My grandpa after he got out of the army and joined the navy.
I arrived in France in March of 1945. The war with Germany was still going on, but was near the end. After Germany surrendered, I was transferred from Southern France to Germany. I was in a Military Police Company at that time. In the summer of 1946 I was stationed a short distance outside Nuremberg and was a guard at the War Crimes Trials. The trials took place at the Palace of Justice.
The destruction of Germany during World War II had plunged much of the population into desperate poverty. Especially children suffered from the shortage in food and clothes.
What do I remember about this time? I particularly remember the rubble from the bombed buildings and the hungry children. When I close my eyes and try to visualize what I saw, there is no color. Everything is gray.
Germany had been divided into four occupied zones. The trials were held in the American Zone; thus all the guards were American. My MP Company was only one of several that were assigned to the trials. We never knew when we would have duties at the Palace. And once there we did not know if, or where, we would be positioned. We could be placed in the courtroom, the surrounding rooms, hallways, outside the building, or in the prison building. I guess it was that way to keep any kind of relationship from developing between the guards and prisoners.
I had duty inside the courtroom only once. As you entered the courtroom, you noticed the high ceilings and paneled walls. It was a beautiful room.
The Nuremberg judges, upper row left to right: Alexander Volchkov, Iona Nikitchenko, Geoffrey Lawrence, Norman Birkett John Parker, Francis Biddle, Henri Donnedieu de Vabres and Robert Falco
From pictures of the trial, the courtroom looks big. But actually, it was rather small - and crowded. You passed through a visitor seating area and came to a railing. Beyond the railing were tables for the prosecutors. Further on the right was the seating area for the judges. The defendants sat on the left facing the judges. There were several tables in front of the defendants where their lawyers sat.
Nuremberg Trials. Defendants in their dock. The main target of the prosecution was Hermann Göring (at the left edge on the first row of benches), considered to be the most important surviving official in the Third Reich after Hitler's death.
I was positioned against the wall looking toward the judges. I could see the back of the heads of the defendants. In the front row, to my right, sat Hermann Goring with Rudolf Hess on his left. Both were about 15 seats away.
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (at podium, left) and an unknown prosecutor
I noticed that some of the defendants seemed nervous; they were twitching and coughing. Some were constantly looking around and seemed bored. I guess they thought their convictions were already confirmed and they didn't stand a chance.
The court personnel (prosecutors, recorders, attorneys, and others) would arrive first. The defendants would enter and be seated. After a period of time, everyone would stand while the judges came into the room. There was one judge each from America, England, France, and Russia. The judges appeared to be civilians, but I think the Russian judge was military because I understand he occasionally wore a uniform.
Goering (left) and Hess next to him
During the proceedings everyone wore earphones connected to a translator, because four languages were spoken, depending on who was addressing the court.
Picture taking was allowed only before the daily proceedings. I think the proceedings were filmed. There were cameras in the courtroom, but I don't know whether they were actually running.
Some MP's were assigned to the prison, which was a building just across the courtyard in the Palace complex. There were guards everywhere in the prison building: at the entrance, in the hallways, outside each prisoner's cell, standing at the cell door looking through a small opening at the prisoner inside, and some were just waiting in the barracks area.* The guards on duty were relieved every so often. I don't remember just how often.
I was assigned guard duty in the hallway outside the prisoners' cells. I stood with my back to the wall between the cell doors. The guards, at the prison or inside the courtroom, were not allowed to speak to each other or the prisoners. We spoke only when addressed by a superior, and then it was in a hushed tone. Most of our time was spent in the dorm room, lounging, playing cards, reading, or napping.
This is what I remember about the Nuremberg Trials. At the time, I didn't realize the historical significance. I was very young and my mind was on other things.
If you would like to see a very good movie, which depicts this event, watch "Judgment at Nuremberg" with Spencer Tracy.
