Nuremberg Trials

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        October 2nd 1946 

The Nuremberg trial proceedings have finally come to an end yesterday, almost one year after the beginning of the lawsuit.

Divided in three different phases, the proceedings started on the 20^th of November 1945.

During the first part of the trial the prosecutors presented several documents to prove the Nazi conspiracy, the acquiring of totalitarian control in Germany, the foreign aggression (despite the decisions made with the Treaty of Versailles ), war crimes and crimes against humanity (among them, deportation for slave labor and for other purposes of the civilian populations of and in occupied territories, killing of hostages), crimes against peace.

The second part of the proceedings started on the 13^th of March, with the testimony of Herman Goering, one of the most important Defendant since he is considered to be the second most relevant personality of the Third Reich, after Adolf Hitler and together with Josef Goebbels.

                         

Herman Goering   

Josef Goebbels

                                                                                                       

The testimonies of all the Defendants (except for Rudolf Hess, who refused to testify) ended on the 28^th of June, with the deposition of Hans Fritzsche.

All the defendants claimed they were not to be held responsible for all the 
crimes listed above because they were just executing general orders and that the only responsible was in fact Adolf Hitler. They maintained the absolute not guilty of the Army, but this claim has not been accepted from the prosecutors.

Hans Fritzsche  in Nuremberg

                       

Rudolf Hess

                                                         

The third phase of the trial was that of the closing speech for the prosecution. Really impressive was the prosecutor Jackson’s address by counsel, whose last sentence was “if you were to say of these men that they are not guilty, it would be as true to say that there has been no war, there are no slain, there has been no crime”.

Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson

   

Finally, yesterday at 2.50 pm the pronunciation of the sentences:

Defendant Hermann Wilhelm Goering:  death by hanging.

Defendant Rudolf Hess:  imprisonment for life.

Defendant Joachim von Ribbentrop: death by hanging.

Defendant Wilhelm Keitel:  death by hanging.

Defendant Ernst Kaltenbrunner:  death by hanging.

Defendant Alfred Rosenberg: death by hanging.

Defendant Hans Frank:  death by hanging.

Defendant Wilhelm Frick:  death by hanging.

Defendant Julius Streicher: death by hanging.

Defendant Walther Funk: imprisonment for life

Defendant Karl Doenitz: ten years imprisonment.

Defendant Erich Raeder: imprisonment for life.

Defendant Baldur von Schirach: twenty years imprisonment.

Defendant Fritz Sauckel:  death by hanging.

Defendant Alfred Jodl: death by hanging.

Defendant Arthur Seyss-Inquart: death by hanging.

Defendant Albert Speer: twenty years imprisonment.

Defendant Konstantin von Neurath:  fifteen years imprisonment.

Defendant Martin Bormann: death by hanging.

Defendants Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen and Hans Fritzsche: acquittal.

It is important to underline that that the Soviet member of theTribunal dissented from the decisions in the cases of the Defendants Schacht, von Papen and Fritsche. He believes they were to be convicted and not aquitted. He also dissented from the decision in the case of the Defendant Hess (he wanted for him a death sentence) and from the decisions in respect of the Reichs Cabinet, the General Staff and High Command: in his opinion, they were to be declared to be criminal organization.

Left to right: Alexander Volchkov, Iona Nikitchenko (Soviet judges), Norman Birkett (British judge)

Justice is finally made. But, is this real justice? Is it correct that we only proceed against the Nazi criminals, or should we proceed against all those who committed atrocities during the war, even if they are among the winners of this war? This sentences will be long discussed.

We went out in the city to ask some German what they think about this sentences. Do they agree with the decisions of the Court? Are they in favor of the Tribunal? Do they think that justice is made?

Well, we really wanted to ask all this questions but no one accepted to talk to us, even to listen to us. They all seemed too busy, or too afraid, to stop. Why? As we noticed in the past few months, German people are not too willing to speak of World War II, Nazi crimes and human rights violation. Are they trying to forget? Is it too hard for them to analyze this situation?

Maybe in the future, when the attention will not be on Germany any longer, they will help us understand how they feel. But for now, they want to be left alone.