WW2 "Nuremberg" U.S. Army Restored Film 1948 - REEL History

[Music] [Music] it was 1945 the war was over slowly painfully life came back to the ruins of europe [Music] [Music] the war was over but there was no peace despair crouched over the continent hopelessness circled europe like a bird of prey why what were the forces what were the issues in a war that turned nations into rubble heaps [Music] and populations into beggars the people wanted the answers they wanted to know what happened and why in the palace of justice in nuremberg the people of the world came together for there sat the international military tribunal to judge the chief nazi war criminals [Music] [Music] justice robert h jackson the chief american prosecutor makes the opening statement for the prosecution of opening the first trial in history the privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility the wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated that four great nations flushed with victory and stung with injury stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that power has ever paid to reason this inquest represents the practical effort of four of the most mighty of nations with the support of 15 more to utilize international law to meet the greatest menace of our times aggressive war the common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people it must also reach men who possess themselves of great power and who make deliberate and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched in the prisoner's docks at twenty odd broken men reproached by the humiliation of those they have led almost as bitterly as by the desolation of those they have attacked their personal capacity for evil is forever past merely as individuals their fate is of little consequence to the world what makes this inquest significant is that these prisoners represent sinister influences that will lurk in the world long after their bodies have returned to dust they are living symbols of the arrogance and cruelty of power of racial hatreds of terrorism and violence they are symbols of fierce nationalisms and of militarism of intrigue and war making which have embroiled europe generation after generation crushing its manhood destroying its homes and impoverishing its life they have so identified themselves with the philosophies they conceived and with the forces they directed that any tenderness to them is a victory and an encouragement to all the evils which are attached to their names what these men stand for we will patiently and temperately disclose we will give you undeniable proof of incredible events the catalog of crimes will omit nothing it may be that these men of troubled conscience do not regard a trial as a favor but they do have a fair opportunity to defend themselves a favor which they rarely extended to their fellow countrymen we will not ask you to convict these men on the testimony of their foes there is no count of the indictment that cannot be proved by books and records and we will show you the defendant's own films you will see their own conduct and hear their own voices as they reenact for you from the screen some of the events in the course of the conspiracy the acts of the defendants have bathed the world in blood and set civilization back a century they have subjected their european neighbors to every spoliation and deprivation they have brought the german people to the lowest ebb of wretchedness they have stirred hatreds and incited domestic violence on every continent these are the things that stand in the dark shoulder to shoulder with these prisoners the real complaining party at your bar is civilization the united states of america present count one of the indictment that all the defendants participated as organizers or accomplices in a common plan or conspiracy to commit crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity the aims of this conspiracy were open and natural the aims of this conspiracy were open and notorious it was far different from any other conspiracy ever unfolded before a court of justice pistol shots and then wildfiring the heart left as old boy experiences where we live its history is the history of the nazi party which grew from the brawling streets of munich in the 20s [Music] and from the beginning adolf hitler and his followers were committed to the use of any means whether or not they were legal or honorable [Music] their aim was the highest degree of control over the german community their intentions were blatantly put forth in mein kampf and the party program and they preached their favorite doctrine up and down the land they said that persons of a so-called german blood were a master race entitled to subjugate or even exterminate other races they said that the germans should be ruled under the furore principle or leadership principle by which each sub-leader owed unconditional obedience to his superior and so on right up to adolf hitler they said that war was a noble and necessary activity of germans [Music] and they said that the nazi party alone had the right to rule germany and the right to destroy the party's enemies [Music] their rise to power was based on fraud deceit intimidation and coercion culminating finally in terror and flame into that flame went the democratic constitution of the weimar republic and the freedom of the german people for the fires set by the nazis extended to the very reichstag hanska xavius a witness who formerly held a high position in the berlin police administration tells of his investigation of the reichstag fire [Music] first of all we ascertained that quite generally hitler had stated the wish for a large-scale propaganda campaign gerbils took on the job of making the necessary proposals and it was gerbils who first thought of setting the rice stuck on fire a group of ten reliable as a man was made ready and now gerring was informed about every detail of the plan it was expected from goring and he gave his assurances that he would do so that the police would be instructed while still suffering from shock to take up a false trail using the rice tug fire as a pretext for seizing power the nazi conspirators lost no time in tearing germany away from a policy of peace late in 1933 they led their nation out of the disarmament conference quit the league of nations and embarked on a course of secret rearmament by 1934 the new armaments program designed by defendants guring shakt and funk was going full blast [Music] german industry was again turning out the tools of war [Music] the crooked plants hummed and one year later gerring could announce from the strong foundation of the national socialist ideology today rises once again the german armed forces a few days later general von blumberg announced the new law for compulsory military service [Music] the law was signed by defendants gerring hess frank frick shark and for neura the training began finally in spring of 1936 the nazis sent their new troops marching into the rhineland on march 7th 1936 soldiers of the army which was created by order of the fura crossed the sacred river of german history and occupied their former garrisons they pledged whatever decisions he may make unbreakable faith and obedience and they vowed to follow him and to prove their sincerity by their never-ending love for germany the columns grew longer the sound of boots grew louder on the streets of nuremberg he's by nature not only peaceful and peace loving but above all conciliatory everything he wants to work on our country are millions of peasants they want to kill their fields [Music] but the nazi conspirators in the name of laban's realm continued to plot new aggressions against peace in november 1937 hitler called a special meeting with defendants gerring for neurot and generals from blumberg and von fritsch the meeting was secret but lieutenant colonel hospach hitler's personal adjutant faithfully recorded hitler's words the german question can be solved only by way of force for the improvement of our military political position it must be our first aim in every case of entanglement by war to conquer czechoslovakia and austria simultaneously the annexation of the two states to germany militarily and politically would constitute a considerable relief this meeting set the stage for nazi expansion and act one came only three months later at berchtesgaden where defendant fun poppin finally engineered a meeting between shushnig the austrian chancellor and hitler and defendants keital and fun ribentrap guido schmidt who was austrian foreign minister at the time also attended the meeting and now he takes the witness stand did hitler demand that seis inquired be made minister of security that was one of the demands on their program were there also demands made with regard to currency exchange and customs there were demands of an economic nature of every kind hitler told you that you had until february 15th to accept his terms didn't he and he told you that if you didn't do so he would use force the ultimatum as hitler stated it was that he intended as early as february to march into austria and that for the last time he was prepared to postpone it faced by these threats the austrians carried out all hitler's demands [Music] but the nazi conspirators weren't satisfied a month later when shushnig announced a plebiscite on austrian independence hitler and defendant goring demanded the plebiscite be cancelled another ultimatum demanded shushnig resign within three hours fearing invasion resigned and finally defendant seis inquart was appointed the new chancellor of austria that same day guring in berlin called kepler of the german embassy in vienna the conversation was transcribed kepler spoke first well we represent the government now yes that's it you're the government listen carefully the following telegram should be sent here from zeiss inquired take the notes the provisional austrian government sends to the german government the urgent request to support it in its task to help prevent bloodshed for this purpose it asks the german government to send german troops as soon as possible well as a and ss are marching through the streets everything has collapsed with the professional groups science implant is the only one who still has power in austria yes then our troops will cross the border today [Music] the act was written joining austria to germany and signed by defendants seis impart hitler of course had said germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of austria to annex austria or to conclude an angelus 21st of may 1935 out of hitler the curtain fell on act one but already the nazi conspirators prepared for act two with this 1938 memorandum from hitler to his high command it is my unalterable decision to smash czechoslovakia by military action in the near future it is the job of the political leaders to bring about the politically and militarily suitable moment conrad henlein was designated political leader the plan was labeled operation green and defendant yodel issued another memorandum reading operation will be set in motion by means of an incident in czechoslovakia which will give germany provocation for military intervention the fixing of the exact time for this incident is of the utmost importance a few months later germany signed the munich pact with england france and italy this pact involved the transfer of the sudetenland to germany the conspirators called it their last territorial demand but before the ink was dry they were making other plans for hitler's goal was the complete absorption of czechoslovakia and now the czech president hasha was called to a meeting with hitler and defendants going from riventrov and kaitlyn they gave him the ultimatum bohemia and moravia would be incorporated into germany immediately or czechoslovakia would be invaded and prague destroyed from the air haka was helpless defendants from ribentrop and frick signed the decree making bohemia and moravia a german protectorate speaking some months before about the sudetenland however hitler had said i have promised and repeated here that there will be no more territorial problems for germany and europe i will be no longer interested in the czech state and i will guarantee it 26 september 1938 [Music] now according to more of his adjutant's notes hitler reviewed the nazi plan of violence and treachery from 1934 to 39. the notes read first rearmament in 1935 the introduction of compulsory military service after that militarization of the rhineland one year later austria came it brought about a considerable reinforcement of the reich the next step was bohemian moravia then followed the erection of the protectorate and with that the basis for action against poland was laid basically i did not organize the armed forces in order not to strike the decision to strike was always in me in the name of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland sir hartley shawcross presents count two crimes against peace charging that all the defendants participated in the planning and waging of wars of aggression was in violation of international treaties agreements and assurances the first step was the rhineland and the next step the rhineland is occupied austria and czechoslovakia are seized by germany and now the nazi conspirators turn to the next problem the conquest of poland again an adjutant lieutenant colonel schmont transcribed hitler's words the solution of the problem demands courage it is impossible without invasion of foreign states or attacks on foreign property there's therefore no question of sparing poland and we are left with the decision to attack poland at the first suitable opportunity we cannot expect the repetition of the czech affair there will be war meanwhile according to their well-established practice the conspirators stirred up the dancing issue to furnish frontier incidents which could justify an attack on poland then on 23 august the nazis signed their non-aggression pact with russia then told his high command now poland is in the position in which i want her i'm only afraid that at the last moment some schweiner will make a proposal for mediation appeals were made twice by the pope and by president roosevelt [Music] finally mr roosevelt asks that assurance be given him that the german armed forces will not attack and above all not invade the territory or possessions of the following independent nations he then names as those coming into question finland green denmark neither london belgium hospital ireland portugal spain israel lies luxembourg [Music] on one september 1939 the nazis sent the wehrmacht smashing into poland and into a new world war for france and england faithful to their mutual assistance packed with poland immediately declared war on germany [Music] the loofah opened mass attacks on polish towns and cities and hitler according to schmutz notes said destruction of poland in the foreground i shall give a propagandist cause starting the war never mind whether it be plausible or not have no pity take a brutal attitude but as usual before the attack on poland hitler told the world during the troubled months of the past year the friendship between poland and germany has been one of the reassuring factors in the political life of europe 30th of january 1939 hitler the path of destruction started in poland but soon it led north and south across all europe and each new aggression was based on hitler's principle that in war victory not right is what matters non-aggression treaty it is firmly resolved to maintain peace between denmark and germany in all circumstance 31st may 1939 ribbon drop but on 9 april 1940 german troops invaded denmark [Music] the german rice government is determined in view of the friendly relations which exist between norway and germany under no circumstances to prejudice the inviolability and integrity of the norwegian state 2nd of september 1939 church's life but on 9 april 1940 german troops invaded norway [Music] [Music] i assure the governments of belgium holland and luxembourg that germany will not violate their neutrality 6th of october 1939 are but on may 10 1940 german troops invaded belgium holland and luxembourg [Music] the firmly established reliable relationship of germany to yugoslavia will represent an element of calm to our nerve-racked continent this peace is the goal of all who are disposed to perform really constructive work first of june 1939 but on 6 april 1941 german troops invaded yugoslavia [Music] these criminal methods of the nazi conspirators brought them early success and by 1941 they had most of europe under their heel now an evil ambition for power and more power drove them on but two of the world's mightiest nations the united states and soviet russia remained to block the nazi drive for world supremacy they had to be dealt with firmly immediately and now germany asked for cooperation from her full partner in aggression to the east and from her junior partner to the south in berlin they drew up the axis pact the blueprint of the new order and parceled out the continents of the world for axis domination italy was to get the mediterranean sphere japan was to get the orient and to germany would go the rest of the world [Music] in june 1941 in violation of their non-aggression pact the nazis sent the wehrmacht deep into soviet territory according to military plans long made as usual there was no declaration of war hitler had said today germany tomorrow the world and this was tomorrow land warfare in the east air warfare in the west for now defendant gerring's luftwaffe was hurled with full force against the people and cities of britain hitler after all had told reichstag i will blot out their city [Music] [Music] and then on 7 december 1941 the japanese keeping their end of an infamous bargain struck at the united states also without declaration of war japanese bombs reigned on pearl harbor spreading war finally to the pacific [Music] the new order was on the march world war ii flamed around the globe in the name of the union of soviet socialist republics general rudenko presents counts three and four charging that all the defendants committed war crimes in germany and in all those countries occupied by germany the nazi conspirators committed crimes against enemy armies against prisoners of war against the civilians of occupied lands they believed in the barbaric doctrine of total war and considered themselves freed from the restraints of international law or the established customs of war their ruthless policies were ordered in directives like this one from general reiniket of the vermont high command the bolshevist soldier has lost all claim to treatment as an honorable opponent active or passive resistance must be broken immediately by force of arms prisoners of war attempting to escape are to be fired on without previous challenge no warning shot must be fired more proof of this savage nazi policy comes from the affidavit of court lindau former gestapo officer they existed in the prisoner of war camps on the eastern front small screening teams headed by lower ranking members of the gestapo it was the duty of these teams to segregate the prisoners of war who were candidates for execution according to the orders that had been given and to report them to the office of the gestapo and a letter from defendant rosenberg to defendant keitel in 1942 stated clearly a large part of the soviet prisoners of war has starved or died because of the hazards of the weather in many cases prisoners of war could no longer keep up on the march because of hunger and exhaustion in numerous camps no shelter for the prisoners was provided at all even tools were not made available to dig holes or caves yet when some objected that this treatment violated the geneva convention defendant keitel answered with this memorandum we are concerned with the destruction of an ideology therefore i approve and back the measures this is proved by the testimony of general lahouzen who worked under admiral canaris in the op fair general lahouzen attended conferences where crimes against whole populations were plotted in advance by the nazi conspirators will you please explain exactly what took place at this conference in the furore's train particularly as regards the polish region secondly canary spoke vehemently against the measures that he canaris had found out about to wit the projected shooting and extermination measures that were being directed against the polish intelligentsia nobility and clergy as well as all elements that could be regarded as embodiments of the national resistance movement [Music] at the time more or less verbatim that the world will at some time make the armed forces under whose eye as these events have occurred also responsible for these events defendant frank nazi governor of poland was another of the conspirators guilty of directing mass murder in his diary he speaks of taking advantage of the focus of attention on the western front by carrying out wholesale liquidation of thousands of poles these atrocities were not restricted to the east here's the proof in the village of auradur sergeland france [Music] here is the proof in the town of bond [Music] belgium [Music] here is the proof in the san callisto caves italy where 350 hostages were carefully listed and systematically murdered [Music] and here is lidice in czechoslovakia in blind retaliation for the assassination of ss man heydrich the nazis murdered all literature's men and sent their women and children into slavery in germany but this was not enough boys of the arbeit steams were moved into the ruins of leadership and ordered to level the village to the [Music] ground [Music] leadership was to be the nazis example to all occupied peoples but more terrible still were the concentration camps which from the beginning had been the conspirators chief weapon against opposition of every kind german anti-nazis were the first victims but with the war their numbers swelled to include citizens of all the nations of europe their fate is described by witness rudolf hess i commanded auschwitz until the 1st of december 1943 and estimate that at least two and a half million victims were executed and exterminated there by gassing and burning at least another half million succumbed to starvation and disease making a total debt of about three million included among the executed and burned were approximately twenty thousand russian prisoners of war were delivered at auschwitz and vermont transports the remainder of the total number included about a hundred thousand german jews and great numbers of citizens from holland france belgium poland hungary czechoslovakia greece and other countries medical experiments too were standard procedure at many concentration camps these included lowering the body temperature to 28 degrees centigrade high altitude tests and pressure chambers experiments with poisoned bullets and contagious diseases and even sterilization experiments this was genocide the premeditated destruction of entire peoples genocide the direct result of the nazis claim that they had the right to destroy the party's opposition tomorrow the world dead or alive [Music] in the name of the french republic monsieur de monton closes counts three and four the final charges of the indictment all the defendants committed crimes against humanity including the murder and persecution of all people opposed to the nazi party and the enslavement exploitation and deportation of civilian populations the slave labor policy was the responsibility of defendant sokol who admitted in 1944 out of the 5 million workers who arrived in germany not even 200 000 came voluntarily forced labor often meant brutal and degrading treatment for sarkol himself suggested all the men must be fed sheltered and treated in such a way as to exploit them to the highest possible extent at the lowest possible expenditure and defendant bormann added the slavs are to work for us and so far as we do not need them they may die slavery was only one aspect of nazi exploitation defendant goring in a talk with german occupation authorities in 1942 discussed another plunder god knows you are not sent out to work for the welfare of the people in your charge but to get the utmost out of them so that the german people can live this everlasting concern about foreign people must cease now once and for ever i have here before me reports and what you are expected to deliver it makes no difference to me in this case if you say that your people will starve but nazi crimes against humanity were not limited to foreign peoples defendant frick as minister of interior directed a program aimed at aged insane or incurable germans the so-called useless eaters thousands were committed to special institutions few ever returned evidence proves they were murdered because they were useless to the plans of the nazi conspirators but perhaps the greatest crime against humanity the nazis committed against the jews the campaign of hate and murder that goes to the heart of the nazi movement [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh german citizens are only those of german or related blood willing to serve the german rights and people marriages between jews and citizens of german or related blood are prohibited [Applause] [Music] ss brigadier general stroup in charge of the warsaw ghetto in 1943 had learned his nazi lessons well in a secret report he said the reichsfield ss ordered on the 23rd of april 1943 the cleaning out of the ghetto with utter ruthlessness i therefore decided to destroy and burn down the entire ghetto jews frequently left their hideouts but occasionally remained in the burning buildings and jumped out of the windows only when the heat became unbearable life in the sewers was not pleasant of the first week tear gas bombs were thrown into the manholes and the jews were driven out and captured countless numbers of jews were liquidated in sewers and bunkers through blasting the longer the resistance continued the tougher became the members of the rapness s police and verma who always discharged their duties in an excellent very manner little by little the nazis were reaching what they called the final solution the total extermination of the jews of europe huss described the process well we had two ss doctors on duty at auschwitz to examine the incoming transports of prisoners the prisoners would be marched past one of the doctors who would make spot decisions as they walked by those who were fit for work were sent into the camp others were sent immediately to the extermination plan children of tender years were invariably exterminated since by reasons of their youth they were unable to work we endeavored to fool them into thinking they were to go through a delousing process [Music] it took from 3 to 15 minutes to kill the people in the death chamber depending upon climatic conditions we knew when the people were dead because their screaming stopped we usually waited about one half hour before we opened the doors and removed the bodies after the bodies were removed our special commanders took off the rings and extracted the gold from the teeth of the corpses much of this loot was then transferred to secret vaults of the punk at frankfurt on mine the reichsbunk of defendant funk labor chief robert lye knew that six million jews died in the nazi's final solution in his will he said in anti-semitism we violated the basic commandment of god's creation it is hard to admit mistakes but the whole existence of our people is in question we must have the courage to rid ourselves of anti-semitism god has taught me that in my cell and knowing that [Music] and defendant frank himself said before this court and we have allowed ourselves to make utterances which are terrible the thousand years will pass and this guilt of germany will still not be erased [Music] the prosecution rests the defense begins they call 61 witnesses and introduced 38 000 affidavits on the defendant's behalf they submit 136 000 more affidavits on behalf of vss 10 000 on behalf of the sa 7 000 on behalf of esd 3 000 on behalf of the general staff and okw two thousand on behalf of the gestapo these attorneys were personally selected by the defendants many are well known german lawyers and each now rises to plead acquittal for his client some make blanket denials of all guilty of the defendants had without doubt a great influence in those fears which did not interest hitler they had no part whatsoever in the great decisions concerning war and peace armistice and peace offers etc other attorneys lead their clients through a carefully prepared defense here striker is examined foreign it has also been stated by the prosecution that himmler and carlton broner would have had no one to carry out their orders to kill if you hadn't made that propaganda and if you hadn't conducted the education of the german people i don't believe that those who had been given the order by the fuhrer to carry out the killings or to pass an order to kill but those people would have been made to do this by my periodical hitler's book my kampf existed and the contents of that book were the authority the cause next comes carlton brunner you are accused of establishing mouth housing of inspecting and visiting this camp regularly the witness hell regal testified having seen you in this camp and further testified having seen you at the inspection of gas chambers and while these gas chambers were in operation every concentration camp on the right of which i know anything was established by himmler through paul later the prosecution is allowed to cross-examine the defendants rosenberg is questioned did your ministry force people to leave their homes to go to germany to work for the german state it is true that force was used and it does not deny it that some terrible encroachments occurred now radar takes a stand on the 23rd of may in the reich's chancellery hitler said that he would give you an indoctrination on the political situation and he said we are left with a decision to attack poland at the first opportunity did you still think that he had no aggressive intentions justice general yodel said after hitler had solved the czech problem purely politically it was to be hoped he would also be able to solve the polish question without bloodshed i believe that until the last moment until the 22nd of august title is cross-examined yesterday your council showed you this order dated 16 september 1941 it said that it is necessary to take immediate cruel measures and that human life in the east is absolutely worthless you remember the basic idea of the order that human life costs absolutely nothing please answer the question you signed this order with this statement next yodel do you remember any other reason for such great mortality among soviet prisoners of war i didn't know the reasons for this mars nerd but they seem to be completely wrong that i do know now one ribbon drop are you telling the tribunal on your oath that you knew nothing about the effect of military pressure on austria i wish to stress again that i knew nothing about military measures and that if i had known something i wouldn't see any reason not to say so but it is a fact that during the days before and after the hitler shushnik meeting i was so busy taking over the foreign office that i could give only slight attention to the austrian problem then guring is cross-examined at the end of the meeting you used the following words didn't you german jewelry must as a penalty forfeit one billion marks then the pigs won't commit any more crimes javon do you still say that neither hitler nor you knew of the policy to exterminate the jews i already have said that not even approximately did i know to what degree this thing took place you did not know to what degree but you knew there was a policy that aimed at the liquidation of the jews i only knew that certain perpetrations had taken place spare takes the stand you were present on april 23 1945 when hitler received the telegram from garing suggesting that he take over power what did hitler say on that occasion hitler was most excited about the contents of the telegram and he expressed himself in a very clear manner about guri he said that he knew for some time that goering had failed that he was corrupt that he was a drug addict it was typical of hitler's attitude toward the entire problem however that he followed this statement up by saying but he can nevertheless negotiate the capitulation he stated in an offhand manner it doesn't really matter who does it his disregard for the german nation was expressed in the way he said this after months of examination and cross-examination several defendants make final statements to the tribunal frank is first i myself speaking from the very depth of my sentiments and from the experience of five months of this trial i want to say this now that i've gained the last insight into all that which has been committed in the way of dreadful atrocities i feel a terrible guilt within me funk declares when these measures of terror and violence against jews were put up to me i suffered a nervous breakdown because at the moment it came to my mind with full clearness that from here on the catastrophe took its course all the way up to the terrible and atrocious things about which we have heard and about which i knew only in part at the time of my imprisonment i felt ashamed and guilty at that moment and i feel the same way today but it's too late now shirak speaks words it is my guilt that i educated german youth for a man who committed murders million-fold and thereby to himself he did not afterwards keep he promised equal rights for all citizens and without regard to their capabilities his adherents got privileges before all other citizens he promised to fight against political lies and together with his minister girls and by himself he never did anything but disseminate political lies and political fraud he released criminals and put them into his service he did everything in a way of not keeping his promises he deceived the world germany and me spare once more the tremendous danger contained in this totalitarian system only became really clear the moment we were approaching the end everything that has happened during this trial everything you have seen in the way of orders which were carried out without any hesitation did after all turn out to be mistaken is why this trial must contribute to the prevention of such distorted wars in the future and to the establishment of principles for human cooperation and cuddle again i was not able to prevent what should have been prevented that is my guilt i can only wish that out of a clear recognition of the causes of the disastrous methods and the terrible consequences of this war there will arise for the german people a new hope for a better future in the community of nations now frank we call on the german people whose representatives we were to abandon this wave which was doomed to failure in the will and justice of god and which is doomed for everyone who may try to follow it anywhere in the world the last defendant to speak is friction noon you of the prosecution did not expect anything good from hitler and you are amazed about the extent of what really happened but then try to understand the indignation of those who did expect something good from hitler and were betrayed i am one of these betrayed finally both defense and prosecution sum up their arguments for the tribunal an aggressor can be branded only by the world's conscience that supreme organ of humanity must have not only real but also moral authority its impartial judgment must be looked upon with general confidence it must stand above the contesting parties in the name of the united states of america justice jackson delivers his summation according to the testimony of each defendant these men saw no evil spoke done and none was uttered in their presence if we combine only the stories from the front bench this is the ridiculous composite picture of hitler's government that emerges it was composed of a number two man who never suspected the jewish extermination program although he signed over a score of anti-semitic decrees a number three man who was merely an innocent middleman transmitting hitler's orders without even reading them like a postman or delivery boy a foreign minister who knew little of foreign affairs and nothing of foreign policy a field marshal who issued orders to the armed forces but had no idea of the results they would have in practice a security chief who was of the impression that the policing functions of his gestapo and sd were somewhat on the lines of directing traffic a party philosopher who had no idea of the violence which his philosophy was inciting in the 20th century a governor general of poland who reigned but did not rule a go lighter of franconia whose occupation was to pour forth filthy writings about the jews but who had no idea that anybody would read them a minister of the interior who knew not even what went on in his own office much less the interior of his own department and nothing at all about the interior of germany a reichsbank president who was totally ignorant of what went in and out of the vaults of his bank to say of these men that they are not guilty it would be as true to say there has been no war there are no slain there has been no crime in the name of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland sir hartley shaw cross delivers his summation this trial must form a milestone in the history of civilization not only marking that right shall in the end triumph over evil but also that ordinary people of the world and i make no distinction here between friend and foe are now determined that the individual must transcend the state the state and law are made for man that through them he may achieve a fuller life a higher purpose and a greater dignity in the name of the union of soviet socialist republics general rudenko delivers his summation and when we ask have the charges against the defendants been proved before the court have the defendants been convicted of their guilt there is only one answer their crimes have been proved neither the statements of the defendants nor the arguments of the defense were able to refute our grave accusations it has been impossible to cast doubt on events which actually took place the truth cannot be challenged that is the real meaning of this trial that is the lasting result of our long and strenuous effort in the name of the french republic mr dereb delivers his summation when this international trial is closed and the principal war criminals sentenced we shall go back to our own countries the fate of these men now lies entirely with your conscience this is beyond our competence our task is finished now it is for you in the silence of your deliberations to listen to innocent blood crying for justice lord justice lawrence great britain mr francis biddle united states lucia de faber france and major general nikitchenko ussr and their alternates prepare the verdict it will be based on the opinion of the majority [Music] on october 1st 1946 the verdict is delivered by lord justice lawrence president of the tribunal of the organizations the ss sd gestapo and leadership corps are found guilty the high command s a and reich cabinet not guilty as for the individual wilhelm hermann goering guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging rudolph hess guilty of conspiracy and crimes against peace life imprisonment joachim von ribentrop guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging wilhelm keitel guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging ernst kaltenbrunner guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging alfred rosenberg guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging hans frank guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging wilhelm frick guilty of crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging julius streicher guilty of crimes against humanity death by hanging walter funk guilty of crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity life imprisonment gilmar shocked not guilty on this indictment released carl dernitz guilty of crimes against peace and war crimes ten years imprisonment eric raider guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace and war crime life imprisonment baldur funshira guilty of crimes against humanity 20 years imprisonment fritz sokol guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging alfred yodel guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging france von papen not guilty on this indictment released albert spare guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity 20 years imprisonment constantine for neuro guilty of conspiracy crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity 15 years imprisonment arthur seis inquad guilty of crimes against peace war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging hans fritsche not guilty on this indictment released martin borman tried in absentia guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity death by hanging the trial is over seven begin their prison sentences [Music] guring chooses to die by his own hand the other 10 wait for the gallows in nuremberg the people of the world found out and why but nuremberg is more than an answer to a question as justice jackson said this trial is part of the great effort to make the peace more secure it constitutes juridical action of a kind to ensure that those who start a war will pay for it personally nuremberg stands as a warning to all those who plan and wage aggressive war [Music] thanks for watching if you'd like to help us produce more compelling historical content like this please like comment below and share this video with fellow history buffs and of course be sure to subscribe to help keep history happening

Channel: LionHeart FilmWorks

Views: 625,647

Keywords: nuremberg trials, hermann goering, hermann goering nuremberg trials, hermann goering uniform, hermann goering footage, reel history, us army film, 1945, concentration camp trial, nazi germany, ww2 world war two, wwii, full documentary, full length documentaries, history documentary, documentary history, nazi trials, holocaust, fall of nazi germany, 1948

Id: uCuT6cwragk

Length: 75min 40sec (4540 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 07 2020