list of guards at nuremberg trials

Three were sentenced to life imprisonment: Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder. If anyone knows how I can verify that he was a guard, please let me know. As well as the tank three Military Policemen can be seen on duty. He was strictly military during the three months I observed him. Neurath, Konstantin von. Also represented were some leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp AG) and former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht.[2]. A further 12. [66][67] The prosecutors wanted to try representative leaders of German politics, economy, and military; and the Americans had a list of 70 names at the London Conference. National Archives Collection of World War II War Crimes Records (Record Groups 153, 238 and 549) The United States conducted war crimes trials in Europe under three jurisdictions: the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuernberg (RG 238), U.S. military tribunals at Nuernberg (RG 238) and U.S. Army courts (RG 153 & RG 549). [46] The British chief prosecutor was Hartley Shawcross, assisted by David Maxwell Fyfe, who had been the attorney general in Churchill's government. I never heard him speak, Prestianni remembered. [30] Article 7 prevented the defendants from claiming immunity for their actions under the act of state doctrine,[31] and the plea of acting under superior orders was left for the judges to decide. It was only sometime later that I realized in retrospect that I had become part of history, Prestianni said. He was sent to Nuremburg and stood guard at the Judges quarters. He always was respectful, always the consummate gentleman. Speer was convicted and served 20 years in prison. It was the last thing Streicher was known to have written. [175][176], Four organizations were ruled to be criminal: the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, the SS, the Gestapo, and the SD, although some lower ranks and subgroups were excluded. Does anyone know where I can read about the nuremberg trials from the guards perspective? What were the verdicts of Nrnberg trials? The photograph shows some of the security measures taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Alfried was tried in a separate Nuremberg trial (the Krupp Trial) for the use of slave labor, thereby escaping worse charges and possible execution; found guilty in 1948, pardoned and all property returned 1951. [125], More so than other delegations, Soviet prosecutors showed the gruesome details of German mistreatment of prisoners of war and forced laborers, as well as the systematic murder of Jews in eastern Europe. The same routine was followed for each of the condemned prisoners. jkeller, Aug 11, 2010 #16. macrusk Proud Daughter of a Canadian WWII Veteran. There were limits to how much gore that could be tolerated by some of the courtroom guards, he recalled. [52] Initially, it was planned that Iona Nikitchenko, who had presided over the Moscow trials, would serve as the chief prosecutor, but he was appointed as a judge and replaced by Roman Rudenko, a show trial prosecutor[53] chosen for his skill as an orator. Examine the Nrnberg (Nuremberg) trials of formerleaders of Nazi Germany for war crimes, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Nurnberg-trials, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - The Nuremberg Trials, Famous Trials - Nuremberg Trials (1945-49), Nuremberg Trials - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Nuremberg trials - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Konstantin von Neurath at the Nrnberg trials, Ernst Kaltenbrunner at the Nrnberg trials. The only part of the French charges that were accepted by the judges was the deportation of Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe. [195][196], These trials emphasized the crimes committed during the Holocaust. [1] Most of the defendants were also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. [158][136] In contrast to the opening prosecution statements, all eight closing statements highlighted the Holocaust; and the French and British prosecutors made this the main charge, as opposed to that of aggression. On October 1, 1946, the verdicts on 22 of the original 24 defendants were handed down for the Nrnberg trials. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. The night Gring pulled that off on October 16, 1946, now that was quite a night, he recalled. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27 million deaths in the Soviet Union alone. Ribbentrop was held in low esteem by others close to Hitler due to his perceived ineptness in many areas. [194] Luftwaffe general Erhard Milch was tried for using slave labor and deporting civilians. After two years he was released and promptly reestablished himself in a successful career as a financial consultant for developing nations. The . Other prisoners were outspoken in their condemnation of Hess as a traitor to the Fatherland when he flew to England in May 1941, ostensibly to arrange a peace between Hitlers Germany and Great Britain. My father Gordon Fitzgerald also spent several months as a guard there. Dads birthday. 08-12-2007, 10:07 PM. Among those brought to trial were. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment. Another, Hermann Goring, opted to commit . With the possible exception of Speer, none of them could rationalize that they, as individuals, had ever done anything morally wrong for the Fatherland. They were not to be shown disrespect. [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. The purpose of the trial was not just to convict the defendants but also to assemble irrefutable evidence of Nazi crimes, offer a history lesson to the defeated Germans, and delegitimize the traditional German elite. He was a rather low key person at Nuremberg who caused the guards no problems at all, said Prestianni. He didnt really talk to me very much. Movement was extremely restricted and closely monitored, even for the guards. Nuremberg Trials On November 20, 1945, six months after the surrender of Nazi Germany to allied forces, twenty-one military, political, media, and business leaders of the Third Reich filed into the dock of the Palace of Justice in the devastated and occupied German city of Nuremberg. There was no physical contact, and all conversation via microphone was closely monitored by a guard standing behind each prisoner. The Nazis constructed 20 main concentration camps in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania. 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. These visits usually were brief, and participants were separated by a screen. While he was held at Nuremberg, he portrayed himself in a quiet, unassuming demeanor. [3] War losses in the Soviet Union alone included 27 million dead, mostly civilians, which was .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}17th of the prewar population. She was released after four years and eventually committed suicide in a Bavarian prison. Without fanfare or advance warning, on July 18, 1947, the remaining prisoners at Nuremberg were told to assemble their meager belongings. [98] Jackson maintained that while the United States did "not seek to convict the whole German people of crime", neither did the trial "serve to absolve the whole German people except 21 men in the dock". He was quiet by nature and spent much of his time writing his memoirs. events, and resources, Michael Prestianni: Guarding the War Criminals at Nuremberg. No favoritism was shown nor was a selection offered. [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. He had actually tried to usurp Hitlers authority during the last days of the Reich but remained an ardent supporter of the Nazi regime during the trial, often proving himself a skilled debater. The purpose of the armored reinforcement was to prevent any possibility of attack by groups of still-fanatic Nazis. The tribunal responded that such acts had been regarded as criminal prior to World War II. [154] The United States controlled the prison where the defendants and some of the witnesses were held, and tried its best to shut the Soviets out of the proceedings. I tried to judge them myself, not by what others said of them. 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. The defendants at Nuremberg. Despite this precaution, such limited, semiamicable relationships did exist. 1. Ten of themHans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, and Arthur Seyss-Inquartwere hanged on October 16, 1946. Mark Felton Productions. [9] The prosecutors attempted to substitute his son in the indictment, but the judges rejected this due to proximity to trial. (Robert Ley committed suicide while in prison, and Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbachs mental and physical condition prevented his being tried.) [168], The judgment found that there was a premeditated conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, the goals of the conspiracy being "the disruption of the European order as it had existed since the Treaty of Versailles" and "the creation of a Greater Germany beyond the frontiers of 1914". U.S. veteran Gerald M. Boe, the guard for Hermann Gring during the Nuremberg Trials, shares his memories of that time. Prestianni never served in the trial courtroom, only in the cellblock. [95][96] As Jackson made clear, the purpose of the trial was not just to convict the defendants but also to assemble irrefutable evidence of Nazi crimes, establish individual responsibility and the crime of aggression in international law, offer a history lesson to the defeated Germans, delegitimize the traditional German elite,[97] and allow the Allies to distance themselves from appeasement. He died 21 months later on August 15, 1956. [241][242], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}492716N 110254E / 49.45444N 11.04833E / 49.45444; 11.04833. He was the popular picture court room scene the second on the left of the door. He did mention seeing the prisoners in their cells. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. 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. After 216 court sessions, on October 1, 1946, the verdict on 22 of the original 24 defendants was handed down. [180][172] On 16 October, ten were hanged, with Gring committing suicide the day before. Generally, due to rivalries and animosity toward each other during their glory years, most adhered to this policy and opted to walk, stand, or sit alone, not engaged in conversations to any degree. Most of the defendants had surrendered to the United States Army, but the Soviet Union also held a few top Nazis who were extradited for trial at Nuremberg. Gring was the acknowledged leader among the prisoners. False accusations of rape, abuse, or other misconduct by guards were commonplace. These women prisoners constantly did anything they could to get a guard in trouble or disciplined.. He was short but very powerfully built. [39] Besides legal professionals, there were many social-science researchers, psychologists, translators and interpreters, and graphic designers, the latter to make the many charts used during the trial. It was difficult and tiring duty. 23rd September 2021 at 5:18pm. [84][85] The American prosecution drew on reports of the Office of Strategic Services and information provided by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the American Jewish Committee. Give me information about your Dad and I will help you research about your fathers deployment to Germany. The 24 accused were, with respect to each charge, either indicted but not convicted (I), indicted and found guilty (G), or not charged (), as listed below by defendant, charge, and eventual outcome: Gustav was selected for indictment in error, instead of his son Alfried, who ran Krupp during most of the war. -. First, it rejected the contention that only a state, and not individuals, could be found guilty of war crimes; the tribunal held that crimes of international law are committed by men and that only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced. My father was also a guard, but he said he always was on the outside guarding. He was largely overlooked in prison, Prestianni said of von Papen. [64] The division of labor, and the haste with which the indictment was prepared, resulted in duplication, imprecise language, and lack of attribution of specific charges to individual defendants. I sure would like to find out more about his service. Text Size:thredup ambassador program how to dress more masculine for a woman. 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 [124] Paulus incriminated his former associates, pointing to Keitel, Jodl, and Gring as the defendants most responsible for the war. [115], From 17 January to 7 February 1946, France presented its charges and supporting evidence. But Woods, an almost charmingly hapless man with a checkered. Some, over time, even grew to despise him. After encountering a you tube video by accident I have a different answer. They even accused guards of watching them undress. There was a large clock on the wall that was above his right shoulder. End of the trial: Guardian report on the executions, 16 October 1946 Hermann Gring last night died by his own hand. Second, it rejected the argument that the trial and adjudication were ex post facto. Joachim von Ribbentrop's body after his execution. The defense lawyers saw themselves as acting on behalf of their clients, but also the German nation;[78] they prioritized the Wehrmacht's reputation over the lives of the generals on trial. In most respects, fraternization between guards and prisoners was closely monitored by those who set the policies for the prisoners confinement. The defendants included some of the most famous Nazis, including Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Wilhelm Keitel. Schirach, who had been replaced by Hitler as head of the youth movement in 1940 and drafted into Army service where he saw considerable combat on the Eastern Front, maintained his decorum and seldom responded to the teasing. [61], The problem of translating the indictment and evidence into the three official languages of the tribunal, as well as German, was severe due to the scale of the task and difficulty in recruiting interpreters, especially in the Soviet Union. Known as the Jew Baiter, even in the United States, he was rabidly anti-Semitic. Michael Prestianni served as a guard at Nuremberg as high-ranking Nazis stood trial for their lives. Did guards favor some prisoners over others? [134] The second film included footage of the liberation of Majdanek and the liberation of Auschwitz and was considered even more disturbing than the American concentration camp film. A huge crowd of soldiers stands at . Koch ordered skin emblazoned with tattoos to be stripped from the cadavers of prisoners and made into lampshades. The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. He still resides in Framingham after retiring from a 33-year career in supervisory positions with the U.S. He was released in 1966. [161][162], The International Military Tribunal agreed with the prosecution that aggression was the gravest charge against the accused, stating in its judgement that because war in general is evil, "To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. The duty roster for guards was revised daily in an attempt to prevent the development of unauthorized relationships with prisoners. 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. He was usually confrontational and argumentative with the other prisoners. The first, held by an international tribunal (American, British, French, and Russian), was the "War. [151], In order to appease concerns about fair process, the defendants were allowed a free hand with their witnesses and a great deal of irrelevant testimony was heard. We needled him by saying his girls wanted to abandon the Fatherland, marry Americans, and emigrate to the United States.. Some of these camps, such as Treblinka, were death camps, intended to kill every prisoner that passed through their gates. [126] Lev Smirnov presented evidence on the Lidice massacre in Czechoslovakia, adding that such destruction of villages had occurred throughout eastern Europe. Some smiled while others snarled at each other or harshly criticized other individuals. The International Military Tribunal set up by the . [232] On 11 December 1946, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution affirming "the principles of international law recognized by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the judgment of the Tribunal". Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany waged war across Europe, invading Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Low Countries, France, Denmark, Norway, Yugoslavia, Greece, and the Soviet Union, among others. Nuremberg was chosen as the location for the trials because of its symbolic value. I would like any information that would lead me to a more detailed understanding of what my father did while part of this undertaking. Unbelievable but true - an entire unit of former Waffen-SS Grenadiers were retrained and deployed by the Americans to help guard the Nuremberg Trials in 1946-49. [45] At Jackson's recommendation, the United States appointed judges Francis Biddle and John Parker. One was sentenced in absentia. These citations refer to documents at "The International Military Tribunal for Germany". Jodl, one of 10 prisoners hanged, was another who never admitted to any personal guilt. I had no idea of the magnitude of what they had done. Joined: Oct 14, 2007 Messages: 2,804 [77] Gring, the most famous surviving Nazi, headlined the trial. All of those with whom I came in contact spoke flawless English, he remembered. For the subsequent trials held by the United States, see, "International Military Tribunal" redirects here. Prestianni guarded Streicher many times. Many of the worst offenders were not prosecuted, for logistical or financial reasons. Generally, I would describe the food, as I recall, quite good, Prestianni remembers. [163] Contrary to the prosecution, the verdict dated the planning of aggression to the 1937 Hossbach Memorandum and not to the founding of the Nazi Party. ;"God protect Germany. my father david c bergeron was a 1st LT with the guards at the war trials. Posted September 22, 2014. Former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals for their conduct by the International Military Tribunal. After his release from prison in Nuremberg, a Stuttgart court sentenced him to eight years in a work camp. Prestianni, the guard contingent, and supervisors under the command of Colonel B.C. Twelve further trials were conducted by the United States against lower-level perpetrators, which focused more on the Holocaust. None outwardly felt they had done anything to warrant being in prison.. He often went for hours without speaking to anyone. The small letters, tav, shin, and zayin in the list of Haman's ten sons (Esther 9), with the combined numerical value of 707, are seen as a "prophetic" code hinting to the future hanging of the ten Nazis convicted at the Nuremberg trials in the year 5707, which Julius Streicher declared as "Purimfest 1946" before he was hanged. The authority of the International Military Tribunal to conduct these trials stemmed from the London Agreement of August 8, 1945. He, like the others, was always bumming cigarettes or cans of Prince Albert tobacco for his pipe. [10] The declaration also stated that those high-ranking Nazis who had committed crimes in several countries would be dealt with jointly. [14][15] The exact form that retribution would take was left unresolved at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Minister of Foreign Affairs 193238, succeeded by Ribbentrop. [172] All 22 defendants were charged with crimes against peace, and 12 were convicted. He was totally indifferent to the world around him and to world affairs. What was the name of that individual? [139] Some defendants denied their involvement in, or knowledge of, certain crimes,[140] even resorting to implausible lies. He rarely talked, but when he did his speech was rambling. [50][51] Because the Soviet Union expected a show trial, its appointees were familiar with this form. They just never admitted to it. . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Cell doors were never opened when food was distributed. Whether the prisoners availed themselves of this privilege was by individual choice. I inherited all of it. Before and during the war crimes trial, they were to be considered still innocent, Andrus drummed into the military personnel under his command. Courtroom 600 in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice was the site of the famous Nuremberg trials, a series of military tribunals that took place between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946. She was given the nickname "Bloody Brigette" by the camp . In this capacity, he was ultimately responsible for the use of slave laborers from the occupied territories in armaments production. For the Tokyo Trial, see, International Military Tribunal for the Far East, Charter of the International Military Tribunal, List of defendants at the International Military Tribunal, SS Main Economic and Administrative Office, mass expulsion of millions of Germans from central and eastern Europe, confrontation with the concentration camps, Journal of International Criminal Justice, "Notre combat pour la paix: la France et le procs de Nuremberg (1945-1946)", "Le procs de Nuremberg: retour sur soixante-dix ans de recherche", "German Participation in the Nuremberg Trials and Its Implications for Today", "Imperfect Justice at Nuremberg and Tokyo", Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Trials), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Special Panels of the Dili District Court, International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, List of major perpetrators of the Holocaust, Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuremberg_trials&oldid=1142633133, International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1946, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 14:39.

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