Nuremberg Trials

What were they accused of and what were their sentences?

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Goering and Hess while the verdicts are being read
Count 1: Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War - addressed the crimes that were committed before the war began, which foreshadowed committing crimes during the war.

Count 2: Waging Aggressive War, or "Crimes Against Peace"- included planning and waging wars of aggression. That included wars that were due to the violation of international treaties and agreements.

Count 3: War Crimes - was about violations of the law for treatment of prisoners of war, slave labor and use of weapons.

Count 4: Crimes Against Humanity - This included the concentration camps and the actions taken within and other death rampages like death marches.

Martin Bormann

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He was not charged for Crimes Against Peace but was found guilty of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity and was sentenced to death but was missing at the time of the trial and later it was discovered that he had died in 1945.

Karl Doenitz

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Karl Doenitz was found guilty of Crimes Against Peace and War Crimes. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He served his term and died in 1980.

Hans Frank

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Hans Frank on the witness stand
Hans Frank was found guilty of war Crims and Crimes Against Huanity. He was sentenved to death and was hung on October 16, 1946.

Wilhelm Frick

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Wilhelm Frick was found guilty of Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity. He claimed that none of the Nuremberg laws were to be used as mass murder although he accepts the fact that this did happen. He was executed on October 1, 1946.

Hans Fritzsche

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Hans Fritzsche was found not guilty. He was only sentenced to nine years in work camp but was released after only three years. He was released on September 29, 1950. He died of cancer on September 27, 1953.

Walther Funk

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Walther Funk was found guilty of Crimes Against Peace, War Crims, and Crimes Against Humanity. He was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 1957.

Hermann Goering

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Hermann Goering entering the defendants' dock
Hermann Goering was found guilty on all four convictions. He was sentenced to death but committed suicide on October 15, 1946 only three hours before he was to be hung.

Rudolf Hess

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Rudolf Hess was found guilty of Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War and Crimes Against Peace.  He was sentenced to life in prison and served it out in Spandau, which was a prison built for 600 prisoners but he was the only prisoner. He died there on August 17, 1987 after committing suicide.

Alfred Jodl

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He was sentenced to hanging but asked if he could be shot as a soldier instead. His wish was not granted and he was hung on October 16, 1946. He was convicted on all four accounts. Later an appeal was brought to the German court and they found him not guilty of breaking international law.

Ernst Kaltenbrunner

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Ernst Kaltenbrunner was found guilty of all four crimes and was sentenced to death and was hanged on October 16, 1946. He was one of the most feared henchmen in Nazi Germany.

Wilhelm Keitel

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Wilhelm Keitel was arrested in May 13, 1945. When he was put on trial he claimed that he was just following orders. His claims were rejected. He was found guilty of all four crimes and was sentenced to be hung but asked to be shot instead of being hung. This request was denied and he was hanged on October 16, 1946.

Konstantin von Neurath

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He was convicted on all four of the indictment but was not sentenced to death. He had tried to leave his position but Hitler did not allow him to do so. In the end Konstantin von Neurath just left his position. This is what saved his life. He was only sentenced to fifteen years in prison and was released early in 1954, having only served eight years. He died on August 14, 1956.

Franz von Papen

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He was found not guilty of any of the crimes. Franz con Papen was sentenced by a German court to 8 years in work camp because he was judged to be a "major offender". He was forgiven of his crimes and was released in January of 1949. He later wrote and published his Memoirs in 1952. Franz von Papen died on May 2, 1969 in Obersasbach.

Erich Raeder

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Erich Raeder was convicted of Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity. He was not sentenced to death but rather life in prison where he was released early in 1955.

Joachim von Ribbentrop

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He denied knowing anything about German concentration camps and racial extermination policies. Joachim von Ribbentrop was convicted of all four crimes and was sentenced to death. He was hanged on October 16, 1946.

Alfred Rosenberg

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Alfred Rosenberg admitted to knowing about the extermination of Jews and taking part in forced labor programs. He was convicted on all four accounts. Alfred Rosenberg was sentenced to death by hanging on October 16, 1946.

Fritz Sauckel

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Fritz Sauckel was convicted of Crimes Against Humanity and Crimes Against Peace. He wans sentenced to death and hanged on October 16, 1946.

Hjalmar Schacht

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All of his charges were dropped because he had been part of an assassination plot to kill Hitler that failed. He was jailed for that until the allies liberated him. Some wanted him to pay for being part of Hitler's inner circle but no one could decided what he should be accused of. After he was released, he went on to be a successful financial adviser for the reestablished countries in Europe. The denazification court sent him to 8 years in work camp.

Baldur von Schirach

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Was only found guilty of Crimes Against Humanity and served twenty years in prison with the company of Rudolf Hess and Albert Speer in Spandau prison. After he was released he published his memoirs in Ich Glaubte an Hitler. He died in his sleep on August 8, 1974. 

Arthur Seyss-Inquart

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Arthur Seyss-Inquart was found guilty  on war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. He was held partially responsible for the deportation of Dutch Jews and shooting the hostages. He was hanged on October 16, 1946.

Albert Speer

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Albert Speer was charged with employing concentration camp prisoners and forced laborers in the industries that he run. Albert Speer was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for using slave labor to increase production. He was the only defendant to accept the responsibility for the practices of the Nazi regime, not just his but also ones that were not under his control. He was sentences to 20 years in prison.

Julius Streicher

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Julius Streicher was charged for crimes against humanity. Part of his accusation was for publishing an anti-Jewish, Der Stuermer, paper that was used for propaganda. He had been an important part of Hitler's plan to take down the Bavarian government. Julius Streicher was convicted of crimes against humanity and was hanged on October 16, 1946 in Nuremberg, which was his former stronghold. His final conviction was two of the four counts that most of the men faced. They found no way to charge him of "conspiring to wage aggressive war" or "war crimes," but they did fin him guilty for "crimes against humanity," by showing racial hatred through his writings. Some questioned this because his newspaper had been private and not part of Hitler's government and had nothing to do with military actions.