The Nuernberg War Crimes trials, also spelled “Nuremberg” trials (Die Nuernberger Prozesse), were a series of 13 trials held in the city of Nuernberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1948. The most publicized of the proceedings was the trial of 24 major German war criminals between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946. Trials were held at the Palace of Justice in Nuernberg (Nuernberger Justizpalast).

The remaining 12 trials, involving 489 cases and 1,672 defendants, took place between 9 December 1946 and 28 October 1948. On trial were Nazi judges, racial cleansing and resettlement officials, industrialists, high-ranking military officials and Nazi physicians who had euthanized persons with mental or physical disabilities. A total of 1,416 of those tried were found guilty, sent to life in prison or were executed.

Nuernberg War Crimes Military Tribunal

The London Agreement of 8 August 1945 authorized creation of an International Military Tribunal with representatives from the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Later, the provisional government of France also signed the agreement, and 19 other nations accepted its provisions. The tribunal consisted of one member plus an alternate from each of the four signatory countries, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Sentences were imposed by the tribunal rather than a single judge and jury. The accused were tried on four counts: (1) crimes against peace, (2) crimes against humanity, (3) war crimes, and (4) conspiracy to commit the criminal acts listed in the first three counts.

Nuernberg War Crimes Trials 1945 to 1948. Photo courtesy of en.wikipedia.org. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Sentencing of Major War Criminals

Twenty-four former Nazi leaders were charged with perpetration of war crimes, and various groups were charged with being criminal in character. The International Military Tribunal found all but three of the 24 defendants guilty. Twelve were sentenced to death (Martin Bormann, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Goering, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicher). Of those 12, Hermann Goering, Hitler’s designated successor and head of the “Luftwaffe,” had committed suicide the night before his execution, and Martin Borman was sentenced in absentia. Bormann is thought to have been killed while trying to flee Berlin. The remaining 10 war criminals were executed by hanging on 16 October 1946.

Three others were sentenced to life in prison (Walther Funk, Rudolf Hess, Erich Raeder), four were given prison sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years (Karl Doenitz, Baron Konstantin von Neurath, Baldur von Schirach, Albert Speer http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/speer-hitlers-chief-architect-principled-or-pragmatic/) and five were acquitted or declared unfit for trial (Hans Fritzsche, Franz von Papen, Hjalmar Schlacht, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen, Robert Ley).

Subsequent Nuernberg War Crimes Trials

The 12 additional trials which followed differed from the first trial in that they were conducted before a U.S. Military Tribunal rather than an International Tribunal. The reason for the change was that growing differences among the four Allied powers had made other joint trials impossible. These subsequent Nuernberg Proceedings were also held at the Palace of Justice in Nuernberg.

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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.