On October 1, 1946, twelve high-ranking Nazis are sentenced
to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg. Among those
condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of
foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the
German air force; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior. Seven others,
including Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s former deputy, were given prison sentences
ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted. The trial, which
had lasted nearly 10 months, was conducted by an international tribunal made up
of representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and Great
Britain. It was the first trial of its kind in history, and the defendants
faced charges ranging from crimes against peace to crimes of war and crimes
against humanity. On October 16th, 10 of the architects of Nazi policy were hanged
one by one. Hermann Goering, committed suicide by poison on the eve of his
scheduled execution. Nazi Party leader Martin Bormann was condemned to death in
absentia; he is now known to have died in Berlin at the end of the war.
Michael Thomas Barry is a
columnist for CrimeMagazine.com and author of Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California 1849-1949. The book
can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:
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