The U.S. War Crimes Trial Program in Germany, 1946-1955

The U.S. War Crimes Trial Program in Germany, 1946-1955
Author: Frank M. Buscher
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 226
Release: 1989-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN:

Although more than 40 years have passed since the end of World War II, the subject of Nazi war criminals remains a timely and emotionally charged topic of interest to scholars as well as the general public. Administered jointly by the four major Allies, the Nuremberg trial of Hermann Goering and Joachim von Ribbentrop, among other Nazi leaders, has drawn much attention over the years. It was the U.S. Army, however, which was most active in bringing Nazi war criminals to justice and, between 1944 and 1947, the army prosecuted 1,672 individuals for violations of the laws of war. Most of the army's trials remained obscure and little-noticed, even though they dealt with almost 90 percent of all defendants in the American zone. This study examines the treatment of prominent and lesser-known war criminals in the U.S. Zone of Occupation, covering both the trial and clemency aspects of the American war crimes program. In addition, it also explores the relationship between the war criminals issue and U.S. efforts to democratize the Germans, German nationalism, U.S. constitutional issues, the cold war and German rearmament in the 1950s. Finally, the study analyzes the extent to which the U.S. Army war crimes program achieved its stated goals. Based on unpublished sources from both the United States and West Germany, many of which have only recently been declassified, this book provides fresh insight on Nazi war criminals and their treatment, as well as important issues relating to post-war Germany. This book will be of special interest to scholars and historians specializing in European and modern history, post-war Germany, U.S. foreign relations since World War II, the Holocaust, and U.S. military justice and war criminals.

The Mauthausen Trial

The Mauthausen Trial
Author: Tomaz Jardim
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2012-01-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674264738

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. on May 27, 1947, the first of forty-nine men condemned to death for war crimes at Mauthausen concentration camp mounted the gallows at Landsberg prison near Munich. The mass execution that followed resulted from an American military trial conducted at Dachau in the spring of 1946—a trial that lasted only thirty-six days and yet produced more death sentences than any other in American history. The Mauthausen trial was part of a massive series of proceedings designed to judge and punish Nazi war criminals in the most expedient manner the law would allow. There was no doubt that the crimes had been monstrous. Yet despite meting out punishment to a group of incontestably guilty men, the Mauthausen trial reveals a troubling and seldom-recognized face of American postwar justice—one characterized by rapid proceedings, lax rules of evidence, and questionable interrogations. Although the better-known Nuremberg trials are often regarded as epitomizing American judicial ideals, these trials were in fact the exception to the rule. Instead, as Tomaz Jardim convincingly demonstrates, the rough justice of the Mauthausen trial remains indicative of the most common—and yet least understood—American approach to war crimes prosecution. The Mauthausen Trial forces reflection on the implications of compromising legal standards in order to guarantee that guilty people do not walk free.

The Case Against the Nazi War Criminals

The Case Against the Nazi War Criminals
Author: Robert H. Jackson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1946
Genre: Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946
ISBN:

Opening statement for the United States of America / by Robert H. Jackson -- Appendices. Agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis -- Text of the indictment.