The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, 1945-46
A Documentary HistorySecond Edition ©2018
Between November 1945 and October 1946, 22 high-ranking Nazi officials defended themselves before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. The new edition of this volume reproduces significant sections of the Nuremberg trial record, with a new introduction that outlines the background to...
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Between November 1945 and October 1946, 22 high-ranking Nazi officials defended themselves before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. The new edition of this volume reproduces significant sections of the Nuremberg trial record, with a new introduction that outlines the background to the proceedings, traces the preparations made by the principle actors in the courtroom, and considers how the prosecution, defense, and the tribunal dealt with the counts against the accused. New documents include material on the preparation of the case against the German leaders, perceptions of the trial by a member of the American prosecution team, and a remarkable memorandum by Telford Taylor on the possibility of a future trial, focusing on the murder of European Jews. Along with the Chronology from the first edition, pedagogical aids for student comprehension include a new set of Questions for Consideration, and an updated Selected Bibliography.
"This book is superb history, compellingly told. Marrus brings his lucid historical talent to the organization of the primary documents, which largely tell the story for him. This is exactly what the college student seeking a thorough (but not compendius) overview of the subject needs."
--Richard Weisberg, Cardozo Law School
"As the fiftieth anniversary of the trial’s finaleapproaches, the timing is right. But more important, the lessons are timeless. The evidence presented and commented upon by Professor Marrus in such a measured yet powerful way provides the most effective response to those who would forget."
--Michael Burns, Mount Holyoke College
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Illustrations
1. Historical Precedents
1. Commission of Responsibilities, Majority Report, March 29, 1919
2. United States Representatives on the Commission of Responsibilities, Memorandum of Reservations to the Majority Report, April 4, 1919
3. The Treaty of Versailles, 1919
4. Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
5. Henry L. Stimson, Speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, August 8, 1932
2. Background
6. Winston S. Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin, Moscow Declaration, November 1, 1943
7. Winston S. Churchill, An Exchange with Roosevelt and Stalin at Teheran, November 29, 1943
8. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Memorandum for President Roosevelt (The Morgenthau Plan), September 5, 194
9. Henry L. Stimson, Memorandum Opposing the Morgenthau Plan, September 9, 1944
10. Cordell Hull, Henry L. Stimson, and James Forrestal, Draft Memorandum for the President, November 11, 1944
11. Henry L. Stimson, Edward R. Stettinius Jr., and Francis Biddle, Memorandum for the President, January 22, 1945
12. American Draft of Definitive Proposal, Presented to Foreign Ministers at San Francisco, April 1945
13. Memorandum of Conversation of Edward R. Stettinius Jr. and Samuel Rosenman with Vyacheslav Molotov and Anthony Eden, in San Francisco, May 3, 1945
3.Preparations
14. Robert H. Jackson, Report to the President, June 6, 1945
15. Minutes of the London Conference for the Preparation of the Trial, July 23, 1945
16. Sidney Alderman, On Negotiating with the Russians, 1951
17. Charter of the International Military Tribunal, August 8, 1945
18. Jacob Robinson to Robert Jackson, July 27, 1945
19. International Military Tribunal, Indictment, October 6, 1945
4. The Court
20. Thomas J. Dodd to Mary Grace Murphy Dodd, June 1, 1946
21. Francis Biddle, Description of the Court
22. Robert H. Jackson, Opening Address for the United States, November 21, 1945
23. Hartley Shawcross, Opening Address for the United Kingdom, December 4, 1945
24. François de Menthon, Opening Address, January 17, 1946
25. Roman A. Rudenko, Opening Address, February 8, 1946
26. G. N. Alexandrov, Cross-Examination of Fritz Sauckel, May 31, 1946
27. Francis Biddle, A Rebuke for the Soviet Prosecutors
28. Hermann Göring, Testimony on the Nazi Party, March 14, 1946
29. Robert H. Jackson, Cross-Examination of Hermann Göring, March 18, 1946
30. Robert H. Jackson, Appeal to the Bench, March 19, 1946
31. Motion Adopted by All Defense Counsel, November 19, 1945
5. Crimes against Peace
32. Sidney Alderman, Address to the Tribunal, November 23, 1945
33. Hartley Shawcross, On Aggressive War and the Evolution of the Law of Nations, December 4, 1945
34. Hermann Göring, Testimony Denying a Nazi Conspiracy to Wage War, March 14, 1946
35. Hermann Göring, Testimony on the Hossbach Memorandum, March 14, 1946
36. Alfred Seidl, Questioning of Joachim von Ribbentrop on the Nazi-Soviet Pact, April 1, 1946
37. Alfred Seidl, Questioning of Ernst von Weizsäcker on the Secret Protocol, May 31, 1946
38. Erich Raeder, Testimony on the German Attack on Norway, May 17, 1946
39. Hartley Shawcross, Evidence on the German Attack on the Soviet Union, December 4, 1945
40. Wilhelm Keitel, Testimony on Hitler’s Plan to Attack the Soviet Union, April 4, 1946
41. Alfred Jodl, Testimony on Soviet Preparations to Attack Germany, June 5, 1946
6. War Crimes
42. François de Menthon, The Concept of War Crimes, January 17, 1946
43. Charles Dubost, The German Use of Civilian Hostages, January 24, 1946
44. Marie Claude Vaillant-Couturier, Testimony on the Gassing at Auschwitz, January 28, 1946
45. Hanns Marx, Cross-Examination of Marie Claude Vaillant-Couturier, January 28, 1946
46. Roman A. Rudenko, The German Destruction of the Soviet Union, February 8, 1946
47. Roman A. Rudenko, The Mistreatment and Murder of Soviet Prisoners of War, February 8, 1946
48. Telford Taylor, Questioning of Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, January 7, 1946
49. Yuri Pokrovsky, Examination of Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, January 7, 1946
50. Robert H. Jackson, Cross-Examination of Albert Speer, June 21, 1946
51. Karl Dönitz, Testimony about His Relationship with Hitler, May 9, 1946
52. Wilhelm Keitel, Testimony on War Crimes, April 6 and 7, 1946
53. Hermann Göring, Testimony on the Applicability of the Hague Convention of 1907, March 15, 1946
54. Robert H. Jackson, On the Guilt of the Leader and His Followers, July 26, 1946
7. Crimes against Humanity
55. François de Menthon, On Crimes against the Human Status, January 17, 1946
56. William F. Walsh, On the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, December 14, 1945
57. Abram Suzkever, Persecution of the Jews of Vilna, February 27, 1946
58. Rudolf Höss, Testimony on Auschwitz, April 15, 1946
59. Hermann Göring, Testimony on Nazi Policy toward the Jews, March 14, 1946
60. Telford Taylor, Memorandum on a Separate Trial for the Murder of European Jewry, February 6, 1947
61. Alfred Thoma, Defense of Alfred Rosenberg on the Persecution of Jews, July 10, 1946
62. Walther Funk, Statement of Remorse, May 6, 1946
63. Franz von Papen, Explanation for Remaining at His Post, June 19, 1946
8. Last Words
64. Hermann Göring, Final Statement, August 31, 1946
65. Rudolf Hess, Final Statement, August 31, 1944
66. Albert Speer, Final Statement, August 31, 1946
67. Judgment: "The Law of the Charter,’ September 30–October 1, 1946
68. Judgment: "The Law as to the Common Plan or Conspiracy," September 30–October 1, 1946
69. Judgment: "The Persecution of the Jews," September 30–October 1, 1946
70. Judgment: "The Accused Organizations," September 30–October 1, 1946
9. Assessment
71. Henry L. Stimson, ‘Nuremberg: Landmark in Law," January 1947
72. Francis Biddle, Andrei Vyshinsky’s Visit to Nuremberg, 1962
73. Otto Kranzbühler, Challenge to the Nuremberg Procedures, 1964
74. Henry L. Stimson, Assessment of the Judgment, January 1947
APPENDIXES
Chronology of Events Related to the Nuremberg Trial (1919 – 1946)
The Defendants and Their Fate
Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
Authors
Michael R. Marrus
Michael R. Marrus teaches the evolution of International Humanitarian Law at the University of Toronto, and is a member of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. An internationally renowned Holocaust scholar, Marrus is the author of eight books, the most recent of which is The Lessons of the Holocaust. His other works include the award-winning Vichy France and the Jews, written with Robert O. Paxton and The Holocaust in History. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a visiting professor at UCLA and Cape Town University, and a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University and St. Antony’s College, Oxford. He is a Senior Fellow of Massey College.
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