INFORMATION on the MALMEDY CASE to be Heard at Camp DACHAU, GERMANY, 2 MAY 1946 – Prepared by the Prosecution – The Indictment with Photographs of Nazi War Criminals Prosecuted in the Malmédy Massacre Trial (Part of the Dachau Trials), Where 84 American Prisoners of War Were Coldly Murdered by Nazi Officers.
The introduction to the indictment provides a detailed description of the massacre, the role of the chief defendant, commander Joachim Peiper, the organizational structure of the Nazi battalion that carried out the massacre, and the names of the senior Nazis prosecuted. The body of the booklet includes photographs of 74 Nazi war criminals (one per page) – commanders and soldiers of varying ranks who participated in the massacre and were prosecuted during the trial. For each defendant, personal details and the charges against them are provided. For example, regarding the chief defendant, Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Peiper, the following is stated: “The prosecution expects to prove that the defendant: On or about December 14, 1944, ordered his battalion commanders to treat civilians harshly and not to take prisoners of war. On or about December 18, 1944, ordered the shooting of a prisoner of war in his presence. On or about December 19, 1944, ordered the shooting of prisoners in Stoumont. On or about December 19, 1944, permitted prisoners of war to be shot in his presence in Stoumont, Belgium. On or about December 23, 1944, in La Gleize, ordered the shooting of prisoners of war. On or about January 13, 1945, in Petit Thier, ordered the shooting of prisoners of war. Was responsible for the shooting of Allied prisoners of war and civilians by his battalion and battle group between December 16, 1944, and January 13, 1945.”*
The charges against each defendant are detailed in a similar manner.
The Malmédy Massacre was the mass murder of 86 American prisoners of war by German soldiers from an SS armored unit of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division, near the Belgian town of Malmédy. On December 17, 1944, during the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge), a German force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Peiper, a Waffen-SS unit, advanced rapidly to break through the Allied lines. Near the town of Malmedy, Belgium, the German force captured over 100 American prisoners of war.
Instead of detaining or releasing them, the German soldiers executed the prisoners by shooting them mercilessly in an open field. At least 84 American prisoners were murdered in the massacre, while others managed to escape or pretended to be dead. The area where the massacre occurred was only recaptured on January 14, 1945. Due to the harsh cold, snow, and ice, the bodies were preserved in good condition, clearly showing that the victims had been shot in the head at close range. This evidence contradicted the Germans’ claim that they had opened fire because the prisoners had tried to escape. The massacre became a symbol of Nazi war crimes and the atrocities committed by the Waffen-SS. The Malmedy Trial was held from May 1946 to June 1946 as part of the Dachau Trials. 70 individuals, including Sepp Dietrich and Joachim Peiper, were prosecuted. The verdicts were: 43 defendants sentenced to death. 22 defendants sentenced to life imprisonment. The remaining received shorter prison terms. The sentencing provoked outrage in both Germany and the United States, with claims that the trial had not fully delivered the severity of justice warranted against the defendants. On the night of July 14, 1976, Peiper was murdered, and an unknown organization called “The Avengers” claimed responsibility for the killing. The identity of the murderers remains unknown, though suspicions pointed to former members of the French Resistance or Communists. At the time of his death, Peiper had been working on a book about the massacre and its aftermath.
[79] leaves. 28 cm. Very good condition.
