“THE TRIAL OF GERMAN MAJOR WAR CRIMINALS BY THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL SITTING AT NUREMBERG GERMANY…SPEECHES OF THE CHIEF PROSECUTORS…” – The trial of the main German war criminals by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg Germany, starting on the November 20, 1945 – Speeches by the chief prosecutors, the United States, the French Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Soviet Union, at the conclusion of the case against the sole defendants. Published by His Majesty’s Attorney General, London 1946 – First Edition. The copy of the chief British prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials Hartley Shawcross with his signature on the title page.
A very important historical publication and rare in itself – a complete transcript of the speeches of the prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials for the Nazi war criminals delivered in court between July 26 and 29, 1946. The speeches of Judge Robert Jackson (United States), the Attorney General for the British Kingdom Hartley Shawcross, the French prosecutor Auguste Champetier de Ribes, and Soviet General Roman Rudenko.
These transcripts were carried when the Nazi criminals heading the Nazi Leadership were put on trial, and usually when the “Nuremberg Trial” are mentioned, this trial is meant. This trial was conducted before an international military tribunal in which the four aforementioned powers were represented. It took place from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. In this trial, 22 people were tried, including Hermann Goering, the head of the Luftwaffe and one of Hitler’s chief advisors, Martin Bormann, Secretary The Nazi Party prosecuted in absentia, Joachim Ribbentrop, the German foreign minister during the Nazi regime, and Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy. This was the first time that a universal jurisdiction had convened to try war criminals.
The British chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials Hartley Shawcross [1902-2003] is known for his campaign of information during the trials even outside the court walls, especially his famous saying that the leader should not be listened to when it contradicts the conscience of the person. In the prosecution speech he gave which lasted for two days on July 26 and 27, he sought to undermine any belief that the Nuremberg trials were “victor’s justice” in the sense of revenge done against defeated enemies. He continues in his words that this trial is the trial of history not only against the Nazi criminals themselves who committed the terrible crimes, but it is a trial for future generations, to show that the world has not been silent and will not be silent in the face of such crimes, and that their perpetrators will be judged. In his words, he links the execution of the terrible crimes of Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels with the cooperation of the entire German people. He also goes on to detail the steps taken by the Nazis starting in the early 1930s to eliminate the opposition, dictatorial steps that were done in the most violent manner ever.
A central part of his speech was dedicated to the persecution of the Jews: “The final solution of mass murder was already written in Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the Bible of the Nazis… Terrorism, murder, and the persecution of political opponents were only the introduction to the persecution of the Jews…”, and goes on detailing the crimes committed by the Nazis against the Jews, starting with the Nuremberg Laws, and ending with their deportations to the death camps, detailing the part of each of the defendants in the terrible acts, and more. Hartley himself was born in Germany to British parents. In 1945, he was knighted when he was appointed the chief prosecutor of The United Kingdom at the Nuremberg Trials.
200 p. 25 cm. Light stains on the cover. Good – Very Good Condition.
