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Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAs early as Jan 1942, the Allies began to discuss the punishment for European Axis leaders should the Allies become victorious in the European War. Through a series of discussions at meetings such as the Tehran Conference, Yalta Conference, and Potsdam Conference, the Allies determined the details of the International Military Tribunal. The legal basis for the trials was established by the London Charter, issued on 8 Aug 1945, which restricted the trials to the "punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis countries"; the term "war", seen in "war criminals", further restricted the actions eligible to be tried to after 3 Sep 1939, the date when the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. The Soviets initially suggested to hold the trials in Berlin, Germany, but ultimately another German city, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), was chosen for that the Palace of Justice at Nürnberg was largely undamaged and it had a large prison complex; some also preferred Nürnberg for the association of being the ceremonial birth place of the Nazi Party. The members of the International Military Tribunal were:

ww2dbasePresident of the International Military Tribunal

The Right Honourable Colonel Sir Geoffrey Lawrence (United Kingdom) ww2dbaseMain Judges

The Right Honourable Colonel Sir Geoffrey Lawrence (United Kingdom)

Francis Biddle (United States)

Professor Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (France)

Major General Iona Nikitchenko (Soviet Union) ww2dbaseAlternate Judges

Sir Norman Birkett (United Kingdom)

John Parker (United States)

Robert Falco (France)

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Volchkov (Soviet Union) ww2dbaseChief Prosecutors

Robert H. Jackson (United States)

Sir Hartley Shawcross (United Kingdom)

François de Menthon (France)

Auguste Champetier (France)

Lieutenant General Roman Rudenko (Soviet Union)

ww2dbaseOn the first day of the Nuremberg Trials on 18 Oct 1945, the prosecution entered the names of 24 major war criminals and six criminal organizations for crimes against peace, waging wars of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. At the conclusion of the first phase of trials (The Trial of the Major War Criminals) on 1 Oct 1946, most of the accused for major crimes were found guilty, with 12 given death sentences. The first of 10 hangings was carried out on 16 Oct 1946 (Martin Bormann was not in captivity and Hermann Göring committed suicide); those who were given prison sentences were entered into Spandau Prison in 1947. The International Military Tribunal also found the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), and the Gestapo to be criminal organizations.

ww2dbaseThe later phases of the Nuremberg Trials (The Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals) were presided over by American judges. Between Dec 1946 and Apr 1949, the following trials were held:

The Doctors' Trial (9 Dec 1946-20 Aug 1947): Trial against 23 medical professionals for conducting medical experiments on people. The Milch Trial (2 Jan 1947-14 Apr 1947): Trial against former Field Marshal of the Luftwaffe Erhard Milch for human experimentation and using slave labor. The Judges' Trial (5 Mar 1947-4 Dec 1947): Trial against 16 accused of abusing judicial process for anti-Semitic purposes. The Pohl Trial (8 Apr 1947-3 Nov 1947): Trial against 17 SS officers for atrocities against prisoners of concentration camps. The Flick Trial (19 Apr 1947-22 Dec 1947): Trial against 6 industrialists for using slave labor and plundering of occupied territories. The Hostages Trial (8 Jul 1947ñ19 Feb 1948): Trial against 12 generals for atrocities against civilians and plundering of occupied territories. The IG Farben Trial (27 Aug 1947-30 Jul 1948): Trial against 24 directors of chemical conglomerate IG Farben for planning and waging wars of aggression, using slave labor, and plundering of occupied territories. The Einsatzgruppen Trial (29 Sep 1947-10 Apr 1948): Trial against 24 SS officers for conducting atrocities and mass murders against civilians. The RuSHA Trial (20 Oct 1947-10 Mar 1948): Trial against 14 SS officials for implementing racist policies. The Krupp Trial (8 Dec 1947-31 Jul 1948): Trial against 12 directors of Krupp AG for planning and waging wars of aggression, using slave labor, and plundering of occupied territories. The High Command Trial (30 Dec 1947-28 Oct 1948): Trial against 14 high ranking officers for waging wars of aggression, atrocities against prisoners of war, and atrocities against civilians. The Ministries Trial (6 Jan 1948-13 Apr 1949): Trial against 21 officials for planning and waging wars of aggression, atrocities against prisoners of war, atrocities against civilians, using slave labor, and plundering of occupied territories.

ww2dbaseThese later trials found 142 of 185 defendants guilty of at least one of the charges, and 24 of them received death sentences (11 of which were later lessened to life imprisonment).

ww2dbaseThe conclusions of the Nuremberg Trials had long-lasting effects on international law. For example, the findings of the International Military Tribunal directly led to the Genocide Convention of 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and the Geneva Convention on the Laws and Customs of War of 1949 and its 1977 supplementary protocols.

ww2dbaseMany criticized of the Nuremberg Trials. For example, British and American critics pointed out that those found guilty were not allowed to appeal. Another criticism cited that, while Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, and Joachim von Ribbentrop were found guilty for conspiracy to commit acts of aggression against Poland for the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, Soviet leaders who were signatories to the very same pact were not charged with the same crime. Nevertheless, through course of history, most agreed that the International Military Tribunal conducted the Nuremberg Trials with full compliance of international law.

ww2dbaseOther Trials

ww2dbaseOn 13 Dec 1943, far before the end of the European War, Ukrainians put four Germans on trial in the city of Kharkov for using death vans to murder thousands of civilians with poison gas. Two days later, they all admitted guilty to the death of over 30,000 people. All four were executed on 19 Dec in the city square; the execution was witnessed by 50,000 people.

ww2dbaseLike Ukraine, the first war crimes trial held in Poland also began prior to the end of the European War, on 30 Nov 1944, when the former commandant and guards of Majdanek Concentration Camp were put on trial. After the war, on 22 Jan 1946, the Supreme National Tribunal was established to preside over trials of 49 accused German war criminals. The trials were conducted between 1946 and 1948, and the accused included several high profile Nazi officials, including Arthur Greiser, Rudolf Höss, and Albert Forster. Of the 49 tried, 31 were sentenced to death, 17 were sentenced to prison terms, and 1 was acquitted. The Tribunal also declared the General Government, which ruled occupied Poland during the war, a criminal institution.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Jan 2009

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