Detroit Times newspaper sheet (a daily American newspaper published in Detroit, Michigan) from October 1, 1946, reporting on the sentencing of the Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg Trials, which was delivered that same day. Headline: GOERING, 11 NAZIS MUST HANG – Göring and 11 other Nazis to be hanged. Subheadline: “7 Others Given Jail Sentences” – Seven others sentenced to imprisonment.
On the front page, the newspaper reports:
Nuremberg, October 1 (AP) – The International Military Tribunal today ordered the death by hanging of Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and 10 other leaders of Adolf Hitler’s gang, who brought harm to humanity in the most terrible war in history and were sentenced to death – Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Fritz Sauckel, Colonel General Alfred Jodl, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Martin Bormann (in absentia). The court acquitted three other defendants.
The newspaper further reports on the front page:
Rudolf Hess, the number three German until his strange flight to Scotland during the war, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Also sentenced to life were Walther Funk and Grand Admiral Erich Raeder.
Franz von Papen, the aging gray diplomat who orchestrated intrigues in both world wars; Hjalmar Schacht, the German financial wizard; and Hans Fritzsche, Deputy Minister of Propaganda under Paul Joseph Goebbels, were acquitted. They were released shortly after the verdicts were delivered.
Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, who surrendered Germany and served as Führer in the final days of the war, was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth, and Albert Speer, the German Minister of Armaments, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Konstantin von Neurath, former German Foreign Minister and later “Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, ” was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
It is further written that the Russians protested the acquittals of von Papen and his colleagues, and that the Allies unofficially indicated their dissatisfaction with several of the verdicts in the war crimes trial, believing that the defendant Rudolf Hess should have been sentenced to death.
On the inner page, the correspondent describes the defendants’ reactions as their sentences were read:
“Göring and the others sat. Then Göring collapsed in the corner of his cell with his head resting on the railing. Von Ribbentrop appeared like a man who had seen his own death. He sat motionless, staring at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, his hands tightly clasped. Each of the condemned tried to appear calm, as if he didn’t care, even smiling now and then in an attempt to steady himself—until the sentences were announced. Keitel displayed ‘outward restraint’ until he was sentenced to death, then stood at attention and looked straight ahead without saying a word.”
It is also reported that the Tribunal sharply condemned Göring in its conclusions, declaring that his guilt as head of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and within the Nazi system was “unique in its scope.”
“The fact is that he discovered this man [Hitler] – and he empowered him, ” the Tribunal determined. Regarding Hess, the Tribunal ruled: “Hess behaves abnormally, suffers from memory loss, and his awareness generally deteriorated during the trial – that may be true. But this does not negate the gravity of the acts he was charged with, nor his ability to defend himself… There is no indication that he did not understand the charges against him.” Ribbentrop was described by the Tribunal as one who “voluntarily aligned himself” with Hitler’s policy: “It was Hitler’s policy, but Ribbentrop cooperated with it until the end.” He was judged as having known in advance about the extermination and having taken part in it. Streicher, a fanatical Nazi since 1923, was described as a “pathological anti-Semite” who openly supported the persecution of Jews in the pages of his newspaper. Hans Frank: “He had knowledge that the insane, the elderly, and the unfit would be systematically exterminated, ” the verdict stated. Karl Dönitz: The Tribunal found mitigating circumstances in his case, as he acted as part of an overall naval war. “Dönitz constantly consulted with Hitler, ” it was written. But since naval warfare does not distinguish between combatant and non-combatant – he was convicted, but not sentenced to death.
At the center spread, large photographs spanning an entire page show fourteen Nazi war criminals during the reading of their sentences, the gallows constructed in advance for the execution of those sentenced to hanging, and images of Streicher, Göring, Goebbels, Martin Bormann, and other Nazi war criminals.
The Detroit Times was a daily American newspaper published in the city of Detroit, Michigan. It operated throughout the first half of the 20th century and was one of the city’s leading newspapers during the years when Detroit was a vibrant industrial center in the United States. The newspaper belonged to the Scripps-Howard group and was known for its direct and popular writing style, appealing to a broad readership. It covered current affairs, political and social issues, and featured dramatic headlines and striking visuals—a characteristic common in American journalism of that era. The paper ceased publication in 1960 after merging with the Detroit News.
16 pp. Complete issue. 55 cm. Fold marks and slight tears. Good condition.
