Transcript Nuremberg Trials - Divine Word National School

Nuremberg, Germany
The Nuremberg Trials started on the 20th of November 1945. There were over one
hundred Nazis on trial. The trials that were between November 20th 1495 – and
October 1st 1946 are known as the major war crimes and the trials held between
October 1st 1946 - and 1949 are known as the lesser war crimes. There were 21 Nazis
that were trailed for the major war crimes. All bar three were found guilty, the names
of the Nazis found Not Guilty were Hans Fritzsche, Papen von Franz and Hjalmar
Schacht. The judges were from Great Britain, France, USA and the Soviet Union.
All the judges from The Nuremburg Trials were from The USA, France, Britain and The
Soviet Union. Each country chose its own judges and prosecutorial team. Each country
was in charge of its own court. USA was in charge of the court of Conspiracy to Wage
Aggressive War, Britain was in charge of the court of Crimes Against Peace and France
and The Soviet Union were in charge of the court of War Crimes and Crimes Against
Humanity. There were nine Judges altogether and there were three from each country.
The British Judges
Sir Hartley Shawcross
Sir Geoffrey Lawrence
Sir Norman Birkett
The USA Judges
Robert H. Jackson
Francis Biddle
John J. Parker
The French Judges
Francois de Menthon
Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
Robert Falco
The Soviet Union Judges
Roman Rudenko
Alexander Volchkov
Iona Nikitchenko
There were over one hundred Nazis put on trial during the Nuremberg trials but
21 of them were trailed for Major war crimes. Three out of the Twenty – one
Nazis were found Not Guilty. Eleven Nazis were sentenced to be hung but only
ten did because Goering, Hermann committed suicide the day before his
hanging. Seven Nazis were sentenced to prison and two of them were
sentenced to prison for life. All of the Nazis that were hung were hung on the
16th of October in The Palace of Justice Nuremberg, Germany.
Doenitz, Karl
Frank, Hans
Frick, Willhelm
Fritzsche, Hans
Funk, Walter
Goering, Hermann
Hess, Rudolf
Jodl, Alfred
Kaltenbrunnen, Ernst
Keitel, Wilhelm
Neurath, Konstantinvon
Papen, Franz von
Raeder, Erich
Ribbentrap, Joachon
Rosenberg, Alfred
Sauckel, Fritz
Shacht, Hjalmar
Schirach, Baldur
10 years imprisonment
Hung
Hung
Found Not Guilty
Life imprisonment
Committed suicide day before Hanging
Life imprisonment
Hung
Hung
Hung
15 years imprisonment
Found Not Guilty
Life imprisonment
Hung
Hung
Hung
Found Not Guilty
20 year imprisonment
Hermann Göring was boron the 12th June 1893 in Rosenheim, Germany. He flew fighter planes in
WW I. In 1935 Hitler appointed him commander in chief of the Luftwaffe (The German Air force)
which he held until the final days of the war. In 1940 Göring was in the peak of his Power
because Hitler appointed him Reichsmarschall which was the second highest ranking in
Germany after Hitler and was responsible for most of Germany. But that was taken away from
him. In 1942 when he heard that Hitler was committing suicide Göring sent a message to Hitler
saying that he wanted to become Reichsmarschall again Hitler saw this as an act of treason and
ordered him to be arrested. He was trailed in the Nuremberg Trials and was sentenced to be
hung but committed suicide the day before his hanging by injecting himself with a drug.
1. How many Judges were there from each country? Three
2. How many Nazis were found guilty of major war crimes? Nineteen
3. In what year did the Nuremberg trials start? 1945
4. In what year did the Nuremberg trials end? 1949
5. How many Nazis were trailed for major war crimes? 21
6. How many Judges were there altogether? 12