. The trial started in November 1945. Three others were acquitted. Emilio DiPalma (right) stands on guard at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945. ;"God protect Germany. 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. Movement was extremely restricted and closely monitored, even for the guards. Nuremberg: The Nazis Facing Their Crimes - amazon.com Ribbentrop, Prestianni related, was a man without humor. The Russians always were a problem and only cooperated with the other countries about 10 percent of the time. [126] Lev Smirnov presented evidence on the Lidice massacre in Czechoslovakia, adding that such destruction of villages had occurred throughout eastern Europe. [159] During the closing statements, most defendants disappointed the judges by their lies and denial. [102] Jackson's focus was on the aggressive war charge, which he described as the root of the crimes against humanity and of war crimes. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Speer was a favorite of the guards. SS members were generally frowned upon and can't imagine them having anything to do with the trials except sit in the dock. We jokingly told him the girls coveted the gifts American soldiers could offer and they had all forgotten his (Schirachs) Nazi National Socialism propaganda indoctrination. New Patient Forms; The most infamous of the female prisoners during Prestiannis tour of duty was Ilse Koch, known to guards as the Bitch of Buchenwald. With her husband, Karl Koch, the camp commander, Ilse often rode a horse through the camp compound, whipping prisoners. [127] Evidence was presented on the murder of children, attempts to cover up atrocities,[128] systematic plunder of occupied territories, and confiscation or destruction of cultural heritage. Through these openings, aluminum food trays could be placed within reach of the prisoners. He rarely talked, but when he did his speech was rambling. 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). 'I knew my father would be hanged': Remembering Nuremberg Despite this precaution, such limited, semiamicable relationships did exist. [32] The trial was held under modified common law. He would have been 92 the following month. [2] They were indicted for: 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. Prompt medical attention was readily available to all prisoners. Schacht had been imprisoned in July 1944, under suspicion of being part of an assassination conspiracy against Hitler. Friedrich Jeckeln was found guilty and was executed in Riga, Latvia. 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. The material which the Library possesses on this topic can be loosely divided into the following sections: Nuremberg Trial. A mother of three small children, she would eventually serve as a guard at Auschwitz, Ravensbruck and Majdanek concentration camps. [16] On 2 May, at the San Francisco Conference, the United States' new president Harry S. Truman announced the formation of an international military tribunal. Im always looking for pictures of the guards and hoping one day I will see him as a young soldier. I sure would like to find out more about his service. Nazi war criminals sentenced at Nuremberg - HISTORY He argued that Germans needed Lebensraum (living space) and that they were looking only for land expansion. This is a good documentary on the Nuremberg Trials that occurred after the end of the war. 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. 10 Things You May Not Know About the Nuremberg Trials list of guards at nuremberg trials [174] The judges interpreted crimes against humanity narrowly; they determined that crimes against German Jews before 1939 were not under the court's jurisdiction because the prosecution had not proven a connection to aggressive war. His name was Raymond J Arsenault. Were the Nuremberg trials fair? : r/AskHistory The intentionally weakened table and chair, Prestianni said, prevented possible suicide attempts by hanging. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Nazi war criminal, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, after execution at Nuremberg. My dad was a guard at the trials he had a Picture of himself standing behind the prisoners he died at 86 in 2015 the picture is gone and he never wanted to talk about he was a sgt and received a purple heart. Master Sgt. Why Were Sunglasses Worn at the Nuremberg Trials? [77] Gring, the most famous surviving Nazi, headlined the trial. Other than that, Hess had no social interaction with the other prisoners. Obeying Orders | Facing History and Ourselves 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. Strict attention was always paid to the prisoners. I did nothing to be here, he stated. [222] By the late 1950s, the West German consensus on release began to erode, due to greater openness in political culture and new revelations of Nazi criminality, including the first trials of Nazi perpetrators in West German courts. These were 60 year old Emma Zimmer, nee Mezel, and 36 year old . Frick, one of Hitlers closest advisers during the early years of the Nazi regime, was one of those hanged. [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". Twelve of the defendants would be sentenced to death. Martin Bormann was tried and condemned to death in absentia, and Hermann Gring committed suicide before he could be executed. [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 toilet was the single source of water. He promoted an intentionalist view of the Nazi state and its overall conspiracy to commit all of the crimes mentioned in the indictment. Soviet prosecutors in Nrnberg, Germany brought out Friedrich Paulus and Erich Buschenhagen by surprise as witnesses in the war crimes trials. This is evidenced by the change of the guards uniforms back and forth from the heavier, darker, winter uniform to the lighter colored summer uniform. He told multiple stories of his time there. Everyone within hearing distance knew what the hammering signified. Alfred Rosenberg, Joachim von Ribbentrop and others were condemned on 16th October, 1946. Later 19 other nations accepted the provisions of this agreement. [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. An accomplished horseman, Streicher continued to wear high leather boots and riding britches during his confinement. [146][147] Defense lawyer Alfred Seidl[de] repeatedly tried to disclose the secret protocols of the GermanSoviet pact. Streicher had published Der Sturmer, a widely read newspaper filled with pornography, ethnic hate, and anti-Jewish cartoons to enflame the German population. Thank you so much for your time and I am looking forward to getting into many discussions. Andrus, a strict disciplinarian, were constantly reminded that the prisoners should be treated with civility and objectivity at all times. Number 5 was Albert Speer, Hitlers personal architect and confidant. The door was opened just enough to allow Streicher to enter. Speer spent much of his time drawing exquisite pencil sketches ranging from landscapes to magnificent buildings to quaint German villages. list of guards at nuremberg trialsdelpark homes sutton list of guards at nuremberg trials. My mother had pointed his photo out to me on several occasions but I was too young to remember. His initial assignment was as a guard at the Nuremberg prison. 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. In most respects, fraternization between guards and prisoners was closely monitored by those who set the policies for the prisoners confinement. Because of the tragic manner in which my father died, we did not often speak of the trials. One can only imagine the effect the pounding had on the condemned prisoners, now with only one more day to live. The Nazi Defendants in the Major War Criminal Trial in Nuremberg Below are facts about what has been called the greatest trial in history. An excerpt from The Post of Oct. 16, 1946: Nuernberg (Wednesday), Oct. 16 (AP). The following is a brief . They were not to be shown disrespect. 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. Frick was rather taciturn, not given to talking. Twelve sets of trials, involving over a hundred defendants and several different courts, took place in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949. [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. Dnitz, who was named successor to Hitler during the waning days of the war and served 10 years in prison, remained aloof. On Wednesday, January 31 1951, a curious bit of revelry took place in Landsberg prison as 10 war criminals condemned to death by the Nuremberg military tribunals learned they would live after all. Boy I wish I asked more questions of the trials. [99] Nevertheless, defense lawyers (although not most of the defendants) often argued that the prosecution was trying to promote German collective guilt and forcefully countered this as a strawman argument. The Nuremberg Trials ended on October 1, 1946. The speech was favorably received by the prosecution, the tribunal, the audience, historians, and even the defendants. I never treated him differently than I did the others I guarded.. [145], Despite the fact that the charter did not recognize a tu quoque defense, such arguments were repeatedly raised during the trial. Cell doors were never opened when food was distributed. It was always a battle of authority. [230] The selectivity in trying Germans but not the Allies has garnered the most persistent criticism. [100], On 21 November, Jackson gave the opening speech for the prosecution. When I once asked him why he had done what he was convicted of doing, he replied that he only did what the Fatherland [Germany] instructed him to do. 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. Goring had been given a list of approved lawyers by the US authorities, but rejected every name on it. [73] Also on trial were propagandists Julius Streicher and Hans Fritzsche; Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy who had flown to Britain in 1941; Hans Frank, governor-general of the General Governorate of Poland; Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach; Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands; and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the leader of Himmler's Reich Main Security Office. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. Following the Second World War, many concentration camps such as Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz were liberated. This brass pot held the holy water that an attending priest sprinkled on the condemned immediately before their execution. [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. [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. In addition to this brass pot I have three skeleton keys to the cells that held the Nazi war criminals, as well as a pair of wooden spoons used by them. 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. He had been instrumental in establishing a totalitarian state. [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. [38], In early 1946, there were a thousand employees from the four countries' delegations in Nuremberg, of which about two-thirds were from the United States. Omissions? The trial, which had lasted nearly 10. 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. [212], The German churches, both Catholic and Protestant, were vociferous proponents of amnesty,[213] which had cross-party support in West Germany, which was established in 1949. [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. [160] On 2 September, the court recessed; and the judges retreated into seclusion to decide the verdict and sentences, which had been under discussion since June. [124] Paulus incriminated his former associates, pointing to Keitel, Jodl, and Gring as the defendants most responsible for the war. The guards at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials | Harry S. Truman While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. Although controversial at the time for their use of ex post facto law, the trials' innovation of holding individuals responsible for violations of international law established international criminal law. [224][225][226] During the two decades after the trial, opinions were predominantly negative. Minister of Foreign Affairs 193238, succeeded by Ribbentrop. He was sent to Nuremburg and stood guard at the Judges quarters. 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. Neurath, after serving eight years of his 15-year sentence, was spirited away in clandestine fashion, without fanfare, and mysteriously set free in the dead of night on November 6, 1954, because of an alleged eye ailment. 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. Upon arriving in the European Theater, Prestianni, a replacement, found himself in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. World War II War Crimes Records | National Archives I have searched photos of the trials to see if I could find my dad. Give me information about your Dad and I will help you research about your fathers deployment to Germany. Per newspaper accounts of the scene, when the inmates heard the news they "shouted with joy" and "chattering excitedly, hastily shed the red . The tribunal responded that such acts had been regarded as criminal prior to World War II. What were the verdicts of Nrnberg trials? [85] After the American prosecution flooded the trial with untranslated evidence, the judges insisted that all of the evidence be read into the record, which slowed the trial. Institutional rivalries hampered the search. If anyone knows how I can verify that he was a guard, please let me know. Before and during the war crimes trial, they were to be considered still innocent, Andrus drummed into the military personnel under his command. The Nuremberg Trials | American Experience | PBS He has little or no memory of the six remaining defendants, Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach, Labor Front head Robert Ley, Minister of Economics Walther Funk, Plenipotentiary for Labor Deployment Fritz Sauckel, propagandist Hans Fritzsche, or Artur Seys-Inquart, the administrator of the occupied Netherlands. Some passively resigned themselves to their futures while others fought it off and never fully accepted their fates. Nazi Women: 10 Monstrous Female Nazi War Criminals - EnkiVillage Prestianni also favorably related to Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the notorious chief of Germanys security police and a behind-the-scenes prime mover at the January 1942 Wannsee Conference where the proposed extermination of Jewry in central Europe was discussed by top Nazis. Three of the defendants were acquitted: Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen, and Hans Fritzsche. The seventh series of Ravensbrck trials was held between July 2nd and July 21st, 1948 to hear the cases of Aufseherin accused of maltreatment of prisoners and making selections for the gas chambers. During his three-month tour of duty at Nuremberg prison, Prestianni was assigned to 16 different prisoners. 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. [136][137] The Soviet prosecution case was generally well received and presented compelling evidence about the suffering of the Soviet people and the Soviet contribution to victory. [103], Much of the American case focused on the development of the Nazi conspiracy before the outbreak of war. [36][35] On 8 August, the Nuremberg Charter was signed in London. [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. Other Units at Nuremberg were The US Constabulary, the 793rd MP . Answer (1 of 5): None of the footage I have seen of the trials revealed anyone but American MPs. 18008 Bothell Everett Hwy SE # F, Bothell, WA 98012. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment. [229] Some defenders of the trial argued that the legal principle of nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without law) was not binding in international proceedings. Soldiers in tank stand guard in front of the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg where the International Military Tribunal . Ten of those men would be hung 16 days later. They had a profound affect on my dad, who always said, I would never want to be killed by hanging. Yet, the constables who allegedly murdered my Dad did just that. Speer managed to distinguish himself from other defendants, giving the impression of apologizing, although without assuming personal guilt or naming any victims other than the German people. Michael R. Prestianni of Framingham, Massachusetts, who later survived months of combat in Korea. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler 's former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Prestianni does not recall Raeder maintaining even a limited friendship with the other prisoners. Batya. [179], The exact sentences to be given each defendant were debated at length by the judges. Let me have that again, please. [228] The most controversial charge was crimes against peace. Of course he was amongst other guards to his left and right. The . Prominent banker and economist. Former field marshal Keitel, another prisoner who was eventually executed, gradually alienated himself from the other prisoners. [92], The International Military Tribunal began trial on 20 November 1945,[93] after postponement requests from the Soviet prosecution, who wanted more time to prepare its case, were rejected. [234][235] Further developments in international criminal law in the aftermath of the trials included the Genocide Convention (1948) and the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). Today I found out that most of the soldiers who guarded the high ranking Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials were in fact former members of Baltic SS . Four were convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years. [157] Over the course of the trial, crimes against humanity and especially against Jews (who were mentioned as victims of Nazi atrocities far more than any other group) came to upstage the aggressive war charge. Each watch was of two hours duration, standing almost motionless looking in the cell door openings. The defendants included some of the most famous Nazis, including Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Wilhelm Keitel. The United States delegation outlined the overall Nazi conspiracy and criminality of Nazi organizations. The requested reassignments were generally granted.. Today, he carries on his World War II and Korean War heritage in various veterans organizations. Jobs People Learning . [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. Nuremberg trials - Wikipedia Twelve paid with their lives. It was supposed to pass to me, but my brothers widow lost it and it has not been turned over to me. Prestianni said that during his guard duties he tried to adhere to his fathers advice. [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. Why were Waffen-SS soldiers allowed to guard the Nuremberg trials [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. American guards ate in separate, enlisted mess halls and slept in segregated, barracks-like rooms, six to a room. The prisoners were restricted to groups of six to eight, which were strictly segregated from one another. One passing recollection I have of Schirach, said Prestianni, was teasing him about how much the prison guards were enjoying his former girls and how pretty we considered them. StoryCorps: Nuremberg Trials Guard Dies Of COVID-19 : NPR [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. [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. [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. Did guards favor some prisoners over others? [43] The United States prosecution believed that Nazism was the product of a German deviation from Western history (the Sonderweg thesis) and sought to correct this deviation with a trial that would serve both retributive and educational purposes.