ABOUT THE FIRST NUREMBERG TRIAL

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The first Nuremberg trial (formally known as the International Military Tribunal) was convened November 20, 1945, in Nuremberg, Germany, to try more than 20 high Nazi officials, including 4 members of the Armed Forces High Command. The verdict was rendered October 1, 1946. Legal teams from each of the four allied nations — the United States, Great Britian, Soviet Union, France — shared responsibility for the prosecution.

 

Courtroom of the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg

In front of the four allied flags, sit the judges, court reporters and clerks,
during the first Nuremberg trial.

 

WHO WAS TRIED AT NUREMBERG AND WHY?

Hitler and two of his most notorious henchmen, Goebbels and Himmler, had committed suicide before V-E Day, May 8, 1945.  But the Allies indicted 24 other Nazi leaders, of whom 23 were arrested and brought to trial at Nuremberg. Martin Bormann was thought to be still at large when the proceedings began, and was tried in absentia.

Before the trial began, it was decided that the industrialist Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was too weak to stand trial. Shortly before the start of the trial, Dr. Robert Ley managed to hang himself in his Nuremberg cell.

That left 21 defendants in the dock at Nuremberg.

To read the charges of individual responsibility against each defendants, see: Appendex A: Individual Charges

For a list of the defendants, and the names of their defense counsel, see: Defendants & Defense Counsel

 

The Four Counts of the Nuremberg Indictment

To read the charges against the Nazi organizations, see: Indictment of the Nazi Organizations

The prosecution broke the indictment into four counts, which they decided they could prove based on the evidence:

Count 1: Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War — prosecuted by U.S.

Count 2: Crimes Against Peace — prosecuted by Great Britain

Count 3: War Crimes — prosecuted jointly by USSR and France

Count 4: Crimes Against Humanity — prosecuted jointly by USSR and France

 

About the Trial | Trial Documents | Defendants & Counsel | Verdicts & Sentences