The . During his service in Korea, Prestianni was wounded twice and decorated for valor numerous times. No favoritism was shown nor was a selection offered. [82], Over the summer, all of the national delegations struggled to gather evidence for the upcoming trial. What were the verdicts of Nrnberg trials? [9] The prosecutors attempted to substitute his son in the indictment, but the judges rejected this due to proximity to trial. [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. [171] Only eight defendants were convicted on that charge; all of whom were also found guilty of crimes against peace. 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. 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. Nuremberg Guards | WWII Forums They were individually handcuffed to guards, driven by ambulance to a nearby airfield, and flown to Berlin, where they were processed at Spandau Prison. Updated on January 22, 2020. [207][208] In a 1946 poll, 78 percent of Germans assessed the trial as fair, but four years later that had fallen to 38 percent, with 30 percent considering it unfair. Second, it rejected the argument that the trial and adjudication were ex post facto. 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. I look forward to hearing from him. It was always a battle of authority. There were limits to how much gore that could be tolerated by some of the courtroom guards, he recalled. Uncover the topics related to the Nuremberg trials. One of the new USA light tanks (M24) on guard outside the courthouse at Nuremberg. They merely brushed the guilt away with self-serving claims that they were following orders from superiors or perhaps even from Hitler himself in an atmosphere where failure to do so often meant banishment to a concentration camp, Gestapo torture, or even a summary execution. Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany Movement was extremely restricted and closely monitored, even for the guards. These were 60 year old Emma Zimmer, nee Mezel, and 36 year old . --. I tried to treat each prisoner without rancor.. [46], The French prosecutor, Franois de Menthon, had just overseen trials of the leaders of Vichy France;[37] he resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Auguste Champetier de Ribes. His initial assignment was as a guard at the Nuremberg prison. The whole focus was on keeping the prisoners under surveillance through the opening in the cell doors, Prestianni said. [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. He served in that capacity for three months, bringing him in daily contact with 16 of the 22 accused war criminals. He often went for hours without speaking to anyone. [169][170] The judges did not agree that the conspiracy extended to anyone who participated in the affairs of the Nazi government, only taking being present at the high-level meetings discussing war plans in 1937 and 1939 as evidence of belonging to the conspiracy. It was a very old, ancient, almost primitive prison, Prestianni recalls. Below are facts about what has been called the greatest trial in history. I wish I would have ask more questions about his experience there. 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. US guard tells how Nazi girlfriend duped him into helping Goering evade [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. 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. In 2019, Bruno Day, who served as a SS camp guard at the Stutthof Concentration Camp, was brought to trial accused of contributing to the murder of 5230 people at the camp. Keitel was one of ten defendants hanged in the Palace of Justice in the early morning hours of October 16, 1946. Many were resistance fighters or political opponents. He just celebrated his 93 birthday, and is smart and caring as he has always been. There was also a picture of him guarding Hitler. He looked like a gaunt corpse, like a ghost. Number 3 was Konstantin von Neurath, a former high-ranking politician. Nazi war criminals sentenced at Nuremberg - HISTORY Because of his moral corruption, the other prisoners shunned him. 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. He guarded top Nazis at Nuremberg trials; now he'll share his The first of the trials was the Major War Crimes Trial, in which 22 high-ranking Nazis stood trial in the Palace of Justice. She kept a scrapbook which had photos of her group and many signatures of court officials and army officers commending them for their service. After trial, incarcerated at. 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. Courtesy Emily Aho Around Memorial Day of 2000, Emily Aho took her then 75-year-old father, Emilio "Leo". World War II vet who stood guard at Nuremberg trials dies during COVID The photograph shows some of the security measures taken at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He was the first of 10 hanged on October 16, 1946. I only patrolled there once. Corrections? [47] Although the chief British judge, Sir Geoffrey Lawrence (Lord Justice of Appeal), was the nominal president of the tribunal, in practice Biddle exercised more authority. Nuremberg Trials Quotes (7 quotes) - Goodreads 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. 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. [230] The selectivity in trying Germans but not the Allies has garnered the most persistent criticism. 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. [224][225][226] During the two decades after the trial, opinions were predominantly negative. None outwardly felt they had done anything to warrant being in prison.. Waffen-SS Soldiers Guarded the Nuremberg Trials Mark Felton Productions 1.82M subscribers Subscribe 81K 4.3M views 2 years ago Unbelievable but true - an entire unit of former Waffen-SS. [210] As the Cold War began, the rapidly changing political environment began to affect the effectiveness of the trials. [186] These trials were held under Law No. The material which the Library possesses on this topic can be loosely divided into the following sections: Nuremberg Trial. [19], The Nuremberg Charter upended the traditional view of international law by holding individuals, rather than states, responsible for breaches of international law. [101] He described the fact that the defeated Nazis received a trial as "one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason". Everyone within hearing distance knew what the hammering signified. [228] The most controversial charge was crimes against peace. [89] Because of the loose evidentiary rules, photographs, charts, maps, and films played an important role in making incredible crimes believable. The Palace of Justice was relatively intact but needed to be renovated for the trial due to bomb damage; it had an attached prison where the defendants could be held. Gring was the acknowledged leader among the prisoners. [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. By special arrangement with a guard or prison official, he gave his handwritten notes to be mimeographed and returned to him. It was supposed to pass to me, but my brothers widow lost it and it has not been turned over to me. Alfred Rosenberg was considered by Hitler the philosopher of National Socialism. [205] Where the prosecution was disappointed by some of the verdicts, the defense could take satisfaction. [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. I had a chance to meet Mr. Christian Delage at a workshop on the . Surviving members of the company marked the 56th anniversary of its founding , which took place, according to Toronto's Tommy Tomson, on December 26, 1946. Prestianni does not recall Raeder maintaining even a limited friendship with the other prisoners. 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. [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. [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. [62] Vyshinsky demanded extensive corrections to the crimes-against-peace charges, especially regarding the role of the GermanSoviet pact in starting World War II. [214] By then, the Americans were hoping to use the offer of pardon to convicted war criminals in order to bind West Germany to the Western Bloc. [139] Some defendants denied their involvement in, or knowledge of, certain crimes,[140] even resorting to implausible lies. Prestianni said that during his guard duties he tried to adhere to his fathers advice. [123] The next week, the Soviet prosecution suddenly produced former field marshal Friedrich von Paulus, captured after the Battle of Stalingrad, as a witness and questioned him about the preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Some, over time, even grew to despise him. Number 4 was assigned to Erich Raeder, the Navys former grand admiral before being replaced by Dnitz. He was made an MP after the war William A Shoemaker from North Carolina. His daily diary notes culminated in a book after his release. Whenever these female prisoners, most of whom were former concentration camp guards, created a problem, we merely, as instructed, called the sergeant-of-the-guard to resolve the situation. [40] Each state appointed a prosecution team and two judges, one being an alternate. His name was David C. Porter from Pennsylvania. [146] The Nuremberg Laws were compared to discriminatory laws in the United States. Immediately following the end of the IMT, the American military government held twelve more war crimes trials in Nuremberg. 18008 Bothell Everett Hwy SE # F, Bothell, WA 98012. My Dad was a guard at the Nuremberg trials. list of guards at nuremberg trials [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. 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. 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.