Hermann Göring
Second person in the Reich, Hitler’s first successor
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Supreme Leader of the SA
- General in the SS
- Member and President of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister for Air
- Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force
- President of the Council of Ministers for the Defence of the Reich
- Member of the Secret Cabinet Council
- Head of the Hermann Göring Industrial Combine
- Successor Designate to Hitler
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He promoted the military and economic preparation for war; participated in the planning and preparation for wars of aggression;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
To the court: I plead in the sense of the indictment not guilty.
To the psychologist: The victor will always be the judge and the vanquished the accused.
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Collector of stolen goods, face of Hitler’s diplomacy
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Nazi Reichstag
- Adviser to the Führer on matters of foreign policy
- Ambassador Extraordinary
- Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Member of the Secret Cabinet Council
- Member of the Führer's political staff
- General in the SS
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and promoted the preparations for war;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances; carried out and assumed responsibility for the execution of the foreign policy plans of the Nazi conspirators;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including more particularly crimes against persons and property in occupied territories.
To the court: I plead in the sense of the indictment not guilty.
To the psychologist: The indictment is directed against the wrong people. We were all Hitler’s shadows.
Rudolf Hess
Hitler’s second successor, idol of Neo-Nazis
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Deputy to the Führer
- Reich Minister without Portfolio
- Member of the Reichstag
- Member of the Council of Ministers for the Defence of the Reich
- Member of the Secret Cabinet Council
- General in the SS
- General in the SA
- Successor Designate to the Führer
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany; promoted the military, economic, and psychological preparations for war;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances; participated in the preparation and drafting of foreign policy plans of the Nazi conspirators;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
To the court: I plead guilty before God.
To the psychologist: I can’t remember.
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Head of security services and concentration camps
- Member of the Nazi Party
- General in the SS
- Member of the Reichstag
- General of the Police
- State Secretary for Security in Austria
- Head of the Reich Main Security Office
- Chief of the Security Police and Security Service.
Indictment
- He promoted the consolidation of control over Austria, seized by the Nazi conspirators;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including crimes against humanity involved in the system of concentration camps.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
To the psychologist: I do not assume any responsibility for war crimes, I have only done my duty as the head of an intelligence agency, and I refuse to serve as an ersatz for Himmler.
Alfred Rosenberg
Ideologist of race theory and the Holocaust
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reichsleiter of the Nazi Party for Ideology and Foreign Policy
- Editor of the Nazi newspaper Volkischer Beobachter
- Head of the Foreign Political Office of the Nazi Party
- Special Delegate for the entire Spiritual and Ideological Training of the Nazi Party
- Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied Territories
- General in the SS
- General in the SA
Indictment
- He developed, disseminated, and exploited the doctrinal techniques of the Nazi conspirators; promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany; promoted the psychological preparations for war;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
To the court: I plead in the sense of the indictment not guilty.
To the psychologist: I deny the conspiracy charge. Anti-Semitism was only a necessary defensive measure.
Hans Frank
Defender of storm troopers and executioner of Poland
- Member of the Nazi Party
- General in the SS
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister without Portfolio
- President of the Academy of German Law
- Governor General of the occupied Polish territories
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes; - He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including war crimes and crimes against humanity involved in the administration of occupied territories.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
To the psychologist: I regard this trial as a God-willed court destined to examine and put an end to the terrible era of suffering under Adolf Hitler.
Martin Bormann
Hitler’s right hand, guardian of the party’s gold
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Member of the Staff of the Supreme Command of the SA
- Founder and Head of the Hilfskasse der NSDAP
- Head of the Party Chancery
- Secretary of the Führer
- General in the SS
- General in the SA
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
He promoted the preparations for war; - He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
Wilhelm Frick
Helped Hitler acquire German citizenship and created the Nazi legal system
- Member of the Nazi Party
- General in the SS
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister of the Interior
- Head of the Central Office for the Reunification of Austria and the German Reich
- Director of the Central Office for the Incorporation of Sudetenland, Memel, Danzig, the Eastern Occupied Territories, Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet
- Director of the Central Office for the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Government General of Lower Styria, Upper Carinthia, Norway, Alsace, Lorraine, and all other occupied territories
- Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He participated in the planning and preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including more particularly crimes against persons and property in occupied territories.
To the court: Not guilty.
To the psychologist: The whole indictment rests on the assumption of a conspiracy.
Robert Ley
Trade union Führer, most loyal Hitlerite
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Leader of the German Labour Front
- General in the SA
- Joint Organiser of the Central Inspection for the Care of Foreign Workers
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany
He promoted the preparation for war - He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the abuse of human beings for labour in the conduct of aggressive wars.
Fritz Sauckel
Failed to finish school and revived slavery in Europe
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter of Thuringia
- Member of the Reichstag
- General Plenipotentiary for the Employment of Labour
- General in the SS
- General in the SA
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators;
- He participated in the economic preparations for wars of aggression and wars in violation of treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including war crimes and crimes against humanity involved in forcing the inhabitants of occupied countries to work as slave labourers in occupied countries and in Germany.
To the court: I plead in the sense of the indictment, before God and the world and particularly before my people, not guilty.
To the psychologist: The abyss between the ideal of a socialist society that I had imagined as a former seaman and worker and the terrible events in the concentration camps has shaken me deeply.
Albert Speer
Architecture and ammunition expert
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Reichsleiter
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions
- Chief of the Todt Organisation
Indictment
- He participated in military and economic planning;
- He participated in the preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including more particularly the abuse and exploitation of human beings for forced labour in the conduct of aggressive wars.
To the court: Not guilty.
To the psychologist: The trial is necessary. Even an authoritarian state does not relieve each individual of responsibility for the terrible crimes committed.
Walther Funk
Esthete, journalist, racist
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Economic Adviser to Hitler
- National Socialist Member of the Reichstag
- Press Chief of the Reich Government
- State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
- Reich Minister of Economics
- President of the German Reichsbank
- Member of the Ministerial Council for the Defence of the Reich
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He promoted the preparations for war;
- He participated in the military and economic planning and preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including more particularly crimes against persons and property in connection with the economic exploitation of occupied territories.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
To the psychologist: I have never in my life consciously done anything that could contribute to such an indictment. If I have been guilty of those acts, through error or ignorance, then my guilt is a human tragedy, not a crime.
Hjalmar Schacht
The “financial wizard” of the third Reich
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister of Economics
- President of the German Reichsbank
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
He promoted the preparations for war; - He participated in the military and economic plans and preparation for wars of aggression, and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances.
To the court: I am not guilty in any respect.
To the psychologist: I do not understand at all why I have been accused.
Franz von Papen
Secret monarchist, diplomat
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Chancellor under Hitler
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
He promoted the preparations for war; - He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances.
To the court: In no case do I plead guilty.
To the psychologist: The accusation amazed me, for these reasons: (1) The irresponsibility with which Germany was cast into this war and a worldwide catastrophe, (2) the vast number of crimes which some of my countrymen have committed. The last point is psychologically inexplicable. I believe that paganism and the years of a totalitarian regime are chiefly to blame. Both turned Hitler into a pathological liar in the course of time.
Gustav Krupp
Rearmed Germany, including at his own expense
- Head of Friedrich KRUPP AG
- Member of the General Economic Council
- President of the Reich Union of German Industry
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He promoted the preparations for war;
- He participated in the military and economic planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorized, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including more particularly the exploitation and abuse of human beings for labour in the conduct of aggressive wars.
Konstantin von Neurath
Veteran of German diplomacy from Kaiser to Hitler
- Member of the Nazi Party
- General in the SS
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs
- President of the Secret Cabinet Council
- Reich Protector for Bohemia and Moravia
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators;
- He promoted the preparations for war;
- He carried out and assumed responsibility for the execution of the foreign policy plans of the Nazi conspirators;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including crimes against persons and property in the occupied territories.
To the court: I answer the question - no.
To the psychologist: I was always against punishment without the possibility of a defence.
Baldur von Schirach
Leader of the Hitler Youth and co-author of the Führer’s personality cult
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Youth Leader on the Staff of the SA Supreme Command
- Leader of Youth of the German Reich
- Reich Defence Commissioner
- Reichsstatthalter and Gauleiter of Vienna
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He promoted the psychological and educational preparations for war and the militarisation of Nazi-dominated organisations
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including anti-Jewish measures.
To the court: I plead in the sense of the indictment not guilty.
To the psychologist: The whole misfortune comes from racial politics.
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Austrian fascist, executioner of the Netherlands
- Member of the Nazi Party
- General in the SS
- State Councillor of Austria
- Member of the Reichstag
- Reich Minister without Portfolio
- Chief of the Civil Administration in South Poland
- Deputy Governor-General of the occupied Polish territories
- Reich Commissar for the occupied Netherlands
Indictment
- He promoted the seizure and consolidation of control over Austria by the Nazi conspirators
- He participated in the political planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
To the psychologist: Hopefully this is the last act in the tragedy of the Second World War.
Julius Streicher
Reich’s main anti-Semite
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Member of the Reichstag
- General in the SA
- Gauleiter of Franconia
- Editor in chief of the anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including incitement of the persecution of the Jews.
To the court: Not guilty.
To the psychologist: This trial is a triumph of world Jewry.
Wilhelm Keitel
Field marshal, punisher
- Chief of the High Command of the German Armed Forces
- Member of the Secret Cabinet Council
- Member of the Council of Ministers for the Defence of the Reich
Indictment
- He promoted the military preparations for war;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He carried out and assumed responsibility for the execution of the plans for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, particularly including war crimes and crimes against humanity involved in the ill-treatment of prisoners of war and of the civilian population of occupied territories.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
To the psychologist: For a soldier, orders are orders.
Alfred Jodl
Too obedient general
- Chief of Army Operations Department of the Wehrmacht
- Chief of the OKW Operations Department
- Chief of Staff of the OKW
- Colonel General
Indictment
- He promoted the rise to power of the Nazi conspirators and the consolidation of their control over Germany;
He promoted the preparations for war; - He participated in the military planning and preparation for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in crimes against humanity, including a wide variety of crimes against persons and property.
To the court: Not guilty. For what I have done or had to do, I have a clean conscience before God, before history, and my people.
To the psychologist: I regret the mixture of justified accusations and political propaganda.
Erich Raeder
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy who argued with Hitler
- Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
- Generaladmiral, Grossadmiral, Admiralinspekteur of the German Navy
- Member of the Secret Cabinet Council
Indictment
- He promoted the preparations for war;
- He participated in the political planning and preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He carried out and assumed responsibility for the execution of wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes, particularly including war crimes arising from naval warfare.
To the court: I plead not guilty.
Karl Dönitz
Chief submariner of the Reich, Hitler’s successor as Reich president
- Commander-in-Chief of the U-boat fleet
- Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
- Adviser to Hitler
- Successor to Hitler as head of the German Government
Indictment
- He promoted the preparations for war;
- He participated in the military planning and preparation of the Nazi conspirators for wars of aggression and wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances;
- He authorised, directed, and participated in war crimes, particularly including crimes against persons and property on the high seas.
To the court: Not guilty.
To the psychologist: None of these indictments concerns me in the least. American fabrications.
Hans Fritzsche
Radio propagandist, favourite of Goebbels
- Member of the Nazi Party
- Editor-in-chief of the official German news agency Deutsches Nachrichten Büro
- Head of the Wireless News Service and of the Home Press Division of the Reich Ministry of Propaganda
- Plenipotentiary for the Political Organisation of Greater German Radio
Indictment
- He used his positions and his personal influence to disseminate and exploit the principal doctrines of the Nazi conspirators;
- He used his positions and his personal influence to advocate, encourage, and incite to commit war crimes;
- He used his positions and his personal influence to advocate, encourage, and incite to commit crimes against humanity, particularly, anti-Jewish measures and the ruthless exploitation of occupied territories.
To the court: As regards this indictment, not guilty.
To the psychologist: Only one thing can be more terrible: the coming indictment that the German people will bring against us for abusing their idealism.
Sources:
International Military Tribunal indictment, 18 October 1945.
Stenograph of the International Military Tribunal morning session of 21 November 1945.
“Nuremberg Diary” by Gustave Gilbert
