PROCEEDINGS
The privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility. The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated.
So spoke Justice Robert H Jackson one day after the trials had begun. The American prosecutor would go on for another two hours, delivering an eloquent speech that would begin one of the 19th century's most famous cases. It is this same day, 21 November 1945, that all 23 defendants would enter a not guilty plea.
After the opening statement and the entering of the pleas, the prosecution opened their case against the defendants, as well as the Nazi organization as a whole. The Chief Prosecutors, each representing the four main powers after the end of the Second World War, worked to assert the Nazi regime and all affiliated organizations were criminal; that is, the Nazi Party was a criminal conspiracy.
Among the accused criminal organizations included: the Reich Cabinet, the political facet of the Nazi Party; Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party; the Schutzstaffel, or the SS and the Sicherheitsdienst, or the intelligence branch of the SS; the Secret State Police, or the Gestapo; the Sturmabteilung, or the Nazi state police before the Night of the Long Knives; and the Staff of the High Command of the German Armed Forces, or the Wehrmacht.
Among the accused criminal organizations included: the Reich Cabinet, the political facet of the Nazi Party; Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party; the Schutzstaffel, or the SS and the Sicherheitsdienst, or the intelligence branch of the SS; the Secret State Police, or the Gestapo; the Sturmabteilung, or the Nazi state police before the Night of the Long Knives; and the Staff of the High Command of the German Armed Forces, or the Wehrmacht.
Initially, starting from the 29th of November, the court proceeded to display images and videos of concentration camps and other Nazi atrocities. For example, the 13th of December saw the US prosecutor Todd produce Exhibit #253, various leathered furniture of a Nazi commander's wife, Ilse Koch. What made this particularly peculiar was that it was tanned human skin.
By the 8th of January 1946, the prosecution finished their case against the criminality of these organizations. Now, they start to prove the guiltiness of the defendants. Throughout these proceedings, various witnesses have testified; however, one of the most striking was the French prosecution's Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couterier.
A French rebel against the German state of France, Vaillant-Couterier had been sent to Auschwitz, where she spent three years ; she was summoned to testify about what occurred in Auschwitz. Notably, she had witnessed the gassing of internees, and the subsequent disposal. On 28 January 1946, she testified among other atrocities,
A French rebel against the German state of France, Vaillant-Couterier had been sent to Auschwitz, where she spent three years ; she was summoned to testify about what occurred in Auschwitz. Notably, she had witnessed the gassing of internees, and the subsequent disposal. On 28 January 1946, she testified among other atrocities,
One night we were awakened by terrifying cries. And we discovered, on the following day, from the men working in the Sonderkommando - the 'Gas Kommando' - that on the preceding day, the gas supply having run out, they had thrown the children into the furnaces alive.
On February 18, a 45 minute film was shown, called Documentary Evidence of the German Fascist Invaders. Presented by the Soviet Prosecution, it detailed Nazi atrocities, with accompanied narration; what is most ironic about this film is that it was partially composed of Nazi film, collected by Soviet troops.
On March 6, the prosecution rested.
On 13 March 1946, Göring takes the witness stand, and the defense begins. His testimony was blunt; he was not unrepentant, nor did he leave any question unanswered. Five days later, prosecutor Jackson began his cross-examination of Göring. At first, Jackson's questions just reinforced Göring's previous testimony, including his reluctance to invade the Soviet Union at that time. However, on 21 March, the third day of cross-examination, Jackson asked whether he had said the following shortly before Kristallnacht:
"I demand that German Jewry as a whole shall, as a punishment for the abominable crimes, et cetera, make a contribution of RM1 billion. That will work. The pigs will not commit a second murder so quickly. Incidentally, I would like to say again that I would not like to be a Jew in Germany,"
to which Göring admitted to saying. From then on, the public wasn't too impressed by Göring's conductance during the war.
"I demand that German Jewry as a whole shall, as a punishment for the abominable crimes, et cetera, make a contribution of RM1 billion. That will work. The pigs will not commit a second murder so quickly. Incidentally, I would like to say again that I would not like to be a Jew in Germany,"
to which Göring admitted to saying. From then on, the public wasn't too impressed by Göring's conductance during the war.
By the 4th of July 1946, all the defendants that wanted to testify had done so. The defense begun their summation of their arguments, starting with the criminality with Nazi groups. Eventually, on 31 August 1946, the defendants return to the stand to given their final statements. On 2 September, the judges meet the discuss the verdicts of the defendants.
Nearly a month later, on the 1st of October, the trial reconvenes to issue the verdict to the defendants.