list of guards at nuremberg trials

They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment. On 17 September, the various delegations met to discuss the indictment. [87] In France, some verdicts were met with outrage from the media and especially from organizations for deportees and resistance fighters, as they were perceived as too lenient. [65], Some of the most prominent NazisAdolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbelshad committed suicide and therefore could not be tried. An accomplished horseman, Streicher continued to wear high leather boots and riding britches during his confinement. [79] Initially, the Americans had planned to try fourteen organizations and their leaders, but this was narrowed to six: the Reich Cabinet, the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, the Gestapo, the SA, the SS and the SD, and the General Staff and High Command of the Wehrmacht. [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. William L Shierer "the Rise and Fall of the third Reich", part IV, Nuremberg-chapter, the United States committed the same breach, Last and Near-Last Words of the Famous, Infamous and Those In-Between, "The International Military Tribunal for Germany", The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_defendants_at_the_International_Military_Tribunal&oldid=1114903079, Successor to Hess as Nazi Party Secretary. Perhaps the most feared group of accused criminals in the annals of history was a potpourri of personalities who had been associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Had been imprisoned since then. 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. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. Dnitz remained an unrepentant Nazi until his death in 1980. Jodl, one of 10 prisoners hanged, was another who never admitted to any personal guilt. Recently one of our readers in the US contacted us with a photo of a pair of sunglasses that were in a box in his grandfather's garage. [111][112] The British case covered invasions, from that of Poland to that of the Soviet Union, which Shawcross covered in the second part of his speech;[113] these charges took three days to present, with Maxwell Fyfe detailing 15 treaties broken by Germany. [233] In 1950, the International Law Commission drafted the Nuremberg principles to codify international criminal law, although the Cold War prevented the adoption of these principles until the 1990s. At the time, I saw these men only as individual prisoners, guilty of unknown crimes. The same routine was followed for each of the condemned prisoners. Public to Get Access to Nuremberg Trials Digital Recordings The note said, To a good man in remembrance of my going forth to death., Prestianni said, I have no idea why he gave it to me. That was until he took his own life by biting down on a cyanide capsule a few hours before he was scheduled to be hanged., Prestianni remembered vividly the night of the executions and Grings suicide. 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. The British worked on putting together the aggressive war charge; the French and Soviet delegations were assigned the task of covering crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the Western Front and the Eastern Front, respectively. Designated as protector of Bohemia and Moravia in August 1943, he played a major role in developing the concentration- and labor-camp network for the slaughter of millions. I inherited all of it. The defendants, who included Nazi Party officials . Michael R. Prestianni of Framingham, Massachusetts, who later survived months of combat in Korea. He didnt really talk to me very much. The Nuremberg Trials ended on October 1, 1946. Asked whether the 60-year myth about Streicher struggling for 20 minutes at the end of the hangmans rope was true, Prestianni said guards never witnessed the hanging and he had not heard any such rumors at the time, but guessed it could have happened. He was a true Nazi all the way in every way, Prestianni recalled. These were the intellectuals; the ramrod-stiff military officers; the cunning politicians; the world's most vicious, depraved, notorious mass murderers; an architect; a filthy-minded and sex-obsessed anti-Semitic newspaper publisher; a gentle writer of poetry; the bombastic bullies; an unrepentant, ghost-like figure; the subservient military He held the rank of seargent when he was discharged in 1945. [2] They were indicted for: we went to Germany with and my younger brother was born there, dad remained un the Army until 1960, when he retired after 32 years service. Let me have that again, please. [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 culmination of the unprecedented War Crimes trials in the German city of Nuremberg, where the Nazis had staged their infamous pre-war rallies. ;"God protect Germany. Like the Nazis, he was afraid (rightly) that his "God" would kill him if he refused. He still resides in Framingham after retiring from a 33-year career in supervisory positions with the U.S. I never treated him differently than I did the others I guarded.. It would be so greatly appreciated. Known as the Jew Baiter, even in the United States, he was rabidly anti-Semitic. [10] The declaration also stated that those high-ranking Nazis who had committed crimes in several countries would be dealt with jointly. We used to argue democracy versus dictatorship, the free versus the suppressed. [179], The exact sentences to be given each defendant were debated at length by the judges. [177] In the latter case, the Wehrmacht leadership was not considered an organization within the meaning of the charter;[177][178] but this verdict was later misrepresented as an acquittal of the criminality of the Wehrmacht, forming one of the foundations of the clean Wehrmacht myth. [6][7] Trainin's ideas were reprinted in the West and widely adopted. His name was Raymond J Arsenault. Twelve sets of trials, involving over a hundred defendants and several different courts, took place in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949. Streicher, sentenced to death, was perhaps the most despised prisoner of all due to his complete obsession with sex. Afterwards, during the Berlin Blockade, they took part in securing Allied facilities involved in the Berlin Airlift and later also were guarding USA Army headquarters. It was a very old, ancient, almost primitive prison, Prestianni recalls. Frick was rather taciturn, not given to talking. These sketches were given to guards who requested them and to prison officials. 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. [56][57] After this division of formulating the charges, the British and American delegations decided to work jointly in drafting the charges of conspiracy to wage aggressive war. These were the intellectuals; the ramrod-stiff military officers; the cunning politicians; the worlds most vicious, depraved, notorious mass murderers; an architect; a filthy-minded and sex-obsessed anti-Semitic newspaper publisher; a gentle writer of poetry; the bombastic bullies; an unrepentant, ghost-like figure; the subservient military lackeys; and even their self-appointed leader, a bloated, drug-addicted former war hero. Came back to the States in Jun 46. Hildegard Lchert (AKA "Bloody Brigette" or "Beast") Hildegard Lchert was conscripted to join the Nazi women in 1942, at the age of 22. [19], The Nuremberg Charter upended the traditional view of international law by holding individuals, rather than states, responsible for breaches of international law. One can only imagine the effect the pounding had on the condemned prisoners, now with only one more day to live. [87], Initially, it was planned to hold a second international tribunal for German industrialists, but this was never held because of differences between the Allies. Courtroom MPs wore stylish white MP-emblazoned helmet liners and similarly labeled brassards. How Gring obtained the lethal capsule has never been firmly established. His face had an animal look to it, Prestianni stated. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. On November 20, 1945, several months after the end of World War II, a series of military tribunals began in the German city of Nuremberg. Some of these camps, such as Treblinka, were death camps, intended to kill every prisoner that passed through their gates. The Federal Research Division (FRD) is a fee-based research and analysis unit within the Library of Congress that produces world-renowned and nonpartisan products to support research-informed policy- and decision-making. Meals were brought to the prisoners on a precise schedule each day on wheeled, double-tiered push carts by German prisoners from other sections of the prison who were being held for civil crimes. [67] Also prosecuted were leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG), former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht, and economic planners Albert Speer and Walther Funk, along with Speer's subordinate and head of the forced labor program, Fritz Sauckel. The photograph shows some of the security measures taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. [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. Number 4 was assigned to Erich Raeder, the Navys former grand admiral before being replaced by Dnitz. The tribunal was given the authority to find any individual guilty of the commission of war crimes (counts 13 listed above) and to declare any group or organization to be criminal in character. They, as a group, had no problem with their guilt. [192] Members of the SS were tried in the Pohl trial, which focused on members of the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office that oversaw SS economic activity, including the Nazi concentration camps;[193] the RuSHA trial of Nazi racial policies; and the Einsatzgruppen trial, in which members of the mobile killing squads were tried for the murder of more than one million people behind the Eastern Front. Other than that, Hess had no social interaction with the other prisoners. I rather liked him for the way he acted toward us. [194] Luftwaffe general Erhard Milch was tried for using slave labor and deporting civilians. Pre-war president of the. 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. [228] The most controversial charge was crimes against peace. Each prisoners cell was equipped with a simple, bench-like bed against one wall adjacent to the cell door, a primitive commode, a wooden table to hold the few allowed pictures and other personal items, and a chair too rickety to support the weight of a standing man. [152] The defendants' witnesses sometimes managed to exculpate them, but other witnessesincluding Rudolf Hss, the former commandant of Auschwitz, and Hans Bernd Gisevius, a member of the German resistanceeffectively incriminated the defendants. [185] Twelve military trials were convened solely by the United States in the same courtroom that had hosted the International Military Tribunal. He died about five years ago and I wished I would have asked questions. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. I do remember that Schacht, like most of the others, steadfastly maintained his innocence, never admitting to guilt in any form. However, some Russian guards who had perhaps the best reason to want to harshly punish the former German leaders in retaliation for previous atrocities and other crimes committed in the Soviet Union, were friendly and, even in some cases, considerate of the prisoners and American personnel.. The verdict was drafted by British alternate judge Norman Birkett. All sessions of the tribunal were held in Nrnberg, Germany, under the presidency of Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence. All were destined for incarceration, at least during their trials, in two of Germanys most feared prisons: the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg and Spandau Prison on the western outskirts of Berlin. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. This brass pot held the holy water that an attending priest sprinkled on the condemned immediately before their execution. , That used to shut him up but usually only for a few minutes, and then he would start up again with the jokes. He was largely overlooked in prison, Prestianni said of von Papen. The Russians always were a problem and only cooperated with the other countries about 10 percent of the time. [202] All four powers later fought independence movements using methods that had been ruled illegal at Nuremberg. He would just lie on his bed staring at the ceiling with expressionless, sunken eyes and fallow, sort of ashen, death-like skin. Guards were under strict orders never to respond to verbal abuse by prisoners, no matter how hateful it might be. Between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 24 of the most important political and military leaders of Nazi Germany. His name was David C. Porter from Pennsylvania. [142] In contrast, most defendants avoided incriminating each other. After trial, incarcerated at. For example, Baldur von Schirach, former head of the Hitler Youth, was known only as Number 1. [117] The French prosecutors, more than their British or American counterparts, emphasized the guilt of the German people;[118] they barely mentioned the charge of aggressive war and instead focused on forced labor, economic plunder, massacres, and Germanization. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. Proposals for how to punish the defeated Nazi leaders ranged from a show trial (the Soviet Union) to summary executions (the United Kingdom). [59] The conspiracy charge was used to charge the top Nazi leaders, as well as bureaucrats who had never killed anyone or perhaps even directly ordered killing. Beginning on November 20, 1945, all sessions of the tribunal were held in Nrnberg under the presidency of Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence (later Baron Trevethin and Oaksey), the British member. He thought a mature, Lutheran, German-speaking chaplain who had worked in prisons . Twelve of the defendants would be sentenced to death. [195][196], These trials emphasized the crimes committed during the Holocaust. Nuremberg, Germany, November 1945. [156], On 31 August, closing arguments were presented. He greeted me in the morning and that was about it. During numerous argumentative discussions, Neurath referred to the Polish population and others that were slaughtered by German troops as untermenschen, the German expression for inferior beings. Alfred Rosenberg, Joachim von Ribbentrop and others were condemned on 16th October, 1946. 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 I need your: [172] All 22 defendants were charged with crimes against peace, and 12 were convicted. My mother gave the journal to my oldest brother who died in 1998. It was the last thing Streicher was known to have written. This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 21:33. Emilio DiPalma (right) stands on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. One of the new USA light tanks (M24) on guard outside the courthouse at Nuremberg. Prestianni particularly liked Speer, Hitlers architect and the designer of many of Berlins most spectacular buildings and later minister of armament and munitions. [105] The American prosecutors were not any more effective when presenting documentary evidence on the conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity, and ended up reaching a "saturation point of horror" by their indiscriminate selection and disorganized presentation of evidence without tying it to specific defendants. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Updates? [95] None of the defendants tried to assert that the Nazis' crimes had not occurred; instead, they attempted to divert blame from their own actions. The Nuremberg Trials After the war, the top surviving German leaders were tried for Nazi Germany's crimes, including the crimes of the Holocaust. He was good, real sharp, Prestianni related. Twelve further trials were conducted by the United States against lower-level perpetrators, which focused more on the Holocaust. Staff Sgt. Nuremberg Trials Nuremberg Trials after WWII Nuremberg Trials post Second World War Categories: General news, War and unrest, Government and politics, Military and defense, Social affairs; Location: Germany Display: All Displaying 1 - 124 of 124 Results < Prev | 1 | Next > 4508300110 4508301118 4508310176 4508310168 451007142 490414058 490414049 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. Thank you so much for your time and I am looking forward to getting into many discussions. [9] The prosecutors attempted to substitute his son in the indictment, but the judges rejected this due to proximity to trial. The prisoners were restricted to groups of six to eight, which were strictly segregated from one another. Cell doors were never opened when food was distributed. The first session, under the presidency of Gen. I.T. Speer spent much of his time drawing exquisite pencil sketches ranging from landscapes to magnificent buildings to quaint German villages. Guards gradually learned through everyday observation, however, that the prisoners collective makeup truly spanned a psychologically intricate cross-section of those who had served Hitler. After his release from prison in Nuremberg, a Stuttgart court sentenced him to eight years in a work camp. He guarded top Nazis at Nuremberg trials; now he'll share his story By CAROL SMITH, P-I REPORTER Updated Nov 7, 2007 Jack Carver holds a portrait of top-ranking Nazi Hermann Goering, whom he met. All of those with whom I came in contact spoke flawless English, he remembered. --. [133], Inspired by the films shown by the American prosecution, the Soviet Union commissioned three films for the trial: The German Fascist Destruction of the Cultural Treasures of the Peoples of the USSR, Atrocities Committed by the German Fascist Invaders in the USSR, and The German Fascist Destruction of Soviet Cities, using footage from Soviet filmmakers as well as shots from German newsreels. [236][237], The trials were the first use of simultaneous interpretation, which stimulated technical advances in translation methods. Some smiled while others snarled at each other or harshly criticized other individuals. [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. 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. And when he spoke, it was to lash out violently at anyone close to him at the time, even the guards.. [180][172] On 16 October, ten were hanged, with Gring committing suicide the day before. While they walked, the prisoners were separated by a prescribed number of yards. [21] At the conference, it was debated whether wars of aggression were prohibited in existing international customary law; regardless, before the charter was adopted there was no law providing for criminal responsibility for aggression. 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. Convicted and hanged, Rosenbergs ideology led to an appointment as minister of the occupied eastern territories in 1941. By far the most attention--not surprisingly, given the figures involved--has focused on the first Nuremberg trial of twenty-one major war criminals. For added security outside the prison, three American Sherman tanks, manned by MPs, were positioned at the front, side, and rear entries to the prison. The Nuremberg prison was a Bastille-like affair. Michael Prestianni served as a guard at Nuremberg as high-ranking Nazis stood trial for their lives. At least 30,000 women died here. [167] The judges were aware that both the Allies and the Axis had planned or committed acts of aggression, writing the verdict carefully to avoid discrediting either the Allied governments or the tribunal. He promoted an intentionalist view of the Nazi state and its overall conspiracy to commit all of the crimes mentioned in the indictment. In the Hostages case, several generals were tried for executing thousands of hostages and prisoners of war, looting, using forced labor, and deporting civilians in the Balkans. Also represented were some leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG) and former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht. Read about WWII here. I have been searching for evidence that my Dad was a guard, so that the stories I have been told since I was a child could be documented. When asked how the individual personalities, habits, and mannerisms differed, Prestianni responded that they were varied. [188] The Office of Chief Counsel for War Crimes identified 2,500 major war criminals, of whom 177 were tried. He was a rather low key person at Nuremberg who caused the guards no problems at all, said Prestianni. Gerald lives in MN. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death (Gring, Ribbentrop, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner, Rosenberg, Frank, Frick, Streicher, Sauckel, Jodl, Seyss-Inquart, and Bormann). Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi Germanys foreign minister beginning in 1938, was amiable, Prestianni said.

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