The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)
The Nuremberg Trials, also known as “The Major War Criminals’ Trials” began six
and a half months after Germany surrendered on October 20, 1945 and lasted until October 1, 1946. The Nuremberg Trials tried some of the main German officers involved in the Holocaust.
Twenty four Nazi officials were originally put on trial, but only twenty one appeared in court. The three that did not appear in court were Gustav Krupp, Martian Bormann, and Robert Ley. Gustav Krupp was a German industrialist who was elderly and poor of health so he was excused from the trial. Martian Bormann was not at the trial but was tried and convicted by absentee. Robert Ley, unwilling to pursue his unhopeful future, committed suicide on the night before the trial .
Having committed suicide before the end of the war, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels, were never put on trial.
The Nuremberg Trials were held by the United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. Each country contributed a judge and a prosecution team. The head judge of this trial was Lord Geoffrey Lawrence from Britain. Because of the different countries working together to administrate the trials, a team of translators converted the trial into the English, French, German and Russian languages. Robert Jackson, chief American prosecutor, used mainly documents written by the Nazis for the basis of his argument. He used very little first hand accounts so he could not be accused of changing testimonies to fit his bias. The documents brought before the Nuremberg court told about: “Auschwitz death machinery, the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, and the estimate of 6 million Jewish victims” ("International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg").
The four judges released the charges on October 1, 1946. The charges included the following: conspiracy to commit crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. Three of the four judges had to be united in the decision in order to convict the accused.
Out of the 21 officers that were put on trial 18 were given serious punishments. The convictions are as follows: Twelve were sentenced to death. Eleven of them were hung and then cremated in Dachau, and their ashes were dropped over the Isar River. This includes Joachim Von Ribbentrop, Hans Frank, Alfred Rosenberg, and Julius Streicher. Hermann Göering was Hitler’s designated successor. He was also the head of the “Luftwaffe” better known as the German Air Force. Göering was sentenced to death along with the others but escaped his hanging by committing his own suicide on the eve of his execution with a “cyanide capsule he had hidden in a jar of skin medication”(History.com Staff). The court sentenced three of the remaining defendants to life imprisonment. Four of the accused officers were given sentences lasting from 10-20 years. Out of the 21 officers put on trial only 3 were set free without punishment.
and a half months after Germany surrendered on October 20, 1945 and lasted until October 1, 1946. The Nuremberg Trials tried some of the main German officers involved in the Holocaust.
Twenty four Nazi officials were originally put on trial, but only twenty one appeared in court. The three that did not appear in court were Gustav Krupp, Martian Bormann, and Robert Ley. Gustav Krupp was a German industrialist who was elderly and poor of health so he was excused from the trial. Martian Bormann was not at the trial but was tried and convicted by absentee. Robert Ley, unwilling to pursue his unhopeful future, committed suicide on the night before the trial .
Having committed suicide before the end of the war, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels, were never put on trial.
The Nuremberg Trials were held by the United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. Each country contributed a judge and a prosecution team. The head judge of this trial was Lord Geoffrey Lawrence from Britain. Because of the different countries working together to administrate the trials, a team of translators converted the trial into the English, French, German and Russian languages. Robert Jackson, chief American prosecutor, used mainly documents written by the Nazis for the basis of his argument. He used very little first hand accounts so he could not be accused of changing testimonies to fit his bias. The documents brought before the Nuremberg court told about: “Auschwitz death machinery, the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, and the estimate of 6 million Jewish victims” ("International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg").
The four judges released the charges on October 1, 1946. The charges included the following: conspiracy to commit crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. Three of the four judges had to be united in the decision in order to convict the accused.
Out of the 21 officers that were put on trial 18 were given serious punishments. The convictions are as follows: Twelve were sentenced to death. Eleven of them were hung and then cremated in Dachau, and their ashes were dropped over the Isar River. This includes Joachim Von Ribbentrop, Hans Frank, Alfred Rosenberg, and Julius Streicher. Hermann Göering was Hitler’s designated successor. He was also the head of the “Luftwaffe” better known as the German Air Force. Göering was sentenced to death along with the others but escaped his hanging by committing his own suicide on the eve of his execution with a “cyanide capsule he had hidden in a jar of skin medication”(History.com Staff). The court sentenced three of the remaining defendants to life imprisonment. Four of the accused officers were given sentences lasting from 10-20 years. Out of the 21 officers put on trial only 3 were set free without punishment.
The former leaders of Hitler's Third Reich on trial in Nuremberg, Germany. Front Row Left to
Right: Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner,
Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walther Funk, Hjalmar Schacht.
Back Row Left to Right: Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl,
Franz von Papen, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Albert Speer, Konstantin von Neurath, Hans Fritzsche.
Right: Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner,
Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walther Funk, Hjalmar Schacht.
Back Row Left to Right: Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl,
Franz von Papen, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Albert Speer, Konstantin von Neurath, Hans Fritzsche.