list of guards at nuremberg trials

list of guards at nuremberg trials

18008 Bothell Everett Hwy SE # F, Bothell, WA 98012. The tribunal consisted of a member plus an alternate selected by each of the four signatory countries. He is in several pictures standing at Hans Franks left. 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. On that date, representatives from the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the provisional government of France signed an agreement that included a charter for an international military tribunal to conduct trials of major Axis war criminals whose offenses had no particular geographic location. A huge crowd of soldiers stands at . Seven defendants (Hess, Funk, Raeder, Dnitz, Schirach, Speer, and Neurath) were sent to Spandau Prison to serve their sentences. [87] Over the course of the trial, Western judges allowed the defendants additional leeway to denounce the Soviet Union, which was ultimately revealed to be a co-conspirator in the outbreak of World War II. These once powerful leaders of Nazi Germany were the accused of the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal. Did guards favor some prisoners over others? 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. Besides Speer, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner, and Jodl, Prestianni also guarded Luftwaffe Reichsmarshal Hermann Gring, Grand Admiral Dnitz, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Reich financier Hjalmar Schacht, Governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Konstantin von Neurath, Nazi philosopher Alfred Rosenberg, virulent anti-Semite Julius Streicher, diplomat Franz von Papen, Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick, Grand Admiral Raeder, Hess, and Hans Frank, the governor general of occupied Poland. Read about WWII here. Bragging of his ability to mass murder millions of Jews, Frank never admitted to his brutal inhumanity during the war crimes trial but was sentenced nonetheless to hang. His daily diary notes culminated in a book after his release. [143] Although a few defense lawyers inverted the arguments of the prosecution to assert that the Germans' authoritarian mindset and obedience to the state exonerated them from any personal guilt, most rejected such arguments. 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. Many of the prisoners never accepted the fact that they were no longer on top of the world. Schacht had been imprisoned in July 1944, under suspicion of being part of an assassination conspiracy against Hitler. The International Military Tribunal set up by the . They were put under guard at a hotel and taken to court with armed MPs to trial each day. [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. [80][81] The aim was to have these organizations declared criminal, so that their members could be tried expeditiously for membership in a criminal organization. One can only imagine the effect the pounding had on the condemned prisoners, now with only one more day to live. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27 million deaths in the Soviet Union alone. [183][184] The judges proved their independence from the governments that appointed them, the defendants were seen as receiving due process, and the evidence of guilt amassed by the prosecution was overwhelming. 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. 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 [26], The final version of the charter only gave the court the ability to punish those crimes against humanity that had been committed "in connection with any crimes within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal". He was made an MP after the war William A Shoemaker from North Carolina. Without fanfare or advance warning, on July 18, 1947, the remaining prisoners at Nuremberg were told to assemble their meager belongings. To move from one corridor to another, guards carried different colored passes. Koch was later tried at Buchenwald and sentenced to life imprisonment. At the time, it was just a job we were told to do. Guards, for the most part, were not allowed to talk to each other or to prisoners while on security duty. Jobs People Learning . American guards ate in separate, enlisted mess halls and slept in segregated, barracks-like rooms, six to a room. The night Gring pulled that off on October 16, 1946, now that was quite a night, he recalled. My father was a guard in the courtroom (Palace of Justice) at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. [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. When asked how the individual personalities, habits, and mannerisms differed, Prestianni responded that they were varied. Speer was a favorite of the guards. [41][42], The United States' chief prosecutor was Supreme Court justice Robert H. Michael Prestianni served as a guard at Nuremberg as high-ranking Nazis stood trial for their lives. Streicher had published Der Sturmer, a widely read newspaper filled with pornography, ethnic hate, and anti-Jewish cartoons to enflame the German population. We used to argue democracy versus dictatorship, the free versus the suppressed. He served in that capacity for three months, bringing him in daily contact with 16 of the 22 accused war criminals. Where they lived. Thank you so much for your time and I am looking forward to getting into many discussions. He was not tall at all and didnt really stand out in any way from the others, Prestianni said. --. The trial started in November 1945. All I can recall is that he was standing to the left in the court room. The prisons concrete walls, most of which were more than three feet thick, encased the solitary cell window that offered the prisoners no view of the outside world. [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. They [the prisoners] were to always be considered innocent until proven guilty. This brass pot held the holy water that an attending priest sprinkled on the condemned immediately before their execution. List of defendants at the International Military Tribunal, William L. Shierer "The Rise and Fall of the third reich", Nuremberg-chapter of part IV. [60] Conspiracy charges were especially central to the cases against propagandists and industrialists; the former were charged with providing the ideological justification for war and other crimes, while the latter were accused of economic mobilization without which no war would have been possible. [235] In the 1990s, a revival of international criminal law included the establishment of ad hoc international criminal tribunals for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), which were widely seen as part of the legacy of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. [172] All 22 defendants were charged with crimes against peace, and 12 were convicted. [58], The charge of conspiracy was spearheaded by the United States prosecution and was less popular with the other Allies. Hello everybody, this morning ended an auction on ebay of a Nuremberg Trials Guard uniform and I would hear your thoughts about the patch - especially of the scale on the patch because the right bowl has three strings and the left one has two strings.The Nuremberg Trial patches were German made ( Bullions) and all of . 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. [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. Between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 21 of the most important surviving leaders of Nazi Germany in the political, military, and economic spheres, as well as six German organizations. Verdicts were handed down on October 1, 1946. Hitler's friend, favorite architect, and Minister of Armaments from 1942 until the end of the war. Front row, from left to right: Hermann Gring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walther Funk, Hjalmar Schacht. I tried to treat each prisoner without rancor.. The tribunal responded that such acts had been regarded as criminal prior to World War II. My father, Jack J. [6] The Soviet Union wanted to hold a show trial similar to the 1930s Moscow trials, in order to demonstrate the Nazi leaders' guilt and build a case for war reparations to rebuild the Soviet economy, which had been devastated by the war. But, he gave us no problem and I found him engaging to talk to and an excellent checkers player.. My father was also a guard, but he said he always was on the outside guarding. Cell doors were never opened when food was distributed. [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. 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. Neurath, Konstantin von. All the prisoners smoked pipes, and they all tried to wheedle cigarettes from us.. The first of the trials was the Major War Crimes Trial, in . His name was Raymond J Arsenault. On October 1, 1946, the International Military Tribunal handed down its verdicts in the trials of 22 Nazi leaders - eleven were given the death penalty, three were acquitted, three were given life imprisonment and four were given imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years. BAY CITY . 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. 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. In this capacity, he was ultimately responsible for the use of slave laborers from the occupied territories in armaments production. 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. Number 5 was Albert Speer, Hitlers personal architect and confidant. [124] Paulus incriminated his former associates, pointing to Keitel, Jodl, and Gring as the defendants most responsible for the war. 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. Still others displayed docile and taciturn mannerisms and personalities. The Nuremberg prison was a Bastille-like affair. Seven others, over time, were reduced by lengthy prison sentences to hollow, shuffling shadows of their former selves. The International Military Tribunal (IMT) delivered its judgment against the Nazi leaders on September 30 and October 1, 1946. Prestiannis assignment was over, and he was transferred to guard duty at a POW compound at Bamberg, Germany. For the subsequent trials held by the United States, see, "International Military Tribunal" redirects here. Had been imprisoned since then. By special arrangement with a guard or prison official, he gave his handwritten notes to be mimeographed and returned to him. Before and during the war crimes trial, they were to be considered still innocent, Andrus drummed into the military personnel under his command. The . This page was last edited on 8 October 2022, at 21:33. Gifts, usually clothing, soap, tobacco, and family photos, could be given to prisoners after inspection by a guard. While he was held at Nuremberg, he portrayed himself in a quiet, unassuming demeanor. He was totally indifferent to the world around him and to world affairs. [206], Many Germans at the time of the trials focused on finding food and shelter; few followed the trial closely. [146][148] Six defendants were charged with the German invasion of Norway, and their lawyers argued that this invasion was undertaken to prevent a British invasion; a cover-up prevented the defense from capitalizing on this argument. The trial, which had lasted nearly 10. He recently passed in January of 2020 at the age of 91. [19], The Nuremberg Charter upended the traditional view of international law by holding individuals, rather than states, responsible for breaches of international law. [189], One set of trials focused on the actions of German professionals: the Doctors' trial focused on human experimentation and euthanasia murders, the Judges' trial on the role of the judiciary in Nazi crimes, and the Ministries trial on the culpability of bureaucrats of German government ministries, especially the Foreign Office. [146] The Nuremberg Laws were compared to discriminatory laws in the United States. [179], The exact sentences to be given each defendant were debated at length by the judges. Proposals for how to punish the defeated Nazi leaders ranged from a show trial (the Soviet Union) to summary executions (the United Kingdom). my father david c bergeron was a 1st LT with the guards at the war trials. Today, he carries on his World War II and Korean War heritage in various veterans organizations. My Dad was murdered, hanged, when I was 5 years old in 1965. Those men who liberated the camps of the Holocau. [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. I never heard him speak, Prestianni remembered. Goring had been given a list of approved lawyers by the US authorities, but rejected every name on it. 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. [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". He maintained an air of superiority toward Dnitz, considering him still a subordinate officer. While on duty, guards carried no weapons, only wooden truncheons. [130] The defense presented evidence of Soviet responsibility,[131] and Katyn was not mentioned in the verdict. Home; Services; New Patient Center. 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. [155] In the context of the brewing Cold War, the trial became a means of condemning not only Germany but also the Soviet Union. Courtesy Emily Aho Around Memorial Day of 2000, Emily Aho took her then 75-year-old father, Emilio "Leo". Speer spent much of his time drawing exquisite pencil sketches ranging from landscapes to magnificent buildings to quaint German villages. [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.

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