List of defendants at the International Military Tribunal

Between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT), better known as the Nuremberg trials, tried 24 of the most important political and military leaders of Nazi Germany. Of those convicted, 11 were sentenced to death and 10 hanged. Hermann Göring committed suicide.

Most of the defendants had surrendered to the United States Army, but the Soviet Union held a few high-ranking Nazis who were extradited for trial at Nuremberg. The defendants included some of the most famous Nazis, including Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Wilhelm Keitel. Also represented were some leaders of the German economy, such as Gustav Krupp (of the conglomerate Krupp) and former Reichsbank president Hjalmar Schacht.

Choosing the defendants

At the London Conference, the question of which defendants to try was not much discussed. The British delegation had suggested a list of roughly a dozen names compiled by the British Foreign Office in 1944. Only one general—Wilhelm Keitel—was listed, while the rest were members of the Nazi Party. Nevertheless, the list aroused controversy in the British government, with Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden arguing that military "professionals who are merely carrying out the régime's orders" could not be considered criminals. In contrast, deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee argued that the military leadership as well as industrialists needed to face judgement for their actions in enabling Nazi crimes. The American prosecution supported a longer list. Added to haphazardly, this list was the basis of those to be prosecuted at Nuremberg. Some of the most prominent Nazis—Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels—had committed suicide and therefore could not be tried. The French prosecution added Konstantin von Neurath, former governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Of the Soviet suggestions, only admiral Erich Raeder and propagandist Hans Fritzsche—a stand-in for Goebbels—were accepted; the others—including general Willi Moser and SS officer Friedrich Jeckeln, a major perpetrator of the Holocaust in the Baltics, were to be considered for a future trial.

Although the list of defendants was finalized on 29 August, as late as October, chief United States prosecutor Robert Jackson demanded the addition of new names, proposing the addition of Hermann Schmitz, an IG Farben executive, Karl Wolff and other high-ranking SS officers, as well as generals Walther von Brauchitsch, Franz Halder, and the Luftwaffe's Erhard Milch. The other prosecutors refused to consider the last minute changes. Of the 24 men indicted, Martin Bormann was tried in absentia, as the Allies were unaware of his death; Krupp was too ill to stand trial; and Robert Ley had committed suicide a month before the start of the trials. The American, French, and Soviet prosecutors asked to substitute Alfried Krupp for his father, but the judges rejected this.

Initially, the Americans had planned to try fourteen organizations and their leaders, but this was narrowed to six: the Reich Cabinet, the Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party, the Gestapo, the SA, the SS and the SD, and the General Staff and High Command of the German military (Wehrmacht). The aim was to have these organizations declared criminal, so that their members could be tried expeditiously for membership in a criminal organization. Senior American officials believed that convicting organizations was a good way of showing that not just the top German leaders were responsible for crimes, without condemning the entire German people.

Summary table

The defendants were indicted for:

1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace
2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
3. Participating in war crimes
4. Crimes against humanity

The 24 accused were, with respect to each charge, either indicted but not convicted (I), indicted and found guilty (G), or not charged (—), as listed below by defendant, charge, and eventual outcome:

References

Avalon Project

The Avalon citations refer to documents at "The International Military Tribunal for Germany". The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library.

Other citations

Sources