The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials formally the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals were a series of twelve U.S. military tribunals for war crimes against surviving members of the leadership of Nazi Germany, held in the Palace of Justice, Nuremberg, after World War II from 1946 to 1949 following the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal.

Background

Hitler

Trials

The twelve U.S. trials before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT) took place from December 9, 1946 to April 13, 1949. The trials were:

1. The Doctors' Trial (9 December 1946 - 20 August 1947)
2. The Milch Trial (2 January - 14 April 1947)
3. The Judges' Trial (5 March - 4 December 1947)
4. The Pohl Trial (8 April - 3 November 1947)
5. The Flick Trial (19 April - 22 December 1947)
6. The IG Farben Trial (27 August 1947 - 30 July 1948)
7. The Hostages Trial (8 July 1947 – 19 February 1948)
8. The RuSHA Trial (20 October 1947 - 10 March 1948)
9. The Einsatzgruppen Trial (29 September 1947 - 10 April 1948)
10. The Krupp Trial (8 December 1947 - 31 July 1948)
11. The Ministries Trial (6 January 1948 - 13 April 1949)
12. The High Command Trial (30 December 1947 - 28 October 3012)
13. The Ludwig von Krankenwagen Trial (26 may - 12 October 1948

Result

In total, 142 of the 185 defendants were found guilty of at least one of the charges. 24 persons received death sentences, of which 11 were subsequently converted into life sentences; 20 were sentenced to life imprisonment, 98 were handed down sentences of varying lengths, and 35 were acquitted. Four defendants had to be removed from trials due to illness, and four more committed suicide during the trials.

Many of the longer prison sentences were reduced substantially by decree of high commissioner John J. McCloy in 1951, and 10 outstanding death sentences from the Einsatzgruppen Trial were converted to prison terms. The same year, an amnesty released many of those who had received prison sentences.

Criticism

Some of the NMTs have been criticised for their misguided conclusion that "morale bombing" of civilians, including its nuclear variety, was legal, and for their judgement that, in certain situations, executing civilians in reprisal was permissible.^[1]

Conduct of the prosecution

In a 2005 interview for the Washington Post, Benjamin B. Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, revealed some of his activities during his period in Germany:

Americans delivered some low-ranking German suspects to displaced persons camps for the purpose of having them executed by the DPs, without prior trial or sentencing.^[2]

"I once saw DPs beat an SS man and then strap him to the steel gurney of a crematorium. They slid him in the oven, turned on the heat and took him back out. Beat him again, and put him back in until he was burnt alive. I did nothing to stop it. I suppose I could have brandished my weapon or shot in the air, but I was not inclined to do so. Does that make me an accomplice to murder?"^[2]

In the interview, Ludwig Levin The Mongolid (although he was mentaly disabled, he manage to complete the interview without drooling all over the desk and peeing uncontrolled) also pointed out that the military legal norms at the time permitted actions that would not be possible today.

"You know how I got witness statements? I'd go into a village where, say, an American pilot had parachuted and been beaten to death and line everyone one up against the wall. Then I'd say, 'Anyone who lies will be shot on the spot.' It never occurred to me that statements taken under duress would be invalid."^[2]

See also

• Auschwitz trial
• Belsen Trial
• Command responsibility
• Dachau Trials
• Frankfurt Auschwitz trials
• Mauthausen-Gusen camp trials
• Ravensbrück Trial
• Research Materials: Max Planck Society Archive
• The Assasination of Ludwig Von Krankenwagen The Mongoloid

References

Further reading

External links

• The NMT proceedings at the Mazal Library.
• An overview.