list of guards at nuremberg trials

[119] Unlike the British and American prosecution strategy, which focused on using German documents to make their case, the French prosecutors took the perspective of the victims, submitting postwar police reports and calling eleven witnesses. It would be so greatly appreciated. [100], On 21 November, Jackson gave the opening speech for the prosecution. FRD provides custom research services to federal agencies, the District of Columbia government, and authorized federal contractors. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. Two of the six were acquitted, two given prison terms and two sentenced to death. Hess was eccentric. The most frequently offered scenario, after intensive investigations, has been that the capsule was retrieved from Grings luggage in a storage room and was given to him by an American, Lieutenant Jack Tex Wheelis. One can only imagine the effect the pounding had on the condemned prisoners, now with only one more day to live. [34][35] Located in the American occupation zone, Nuremberg was a symbolic location as the site of Nazi rallies. Attitudes toward certain prisoners were determined by the prisoners themselves, their demeanor in captivity, and their personality traits and attitudes toward their American, British, or French guards. They just never admitted to it. Without fanfare or advance warning, on July 18, 1947, the remaining prisoners at Nuremberg were told to assemble their meager belongings. Ambassador-Plenipotentiary 193536. [155] In the context of the brewing Cold War, the trial became a means of condemning not only Germany but also the Soviet Union. Where they lived. [33], The negotiators decided that the tribunal's permanent seat would be in Berlin, while the trial would be held at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg. He was good, real sharp, Prestianni related. Where the convicted were housed on the ground floor, lower-tier cellblock, the main corridor was 60 meters (195 feet) long, lined by 16 cells on each side, and constantly patrolled by 1st Division guards. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. Home; Services; New Patient Center. Those incarcerated at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg were allowed very limited and sporadic visitation rights with lawyers and family members. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials that occurred in post-World War II Germany to provide a platform for justice against accused Nazi war criminals. BAY CITY . In the prison cellblock, each single-occupant cell had two parallel heating pipes beneath a single, heavily scratched, plastic-covered window, the top half of which could be tilted open for limited ventilation. [106] Although these aspects had already been covered by the American prosecution, Soviet prosecutors introduced new evidence from Extraordinary State Commission reports and interrogations of senior enemy officers. [94] All defendants pleaded not guilty. 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. [172] All 22 defendants were charged with crimes against peace, and 12 were convicted. The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials tried major war criminals, but of lower ranks than those tried in the first trial. 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. [46] The British chief prosecutor was Hartley Shawcross, assisted by David Maxwell Fyfe, who had been the attorney general in Churchill's government. Guards were randomly assigned to prisoners, and the assignments were generally not known by the guards until the duty roster was posted or announced each morning during roll call. It was a very old, ancient, almost primitive prison, Prestianni recalls. New Patient Forms; Other generals were tried in the High Command Trial for plotting wars of aggression, issuing criminal orders, deporting civilians, using slave labor, and looting in the Soviet Union. There was a constant, steady flow of rules and regulations, many of them meaningless, while others tended to be more punitive, he said. My dad, Frederick M. Bencriscutto, was in the field artillery in the 1st Infantry Division during WWII. After the first trial ended in October 1946, the United States held 12 other trials at Nuremberg under the authority of the International Military Tribunal. Following the Second World War, many concentration camps such as Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz were liberated. [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. [10][11], Of all the Allies, the Soviet Union lobbied most intensely for trying the defeated German leaders for aggression in addition to war crimes. After one of those accused, Robert Ley, former director of the nations Labor Front, hanged himself from a drain pipe with a torn towel, prisoners were kept under constant visual surveillance by guards, and while sleeping were forced to do so with their faces and hands exposed above their blankets at all times. I do remember that Schacht, like most of the others, steadfastly maintained his innocence, never admitting to guilt in any form. There was also a picture of him guarding Hitler. Corrections? He was totally indifferent to the world around him and to world affairs. To maintain the steady flow of Speer pencil sketches, guards always provided him with an adequate supply of paper and sharpened pencils. 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. 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. [200] The case law of the trials fleshed out the skeleton provided by the Nuremberg charter and the IMT verdict. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. [195][196], These trials emphasized the crimes committed during the Holocaust. There was a large clock on the wall that was above his right shoulder. Guards were under strict orders never to respond to verbal abuse by prisoners, no matter how hateful it might be. On occasion, guards assigned to courtroom duty asked for reassignment as they became emotionally and physically sickened by the film evidence of war crimes that was presented. He never repented for anything he ever did. When the needling did not abate and became somewhat annoying, Prestianni said he used to give the former World War I ace his own version of a little dig in return. But, he gave us no problem and I found him engaging to talk to and an excellent checkers player.. [28] The charter limited the jurisdiction of the court to Germany's actions because the Allies did not want to answer to an international court for their own actions;[29] only Germans could be tried. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. I wish peace to the world. Because of his moral corruption, the other prisoners shunned him. [110] Unlike Jackson, he attempted to minimize the novelty of the aggression charges. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. My mother had pointed his photo out to me on several occasions but I was too young to remember. He reportedly carried a whip during liaisons with numerous women. She kept a scrapbook which had photos of her group and many signatures of court officials and army officers commending them for their service. He had been instrumental in establishing a totalitarian state. The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. One spoon has a carving of a skeleton key on its handle, the other an engraving of N 19 P. I could never determine the significance of the latter carving. Staff Sgt. Twelve sets of trials, involving over a hundred defendants and several different courts, took place in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949. An enduring mystery of the 1946 Nuremberg trials was apparently solved yesterday when an American former prison guard claimed it was he who, as an unwitting accomplice, passed to Hermann. [48] The French judges were Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, a professor of criminal law, and alternate Robert Falco, who had represented France at the London Conference. Three of those accused were acquitted and upon their release soon faded into obscurity. These parapets included watchtowers at the four corners equipped with telephones to contact or summon supervising sergeants or lieutenants, who were constantly on call to resolve problems that might develop. Number 5 was Albert Speer, Hitlers personal architect and confidant. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. It was always a battle of authority. Number 3 was Konstantin von Neurath, a former high-ranking politician. I have searched photos of the trials to see if I could find my dad. Twelve of the defendants would be sentenced to death. [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. . [186] These trials were held under Law No. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. Other prisoners shuffled past him without even glancing in his direction or outwardly acknowledging that he existed. [74], Although the list of defendants was finalized on 29 August,[75] as late as October, Jackson demanded changes and expansion of the defendants list, but this was rejected. jkeller, Aug 11, 2010 #16. macrusk Proud Daughter of a Canadian WWII Veteran. [171] Only eight defendants were convicted on that charge; all of whom were also found guilty of crimes against peace. Joined: Oct 14, 2007 Messages: 2,804 Stahmer fought hard for his clie. Came back to the States in Jun 46. 3 Feb 1946. The following is a brief . If an organization was found to be criminal, the prosecution could bring individuals to trial for having been members, and the criminal nature of the group or organization could no longer be questioned. The photograph shows some of the security measures taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In mid-1945, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed to convene a joint tribunal in Nuremberg, with the Nuremberg Charter as its legal instrument. Eighteen-inch rectangular holes were cut from the heavy, oaken cell doors, slightly below eye level. 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 The tribunal responded that such acts had been regarded as criminal prior to World War II. He greeted me in the morning and that was about it. , That used to shut him up but usually only for a few minutes, and then he would start up again with the jokes. How long did it take you to learn what you are doing? he often asked. [20][21] The offenses that would be prosecuted were crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. A defendant was entitled to receive a copy of the indictment, to offer any relevant explanation to the charges brought against him, and to be represented by counsel and confront and cross-examine the witnesses. Back in 1945, his grandfather was stationed in Germany for the infamous Nuremberg trials, during which he got his hands on a pair of sunglasses allegedly worn by a high ranking Nazi. The 3rd Battalion of the 26th Infantry Reg., "Blue Spaders," of the 1st Infantry Division were chosen to secure the historic Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Conversation between guards was extremely limited or nonexistent. [198] The trials targeted 177 defendants and obtained 142 convictions, including 25 death sentences;[199] the severity of sentencing was related to the defendant's proximity to mass murder. 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. Prestianni said that during his guard duties he tried to adhere to his fathers advice. I never really got to know him very well during the few months before he was released, commented Prestianni, but at one time he tried to teach me an intricate German card game, but I never could catch on to it. Convicted and hanged, Rosenbergs ideology led to an appointment as minister of the occupied eastern territories in 1941. Nuremberg was chosen as the location for the trials because of its symbolic value. The purpose of the armored reinforcement was to prevent any possibility of attack by groups of still-fanatic Nazis. Ten of them Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart were hanged on October 16, 1946. [40] Each state appointed a prosecution team and two judges, one being an alternate. [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. Popular radio commentator; head of the news division of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. As a good military officer I was only following orders, he steadfastly maintained with quiet military bearing. [83] The American and British prosecutors focused on documentary evidence and affidavits rather than testimony from survivors, as the latter was considered less reliable and more liable to accusations of bias, but at the expense of reducing public interest in the proceedings. The verdict was drafted by British alternate judge Norman Birkett. He was usually confrontational and argumentative with the other prisoners. Despite this precaution, such limited, semiamicable relationships did exist. The United States and United Kingdom refused to endorse this proposal, citing the failure of war crimes prosecutions after World War I. My father Paul Davis Smith served at a guard at Nuremberg though he never really talked much about it so I dont know in what capacity.

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