b) WAR CRIMES: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be
limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in
occupied terri- tory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of
public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military
necessity;
(c) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: namely, murder, extermina- tion, enslavement, deportation, and other
inhumane acts com- mitted against any civilian population, before or during the war,* or persecutions on political,
racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the , jurisdiction of the Tribunal,
whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated.
Leaders, organizers, instigators, and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a Common Plan or Conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by
any persons in execution of such plan:
* Comma substituted in place of semicolon by Protocol of 6 October 1945.
Article 7. The official position of defendants, whether as Heads of State or responsible officials in Government
departments, shall not be considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.
Article 8. The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from respon- sibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determine that
justice so requires.
Article 9. At the trial of any individual member of any group or organization the Tribunal may declare (in
connection with any act of which the individual may be convicted) that the group or organi- zation of which
the individual was a member was a criminal organ- ization.
After receipt of the Indictment the Tribunal shall give such notice as it thinks fit that the Prosecution
intends to ask the Tri- bunal to make such declaration and any member of the organization will be entitled to
apply to the Tribunal for leave to be heard by the Tribunal upon the question of the criminal character of the
organization. The Tribunal shall have power to allow or reject the application. If the application is allowed, the
Tribunal may direct in what manner the applicants shall be represented and heard.
Article 10. In cases where a group or organization is declared criminal by the Tribunal, the competent national
authority of any Signatory shall have the right to bring individuals to trial for membership therein before
national, military, or occupation courts. In any such case the criminal nature of the group or organization is considered proved and shall not be questioned.
Article 11. Any person convicted by the Tribunal may be charged before a national, military, or occupation court,
referred to in Article 10 of this Charter, with a crime other than of membership in a criminal group or organization
and such court may, after convicting him, impose upon him punishment independent of and '
additional to the
punishment imposed by the. Tribunal for partic- ipation in the criminal activities of such group or organization.
Article 12. The Tribunal shall have the right to take proceedings against a person charged with crimes set out
in Article 6 of this Charter in his absence, if he has not been found or if the Tribunal, for any reason, finds it
necessary, in the interests of justice, to conduct the hearing in his absence.
Article 13. The Tribunal shall draw up rules for its procedure. These rules shall not be inconsistent with the
provisions of this Charter
111. COMMITTEE FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF MAJOR WAR CRIMINALS
Article 14. Each Signatory shall appoint a Chief Prosecutor for the investigation of the charges against and the
prosecution of major war cr~minals.
The Chief Prosecutors shall act as a committee for the following purposes:
(a) to agree upon a plan of the individual work of each of the Chief Prosecutors and his staff,
(b) to settle the final designation of major war criminals to be tried by the Tribunal,
(c) to approve the Indictment and the documents to be submitted therewith, 4
(d) to lodge the Indictment and the accompanying documents with the Tribunal,
(e) to draw up and recommend to the Tribunal for its approval draft rules of procedure, contemplated by Article 13
of this Charter. The Tribunal shall have power to accept, with or without amendments, or to reject, the rules so
recommended.
The Committee shall act in all the above matters by a majority vote and shall appoint a Chairman as may be
convenient and in accordance with the principle of rotation: provided that if there is an equal division of vote
concerning the designation of a defend- ant to be tried by the Tribunal, or the crimes with which he shall be charged,
that proposal will be adopted which was made by the party which proposed that the particular defendant be tried, or
the particular charges be preferred against him.
Article 15. The Chief Prosecutors shall individually, and acting in collaboration with one another, also undertake the
following duties:
(a) investigation, collection, and production before or at the Trial of all necessary evidence,
(b) the preparafion of the Indictment for approval by the Com- mittee in accordance with paragraph (c) of Article 14
hereof,
(c) the preliminary examination of all necessary witnesses and of the defendants,
(d) to act as prosecutor at the Trial,
(e) to appoint representatives to carry out such duties as may be assigned to them,
(f) to undertake such other matters as may appear necessary to them for the purposes of the preparation for and
conduct of the Trial.
It is understood that no witness or defendant detained by any Signatory shall be taken out of the possession of
that Signatory without its assent.
IV. FAIR TRIAL FOR DEFENDANTS
Article 16. In order to ensure fair trial for the defendants, the following procedure shall be followed:
(a) The Indictment shall include full particulars specifying in detail the charges against the defendants. A copy of the In- dictment and of all the documents lodged with the Indict- ment, translated into a language which he
understands, shall be furnished to the defendant at a reasonable time before the Trial.
(b) During any preliminary examination or trial of a defendant he shall have the right to give any explanation
relevant to the charge* made (against him.
(c) A preliminary examination of a defendant and his trial shall be conducted in, or translated into, a language which
the defendant understands.
(d) A defendant shall have the right to conduct his own defense before the Tribunal or to have the assistance of
counsel.
(e) A defendant shall have the right through himself or through his counsel to present evidence at the Trial in
support of his defense, and to cross-examine any witness called by the Pros- ecution.
V. POWERS OF THE TRIBUNAL AND CONDUCT OF THE TRIAL Article 17. The Tribunal shall have the power:
(a) to summon witnesses to the Trial and to require their attend- ance and testimony and to put questions to them,
(b) to interrogate any defendant,
(c) to require the production of documents and other eviden- tiary Material,
(d) to administer oaths to witnesses,
(e) to appoint officers for the carrying out of any task desig-nated by the Tribunal including the power to have
evidence taken on commission.
Article 18. The Tribunal shall:
(a) confine the Trial strictly to an expeditious hearing of the issues raised by the charges,
(b) take strict measures to prevent any action which will cause unreasonable delay, and rule out irrelevant issues.and
state- ments of any kind u-hatsoever,
(c) deal summarily with any contumacy, imposing appropriate punishment, including exclusion of any defendant or
his counsel from some or all further proceedings, but without prejudice to the determination of the charges.
Article 19. The Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. It shall adopt and apply to the greatest
possible extent expeditious and non-technical procedure, and shall admit any evidence which it deems to have
probative value.
Article 20. The Tribunal may require to be informed of the nature of any evidence before it is offered so that it may
rule upon the relevance thereof.
Article 21. The Tribunal shall not require proof of facts of common knowledge but shall take judicial notice thereof.
It shall also take judicial notice of official governmental documents and reports of the United Nations, including the
acts and documents of the com- mittees set up in the various Allied countries for the investigation of war crimes, and
the records and findings of miiitary or other Tribunals of any of the United Nations.
Article 22. The permanent seat of the Tribunal shall be in Berlin. The first meetings of the members of the Tribunal
and of'the Chief Prosecutors shall be held at Berlin in a place to be designated by the Control Council for Germany. The first trial shall be held at Nuremberg, and any subsequent trials shall be held at such places as the Tribunal may
decide.
Article 23. One or more of the Chief Prosecutors may take part in the prosecution at each trial. The function of any
Chief Prosecutor may be discharged by him personally, or by any person or persons authorized by him.
The function of counsel for a defendant may be discharged at the defendant's request by any counsel
professionally qualified to conduct cases before the Courts of his own country, or by any &her person who may be
specially authorized thereto by the Tribunal.
Article 24. The proceedings at the Trial shall take the following course:
(a) The Indictment shall be read in court.
(b) The Tribunal shall ask each defendant whether he pleads "guilty" or "not guilty". (c) The Prosecution shall make an opening statement.
(d) The Tribunal shall ask the Prosecution and the Defense what evidence (if any) they wish to submit to the
Tribunal, and the Tribunal shall rule upon the admissibility of any such evidence.
(e) The witnesses for the Prosecution shall be examined and .after that the witnesses for the Defense. Thereafter
such rebutting evidence as may be held by, the Tribunal to be admissible shall be called by either the Prosecution or
the Defense.
(f) The Tribunal may put any question to any witness and to any defendant, at any time.
(g) The Prosecution and the Defense shall interrogate and may cross-examine any witnesses and any defendant who
gives testimony.
(h) The Defense shall address the Court. (0 The Prosecution shall address the Court. (j) Each Defendant may make a statement to the Tribunal.
(k) The Tribunal shall deliver judgment and pronounce sentence.
Artide 25. All official documents shall be produced, and all court proceedings conducted, in English, French, and
Russian, and in the language of the defendant. So much of the record and of the proceed- ings may, also be
translated into the language of any country in which the Tribunal is sitting, as the Tribunal considers desirable in the
interests of justice and public opinion.
VI. JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE
Article 26. .The judgment of the Tribunal as to the guilt or the innocence of any defendant shall give the reasons on
which it is based, and shall be final and not subject to review.
Article 27. The Tribunal shall have the right to impose upon a defendant on conviction, death or such other
punishment as shall be determined by it to be just.
Article 28. In addition to any punishment imposed by it, the Tribunal shall have the right to deprive the convicted
person of any stolen property and order its delivery to the Control Council for Germany.
Article 29. In case of guilt, sentences shall be carried out in accord- ance with the orders of the Control Council for
Germany, which may at any time reduce or otherwise alter the sentences, but may not increase the severity thereof.
If the Control Council for Ger- many, after any defendant has been convicted and sentenced, dis- covers fresh
evidence which, in its opinion, would found a fresh charge against him, the Council shall report accordingly to the Committee established under Article 14 hereof, for such action as they may consider proper, having regard to the
interests of justice.
VII. EXPENSES
Article 30. The expenses of the Tribunal and of the trials, shall be charged . the Signatories against the funds
allotted for maintenance of the Control Council for Germany.
RULES OF PROCEDURE (Adopted 29 October 1945)
Rule 1. Authority to Promulgate Rules. The present Rules of Procedure of the International Military Tribunal
for the trial of the major war criminals (hereinafter called "the Tribunal") as established by the Charter of
the Tribunal dated 8 August 1945 (hereinafter called "the Charter") are hereby
promulgated by the Tribunal in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of the Charter. Rule 2. Notice to Defendants
and Right to Assistance of Counsel.
(a) Each individual defendant in custody shall receive not leas than 30 days before trial a copy, translated into a language
which he understands, (1) of the Indictment, (2) of the Charter, (3) of any other documents lodged with the Indictment, aad (4) o'f a statement of his right to the assistance of counsel as set forth in sub-para- graph (d) of this Rule, together with
a list of counsel. He shall also receive copies of such rules of procedure as may be adopted by the Tribunal from time to
time.
(b) Any individual defendant not in custody shall be informed of the indictment -against him and of his right to receive the
docu- ments specified in sub-paragraph (a) above, by notice in such form and manner as the Tribunal may prescribe.
(c) With respect to any group or organization as to which the Prosecution indicates its intention to request a finding of
criminality by the ~ribunal, notice shall be given by publication in such form and manner as the Tribunal may prescribe
and such publication shall include a declaration by the Tribunal that all members of the named groups or organizations are
entitled to apply to the Tribunal for leave to be heard in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Charter.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to confer immunity of any kind upon such members of said groups or
organiza- tions as may appear in answer to the said declaration.
(d) Each defendant has the right to conduct his own defense or to , have the assistance of counsel. Application for
particular couns$l shall be filed at once with the General Secretary of the Tribunal at the Palace of Justice, Nuremberg,
Germany. The Tribunal will designate counsel for any defendant who fails to apply for particu- lar counsel or, where
particular counsel requested is not within ten (10) days to be found or available, unless the defendant elects in writing to
conduct his own defense. If a defendant has requested particular counsel who is not immediately to be found or available,
such counsel or a counsel of substitute choice may, if found and available before trial, be associated with or substituted for
counsel
designated by the Tribunal, provided that (1)only one counsel shall be permitted to appear at the trial for any defendant,
unless by special permission of the Tribunal, and (2) no delay of trial will be allowed for making such substitution or
association.
Rule 3. Service of Additional Documents.
If, before the trial, the Chief Prosecutors offer amendments or additions to the Indictment, such amendments or
additions, including any accompanying documents shall be lodged with the Tribunal and copies of the same, translated
into a language which they each understand, shall be furnished to the defendants in custody as soon as practicable and
notice given in accordance with Rule 2 (b) to those not in custody.
Rule 4. Production of Evidence for the Defense.
(a) The Defense may apply to the Tribunal for the production of witnesses or of documents by written application to the
General Secretary of the Tribunal. The application shall state where the witness or document is thought to be located,
together with a state- ment of their last known location. It shall also state the facts pro- posed to be proved by the witness
or the document and the reasons why such facts are relevant to the Defense.
(b) If the witness or the document is not within the area controlled by the occupation authorities, the Tribunal may request the Signatory and adhering Governments to arrange for the pro- duction, if possible, of any such witnesses and any such
documents as the Tribunal may deem necessary to proper presentation of the Defense.
(c) If the witness or the document is within the area controlled by the occupation authorities, the General Secretary shall, if
the Tribunal is not in session, communicate the application to the Chief Prosecutors and, if they make no objection, the
General Secretary shall issue a summons for the attendance of such witness or the production of such documents,
informing the Tribunal of the action taken. If any Chief Prosecutor objects to the issuance of a sum-mons, or if the
Tribunal is in session, the General Secretary shall submit the application to the Tribunal, which shall decide whether ar
not the summons shall issue.
(d) A summons shall be served in such manner as may be pro- vided by the appropriate occupation authority to ensure its
enforce- ment and the General Secretary shall inform the Tribunal of the steps taken.
(e) Upon application to the General Secretary of the Tribunal, a defendant shall be furnished with a copy, translated into a
language which he understands, of all documents referred to in the Indictment so far as they may be made available by the
Chief
Prosecutors and shall be allowed to inspect copies of any such docu- merds as are not so available. Rule 5. Order at the
Trial.
In conformity with the provisions of Article 18 of the Charter, and the disciplinary powers therein set out, the Tribunal,
acting through its President, shall provide for the maintenance of order at the Trial. Any defendant or any other person
may be excluded from open sessions of the Tribunal for failure to observe and respect the directives and dignity of the
Tribunal.
Rule 6. oaths; Witnesses.
(a) Before testifying before the Tribunal, each witness shall make such oath or declaration as is customary in his own
country.
(b) Witnesses while not giving evidence shall not be present in court. The President of the Tribunal shall direct, as
circumstances demand, that witnesses shall not confer among themselves before giving evidence.
Rule 7. Applications and Motions before Trial and Rulings during the Trial. (a) All motions, applications or other requests addredd to the Tribunal prior to the commencement of trial shall be made in
writing and filed with the ~eneral Secretary of the Tribunal at the Palace of Justice, Nuremberg, Germany.
(b) Any such motion, application or other request shall be com- municated by the General Secretary of the Tribunal to the
Chief Prosecutors and, if they make no objection, the President of the Tribunal may make the appropriate order on behalf
of the Tri- bunal. If any Chief Prosecutor objects, the President may call a special session of the Tribunal for the
determination of the question raised.
(c) The Tribunal, acting through its President, will rule in court upon all questions arising during the .trial, such as
questions as to admissibility of evidence offered during the trial, recesses, and motions; and before so ruling the Tribunal
may, when necessary, order the closing or clearing of the Tribunal or take any other steps which to the Tribunal seem just.
Rule 8. Secretariat of the Tribunal.
(a) The Secretariat of the Tribunal shall be composed of a Gen- eral Secretary, four Secretaries and their Assistants. The
Tribunal shall appoint the General Secretary and each Member shall appoint one Secretary. The General Secretary shall
appoint such clerks, interpreters, stenographers, ushers, and all such other persons as may be authorized by the Tribunal
and each Secretary may appoint such assistants as may be authorized by the Member of the Tribunal by whom he was
appointed.
(b) The General Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries, shall organize and direct the work of 'the Secretariat,
subject to the approval of the Tribunal in the event of a disagreement by any Secretary.
(c) The Secretariat shall receive all documents addressed to the Tribunal, maintain the records of the Tribunal, provide
necessary clerical services to the Tribunal and its Members, and perform such other duties as may be designated by the
Tribunal.
(d) Communications addressed to the Tribunal shall be delivered to the General Secretary. Rule 9. Record, Exhibits, and
Documents.
(a) A stenographic record shall be maintained of all oral pro- ceedings. Exhibits will be suitably identified and marked
with consecutive numbers. All exhibits and transcripts of the proceedings and all documents lodged with and produced to
the Tribunal will be filed with the General Secretary of the Tribunal and will consti- tute part of the Record.
(b) The term "official documents" as used in Article 25 of the Charter includes the Indictment, rules, written motions, orders that are reduced to writing, findings, 'and judgments of the Tribunal. These shall be in the English, French, Russian,
and German languages. Documentary evidence or exhibits may be received in the language of the document, but a
translation thereof into Ger- man shall be made available to the defendants.
(c) All exhibits and transcripts of proceedings, all documents lodged with and produced to the Tribunal and all official acts
and documents of the Tribunal may be certified by the General Secretary of the Tribunal to any Government or to any
other tribunal or wherever it is appropriate that copies of such documents or represen- tations as to such acts should be
supplied upon a proper request.
Rule 10. Withdrawal of Exhibits and Documents.
In cases where original documents are submitted by the Prosecu- tion or the Defense as evidence, and upon a showing
(a) that because of historical interest or for any other reason one of the Governments signatory to the Four Power
Agreement of 8 August 1945, or any other Government having received the consent of said four signa- tory Powers,
desires to withdraw from the records of the Tribunal and preserve any particular original documents and (b) that no
substantial injustice will result, the Tribunal shall permit phato- static copies of said original documents, certified by the
General Secretary of the Tribunal, to be substituted for the originals in the records of the Court and shall deliver said
original documents to the applicants.
. '
Rule 11. Eflective Date and Powers of Amendment and Addition.
These Rules shall take effect upon their approval by the Tri- bunal. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the Tribunal from, at 8ny time, in the interest of fair and expeditious trials, departing from, amending, or adding to these Rules, either by general rules or special orders for particular cases, in such form and upon such notice as may appear just to the Tribunal.
Judges of trail
Major General Iona Nikitchenko (Soviet main) Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Volchkov (Soviet alternate) Colonel Sir Geoffrey Lawrence (British main), President of the Tribunal Sir Norman Birkett (British alternate) Francis Biddle (American main) John J. Parker (American alternate) Professor Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (French main) Robert Falco (French alternate)
Prosecution council
Attorney General Sir Hartley Shawcross (United Kingdom) Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (United States) Lieutenant-General Roman Andreyevich Rudenko (Soviet Union)
Franois de Menthon, later replaced by Auguste Champetier de Ribes (France)
Assisting Jackson were the lawyers Telford Taylor,[citation needed]
Thomas J. Dodd and a young US
Army interpreter named Richard Sonnenfeldt. Assisting Shawcross were Major Sir David
Maxwell-Fyfe and Sir John Wheeler-Bennett. Mervyn Griffith-Jones, later to become famous as
the chief prosecutor in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial, was also on Shawcross's team.
Shawcross also recruited a young barrister, Anthony Marreco, who was the son of a friend of his,
to help the British team with the heavy workload.
Defence council of individual defendant:
GOERING, HERMANN WILHELM Dr. Otto Stahmer
HESS, RUDOLF Dr. Gunther von Rohrscheidt (to 5 February 1946)
Dr. Alfred Seidl (from 5 February 1946)
VON RIBBENTROP, JOACHIM Dr. Fritz Sauter (to 6 January 1946)
Dr. Martin Horn (from 5 January 1946)
LEY ROBERT (*)
KIETEL, WILHELM Dr. Otto Nelte
KALTENBRUNNER, ERNST Dr. Kurt Kauffmann
ROSENBERG, ALFRED Dr. Alfred Thoma
FRANK, HANS Dr. Alfred Seidl
FRICK, WILHELM Dr. Otto Pannenbeeker
STREICHER, JULIUS Dr. Hanns Marx
FUNK, WALTER Dr. Fritz Sauter
SCHACHT, HJALMAR Dr. Rudolf Dix
Professor Dr. Herbert Kraus, Associate (**)
DOENITZ, KARL Flottenrichte Otto Kranzbuchler
RAEDER, ERICH Dr. Walter Siemers
VON SCHIRACH, BALDUR Dr. Fritz Sauter
SAUCKEL, FRITZ Dr. Robert Servatius
JODL, ALFRED Professor Dr. Franz Exner
Professor Dr. Hermann Jahreiss, Associate
BORMANN, MARTIN Dr. Friedrich Bergold
VON PAPEN, FRANZ
Dr. Egon Kubuschok
SEYSS-INQUART, ARTHUR Dr. Gustav Steinbauer
SPEER, ALBERT Dr. Hans Flachsner
VON NEURATH, CONSTANTIN Dr. Otto Frelherr von Ludinghausen
FRITZSCHE. HANS Dr. Heinz Fritz
Dr. Alfred Schilf, Associate
KRUPP VON BOHLEN UND HALBACH, GUSTAV Dr. Theodor Klefisch (to 15 November 1945)
Dr. Walter Ballas, Associate (to 15 November 1945)
GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS COUNSEL:
REICH CABINET Dr. Egon Kubuschok
LEADERSHIP CORPS OF NAZI PARTY Dr. Robert Servatius
SS and SD Ludwig Babel, Counsel for SS and SD (to 18 March 1946), Counsel for SS (to 11 June1946),
Co-counsel for SS (to 27 August 1946)
Horst Pelckmann, Co-counsel for SS (from 2 March 1946), Counsel for SS (from 1 June 1946)
Dr. Carl Haensel, Associate to Dr. H. Pelckmann (from 1 April 1946)
Dr Hans Gawlik, Counsel for SD (from 18 March 1946)
SA Georg Boehm
Dr. Martin Loeffler
GESTAPO Dr. Rudolf Merkel
GENERAL STAFF and HIGH COMMAND of the GERMAN ARMED FORCES Professor Dr. Franz Exner (to 27 January 1946)
Dr. Hans Laternser (from 27 January 1946)
Notes:
* All individual defendants named in the indictment appeared before the Tribunal except: Robert
Ley, who committed suicide 25 October 1945; Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, owing to
serious illness; and Martin Bormann, who was not in custody and whom the Tribunal decided to
try in absentia
Profile of defendants and their charges:
Defendant
s in the
Major
War
Figures
Trial DEFENDANT
IMAG
E
Defense
Council
IN THE
DEFENDA
NT'S
WORDS
PROSECUT
ION
POINTS
NOTES
Counts
Of
charge
on
defenda
nt
IN
THE
END
Doenitz, Karl German admiral who
would eventually
command entire
navy. Chosen by
Hitler to succeed him
as fuhrer. Negotiated
surrender following
Hitler's suicide.
Flottenrichte
Otto
Kranzbuchler
"Politicians
brought the
Nazis to power
and started the
war. They are
the ones who
brought about
these disgusting
crimes, and now
we have to sit
there in the
dock with them
and share the
blame!"
(5/27/46)
On 9/17/42
Doenitz issued
the "Laconia
Order" to the
German
submarine fleet.
The order forbid
rescuing enemy
survivors of
sunken ships:
"Be hard.
Remember, the
enemy has no
regard for
women and
children when he
bombs German
cities."
Called by
Hitler "the
Rommel of
the
Seas"....Said
"I would
rather eat
dirt than
have my
grandson
grow up in
the Jewish
spirit and
faith"...Went
on radio
after
assassinatio
n attempt on
Hitler to call
it "a
cowardly
attempt at
murder."
Served
10-
year-
sentenc
e. Died
in 1981.
Frank, Hans Governor-general of
Nazi-occupied
Poland, called the
"Jew butcher of
Cracow."
130
"Don't let
anybody tell
you that they
had no idea.
Everybody
sensed there
"The Jews must
be eliminated.
Whenever we
catch one, it is
his end"...."This
territory [Poland]
In April of
1930, Hitler
asked Frank
to secretly
investigate a
rumor that
Hanged--
wearing a
beatific
smile--in
Nurember
g on Oct.
was something
horribly wrong
with the
system."
(11/29/45)
"Hitler has
disgraced
Germany for all
time! He
betrayed and
disgraced the
people that
loved him!...I
will be the first
to admit my
guilt."
(4/17/46)
is in its entirety
the booty of the
German
Reich"...."I have
not been hesitant
in declaring that
when a German
is shot, up to 100
Poles shall be
shot too."--from
the diary of Hans
Frank.
he had
Jewish
blood.
Frank
reported
back that
there was a
50-50
chance that
Hitler was
one-quarter
Jewish.
16, 1946
Frick, Wilhelm Minister of the
Interior
124
"Hitler didn't
want to do
things my way.
I wanted things
done legally.
After all, I am a
lawyer."
(4/24/46)....
"The mass
murders were
certainly not
thought of as a
consequence of
the Nuremberg
Laws, [though]
it may have
turned out that
way."
Frick drafted,
signed, and
administered
laws that
abolished
opposition
parties, and
suppressed trade
unions and Jews
(including the
infamous
Nuremberg
Laws). Frick
knew that the
insane, aged, and
disabled
("useless eaters")
were being
systematically
killed, but did
nothing to stop
it.
Frick
claimed not
to be an
anit-Semite.
He said he
drafted the
Nuremberg
Laws for
"scientific
reasons": to
protect the
purity of
German
blood.
Frick was
one of
eleven
defendant
s
sentenced
to death.
He said,
"Hanging-
-I didn't
expect
anything
different...
.Well, I
hope they
get it over
with fast."
(10/1/46)
Frick was
hanged on
Oct. 16,
1946.
Fritzsche, Hans Head of the Radio
Division, one of
twelve departments
in Goebbel's
Propoganda Ministry
130
"I have been
tricked and
trapped by the
Himmler
murder
machine, even
when I tried to
put a check on
it...Let us
explain our
position to the
Fritzsche's radio
broadcasts (he
was a popular
commentator)
included strong
Nazi
propoganda.
Fritzsche
was one of
two
defendants
turned over
to the IMT
by
Russians....
Fritzsche
often
appeared on
Fritzsche
was
acquitted
by the
IMT. He
said, "I
am
entirely
overwhel
med--to
be set free
world, so that at
least we won't
die under this
awful burden of
shame."
(11/21/45) "I
have the feeling
I am drowning
in filth....I am
choking in it."--
(2/21/46, after
watching film of
atrocities).
the verge of
a breakdown
during the
trial.
right here,
not even
to be sent
back to
Russia.
That was
more than
I hoped
for." He
was later
tried and
convicted
by a
German
court, then
freed in
1950. He
died in
1953.
Funk, Walther Minister of
Economics
124
"I signed the
laws for the
aryanization of
Jewish
property.
Whether that
makes me
legally guilty or
not, is another
matter. But it
makes me
morally guilty,
there is no
doubt about
that. I should
have listened to
my wife at the
end. She said
we'd be better
off dropping the
whole minister
business and
moving into a
three-bedroom
flat." (7/8/46)
Funk agreed with
Himmler to
receive gold
from the SS
(including gold
teeth and rings
taken from those
killed in
concentration
camps) and
deposit in the
Reichsbank.
Funk told
subordinates not
to ask questions
about the
shipments. He
either knew or
should have
known the
source of the
gold received.
Funk said,
"The only
accusation I
can make to
myself
is...that I
should have
resigned in
1938 when I
saw how
they robbed
and smashed
Jewish
property."
(12/15/45)...
.Funk was
often seen
crying
during the
presentation
of
prosecution
evidence
and needed
sleeping
pills at
night.
Funk was
sentenced
to life
imprison
ment by
the IMT.
He was
released in
1957
because of
poor
health.
He died in
1959.
Goering,
Hermann Reichsmarschall and
Luftwaffe (Air
Force) Chief;
President of
Reichstag; Director
of "Four Year Plan"
138
"I joined the
Party precisely
because it was
revolutionary,
not because of
the ideological
stuff."
(12/11/45)...."T
he whole
conspiracy idea
is cockeyed.
We had orders
to obey the head
of state. We
weren't a band
of criminals
meeting in the
woods in the
dead of night to
plan mass
murders...The
four real
conspirators are
missing: The
Fuhrer,
Himmler,
Bormann, and
Goebbels."
(1/5/46)..."This
is a political
trial by the
victors and it
will be a good
thing when
Germany
realizes that..."
(6/13/46)
As Director of
the Four Year
Plan, Goering
bore
responsibility for
the elimination
of Jews from
political life and
for the
destruction and
takeover of
Jewish
businesses and
property....He
was quoted as
saying, "I wish
you had killed
200 Jews and not
destroyed such
valuable
property"...He
looted art
treasures from
occupied
territories and
arranged for use
of slave labor....
Goering
surrendered
to American
officers. The
officers
offered
Goering
drinks and
sang songs
with him,
but the next
day were
reprimanded
by an
outraged
Dwight
Eisenhower.
..Goering
was the
most
popular
prisoner
with the
American
guards
because he
seemed to
take an
interest in
their
lives....He
seemed to
wield a great
deal of
influence
with the
other
defendants,
and prison
administrato
rs sought to
isolate him
as much as
possible....G
oering said,
"We don't
have much
to say about
our fate.
The forces
Goering
committed
suicide on
the day
before his
scheduled
hanging
by taking
a cyanide
pill that
was
smuggled
into his
cell.
Goering
wrote in
his suicide
note, "I
would
have no
objection
to getting
shot," but
he thought
hanging
was
inappropri
ate for a
man of his
position.
of history
and politics
and
economics
are just to
big to steer."
(3/9/46)
Hess, Rudolf Deputy to the Fuhrer
and Nazi Party
Leader
Dr. Gunther
von
Rohrscheidt
(to 5
February
1946)
Dr. Alfred
Seidl (from 5
February
1946)
"It is just
incomprehensibl
e how those
things
[atrocities]
came
about...Every
genius has the
demon in him.
You can't blame
him [Hitler]--it
is just in him...It
is all very
tragic. But at
least I have the
satisfaction of
knowing that I
tried to do
something to
end the war."
(12/16/45)
Jackson called
Hess "the
engineer tending
to the Party
machinery." He
maintained the
organization as a
ready and loyal
instrument of
power. He
signed decrees
persecuting Jews
and was a
willing
participant in
aggression
against Austria,
Czechoslavakia,
and Poland.
During his
detention
following
his failed
putsch,
Hitler
dictated
Mein Kampf
to
Hess...Hess
mysteriously
flew to
England in
1941 in an
attempt to
end the war
on his own
terms. He
stayed there
until the war
ended....Hes
s suffered
from
paranoid
delusions,
apathy,
amnesia,
and was
diagnosed as
having a
"hysterical
personality."
Count: I
Count:II
Hess was
sentenced
to life in
prison.
He
remained-
-lost in his
own
mental
fog-- in
Spandau
prison (for
many
years as
its only
prisoner)
until he
committed
suicide in
1987 at
age 93.
Jodl, Alfred Chief of Operations
for the German High
Command
IMPORTAN
127
"The indictment
knocked me on
the head. First
of all, I hand no
idea at all about
90 per cent of
the accusations
in it. The
crimes are
horrible beyond
belief, if they
Jodl gave orders
for the German
army's campaign
against Holland,
Belgium,
Norway, and
Poland. He also
planned attacks
against Greece
and
Yugoslavia....Jod
Jodl signed
Germany's
uncondition
al surrender
on May 7,
1945,
ending the
war in
Europe....He
strongly
disagreed
Jodl was
hanged in
Nurember
g on Oct.
16, 1946.
Critics
have
called
Jodl's
death
sentence
T are true. Secondly, I
don't see how
they can fail to
recognize a
soldier's
obligation to
obey orders.
That's the code
I've live by all
my life."
(11/1/45)
l was quoted as
saying, "Terror
attacks against
English centers
of population
...will paralyze
the will of the
people to resist."
with many
of Hitler's
harsh orders:
"The order
to kill the
escaped
British
fliers--there
was
absolutely
no
justification
for that.
From then
on, I knew
what kind of
a man Hitler
was."
(4/6/46)
harsh in
relation to
the
sentences
received
by other
German
officers of
similar
rank.
Kaltenbrunner,
Ernst Chief of RSHA (an
organization which
includes offices of
the Gestapo, the SD,
and the Criminal
Police) and Chief of
Security Police
113
"When I saw the
newspaper
headline 'GAS
CHAMBER
EXPERT
CAPTURED'
and an
American
lieutenant
explained it to
me, I was pale
in amazement.
How can they
say such things
about me?"
(4/11/46)..."I
have only done
my duty as an
intelligence
organ, and I
refuse to serve
as an ersatz for
Himmler."
Kaltenbrunner
and RSHA bear
responsibity for
"The Final
Solution" to the
Jewish question-
-and the 6
million jews
killed by
Einsatzgruppen
(2 million) and
in concentration
camps (4
million).
Kaltenbrunner
ordered prisoners
in Dachau and
other camps
liquidated just
before the camps
would have been
liberated by
Allies.
Kaltenbrunn
er was
described as
"a Nazi out
of central
casting:"
six-foot-six,
a huge neck,
cruel mouth,
and a scar
across his
left
cheek...He
was shunned
by most of
the other
defendants...
His lawyer
tried to
portray him
as a stooge
for
Himmler,
rather than
his right-
hand
man....Kalte
nbrunner
believed
fertile
German
Kaltenbru
nner was
hanged on
Oct. 16,
1946 in
Nurember
g.
women had
a duty to
produce
babies, and
if their
husbands
couldn't get
them
pregnant,
other men
ought to be
given the
job.
Keitel, Wilhelm Chief of Staff of the
German High
Command
129
"We all believed so
much in him
[Hitler]--and we
stand to take all
the blame--and
the shame! He
gave us the
orders. He kept
saying that it
was all his
responsibility."
912/25/45)..."I
will suffer more
agony of
conscience and
self-reproach in
this cell than
anybody will
ever know."
(1/6/46)..."the
only thing that
is impossible is
for me to there
[in court] like a
louse and lie."
(4/6/46)
Keitel signed
orders
authorizing the
killing of
captured
commandos and
reprisals against
the families of
Allied
volunteers...He
drafted the
"Night and Fog"
decree that
authorized the
nighttime arrests
and secret
killings of
suspected
members of the
resistance..He planned attacks
on
Czechoslavakia,
Poland, Belgium,
Holland, and
other countries.
Keitel's sons
were killed
in the
German
attack on the
Soviet
Union that
Keitel
helped
execute...Ke
itel, on
Hitler's
orders, sent
two generals
to Rommel
(who had
supported
attempts to
assassinate
Hitler)
offering him
the the
choice of a
court-
martial or
suicide....In
prison,
Keitel
worked on
his
autobiograp
hy....Prison
pyschiatrist
G. M.
Gilbert said
Keitel "had
no more
Keitel was
one of ten
defendant
s hanged
in the
Palace of
Justice in
the early
morning
hours of
October
16, 1946.
backbone
than a
jellyfish."
Neurath,
Konstantin von Minister of Foreign
Affairs (until 1938),
then Reich Protector
for Bohemia and
Moravia
125
"Hitler was a
liar, of course--
that became
more and more
clear. He
simply had no
respect for the
truth. But
nobody
recognized it at
first...He must
have done his
conspiring with
his little gang of
henchmen late
at night.
Sometimes he
would call at 1,
2, or 3 in the
morning."(12/15
/45)
While Neurath
was Foreign
Minister,
Germany "was
only breaking
one treaty at a
time."...While
serving at Reich
Protector of
Bohemia and
Moravia,
Neurath
abolished
political parties
and trade
unions....He
knew war crimes
were being
committed under
his authority.
At
73, Neurath
was the
oldest
defendant in
the Major
War Figures
Trial. He
seemed to
be showing
signs of
incipient
senility...Wh
en
Chamberlain
offered to
come to
Germany to
discuss ways
of averting
war,
Neurath
urged Hitler
to receive
him..."I was
always
against
punishment
without the
possibility
of a
defense."
Neurath
was
sentenced
to fifteen
years in
prison.
He was
released
because of
poor
health in
1954, and
died two
years
later.
Papen, Franz
von Reich Chancellor
prior to Hitler, Vice
Chancellor under
Hitler, Ambassador
to Turkey
134
"I think [Hitler]
wanted the best
for Germany at
the beginning,
but he became
an unreasoning
evil force with
the flattery of
his followers--
Himmler,
Goering,
Ribbentrop,
etc...I tried to
persuade him he
was wrong in
Von Papen
helped
consolidate Nazi
control in 1933.
He strengthened
the position of
Nazis in Austria
to help pave the
way for the
takeover. He
appealed to the
Pope to support
Hitler. Von
Papen remained
in office even
While the
trial was in
progress,
Von Papen had many
heated
exchanges
with
Goering....V
on Papen
was a
moderating
force in the
early years
of the Nazi
Von
Papen was
acquitted.
his anti-Jewish
policies many a
time. He
seemed to listen
at first, but later
on, I had no
influence on
him."
(10/30/45)
after learning of
political killings
and other crimes.
regime. In
1934, he
gave a
speech
highly
critical of
restrictions
on
individual
liberties...Vo
n Papen
said, "I've
been
portrayed as
an intriguing
devil. But I
can prove I
have always
worked for
peace....I am
confident in
American
justice, and
am glad to
have the
truth
brought to
light through
this trial."
Raeder, Erich Commander in Chief
of the German Navy
134
"I have no illusion about
this trial.
Naturally, I will
be hanged or
shot. I flatter
myself to think
that I will be
shot; at least I
will request it. I
have no desire
to serve a prison
sentence at my
age." (5/20/46)
Raeder
advocated
attacks by
submarines on
neutral ships in
violation of
international law.
Raeder was
one of two
defendants
handed over
by the
Russians,
and was put
on the list of
major war
trial
defendants
at the
insistence of
the Soviet
Union...Rae
der retired in
1943...He
opposed
invading
Russia, but
then
Raeder
was
sentenced
to life in
prison.
He served
nine years
before his
release in
1955. He
died in
1960 at
age 84.
attacked
Russian
submarines
six days
before the
invasion
began.
Ribbentrop,
Joachim von Foreign Minister
129
"We are only
living shadows-
-the remains of
a dead era--an
era that died
with Hitler.
Whether a few
of us live
another 10 or 20
years, it makes
no difference."
(3/27/46)
Rippentrop
participated in
aggressive plans
against
Czechoslavakia..
.He helped plan
attacks on
Poland and
Russia...Ribbentr
op played a role
in the "Final
Solution" when
he acted to
hasten the
deportation of
Jews to
concentration
camps in the
East.
In prison,
Ribbentrop
kept asking
everyone
from doctors
to cell
guards to
barbers for
legal
advice....Pris
on
pyschiatrist
G. M.
Gilbert saw
Rippentrop
as "a
confused
and
demoralized
opportunist."