Michelle Fortner
Mrs. Rachid and Mrs. Arteaga
Reading 8 – 1
25 November 2014
Nuremberg Trials–Questions 2 and 3
What authority was given to the International Military Tribunal? Choose five defendants and give the following information.
Who were they and what position did they hold during the war?
What were their crimes?
What were their reactions to their charges?
What verdict was reached? There was a large quantity of defendants in the major war figures trial, but I find five very important. One of these is Karl Doenitz. He was a German admiral who would eventually command entire navy, he was chosen by Hitler to succeed him as Führer, and he negotiated surrender following Hitler’s suicide. Doenitz stated, on May 27th, 1946, “Politicians
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On November 21st, 1945, he said, “I have been tricked and trapped by the Himmler murder machine, even when I tried to put a check on it…Let us explain our position to the world, so that at least er won’t die under this awful burden of shame.” When Fritzche says this, you can see that what he is trying to say is that Heinrich Himmler, a German leader and chief of the SS (Nazi special police force) and the Gestapo, tricked and trapped him. He also says that he should explain his position to the world so that at least he would not die under the “awful burden of shame.” One of his crimes was that radio broadcasts included strong Nazi propaganda. In the end, he was released by the IMT (International Military Tribunal: court carried together by the victorious Allied governments. Here the America, Soviet, French, and British flags hang behind the judges’ bench). Fritzche said, “I am entirely over whelmed–to be set free right here, not even to be sent back to Russia.” He was later tried and found guilty by a German court, then freed in 1950. Fritzche died in …show more content…
One of his crimes was that, as the Director of the Four Year Plan, he took responsibility for the Jews’ elimination from political life and for the takeover demolition of Jewish property and business. As a result, Goering committed suicide on the day prior to his scheduled hanging by taking a cyanide pill that was smuggled into his cell.