Microblog Memes

"I am innocent of all the charges made against me. I did not plan, I did not authorize, and I did not commit any of the alleged crimes." -Hermann Goering

"The defendants, who are responsible for these crimes, are not German patriots, but traitors to the German people." -Sir Hartley Shawcross, British prosecutor

Some of the people sentenced at Nuremberg were civilian judges whose "only" crime was being willing to lend the weight of their authority to Nazi law enforcement that led to Jewish people being subjected to Nazi lawlessness.

In its decision, the Justice trial tribunal considered what it called Schlegelberger's "hesitant injustices." The tribunal concluded that Schlegelberger "loathed the evil that he did" and that his real love was for the "life of the intellect, the work of the scholar." In the end he resigned because "the cruelties of the system were too much for him." Despite its obvious sympathy with Schlegelberger's plight, the tribunal found him guilty. It pointed out that the decision of a man of his stature to remain in office lent credibilty to the Nazi regime. Moreover, Schegelberger signed his name to orders that, in the tribunal's judgment, constituted crimes. One case described in the decision involved the prosecution in 1941 of a Jew (Luftgas) accused of "hoarding eggs." Schlegelberger gave Luftgas a two-and-a-half-year sentence, but then Hitler indicated that he wanted the convicted man executed. Although Schlegelberger may well have protested, he signed his name to the order that led to the execution of Luftgas. Another case cited by the tribunal concerned a remission-of-sentence order signed by Schlegelberger. Scheleberger explained in his decision that the sentence imposed against a police officer who was convicted of beating a Jewish milking hand would have been bad for the morale of officers.

Four of the judges got life, six got from five to ten years, and six others went free in one way or another.

https://famous-trials.com/nuremberg/1991-alstoetter