A Collection of Photographs from the Nuremberg Trials – U.S. Army Signal Corps Photographers. Nuremberg, 1946

A Collection of Photographs from the Nuremberg Trials – U.S. Army Signal Corps Photographers. Nuremberg, 1946

A rare collection of 14 large-format photographs from the Nuremberg Trials, taken by photographers of the United States Army Signal Corps for internal use. These photographs capture significant moments from the trials, including Nazi war criminals delivering their final statements, scenes from the "Doctors' Trial" against Nazi physicians who conducted medical experiments on human bodies, and a rare photo of the antisemitic propagandist Julius Streicher making his final statement before his execution. Additional close-up photographs from inside the courtroom provide a unique perspective on this historic tribunal. Some of the photographs bear stamps on the back reading "For official use only – not for publication." Others include typewritten descriptions detailing the events captured.

Among the photographs:

• Dr. Walter Schmid on the witness stand during the Doctors' Trial on December 9, 1946, as well as a photograph of Dr. Fritz Witt testifying in the Doctors' Trial, which began on December 9, 1946. In this trial, 23 Nazi doctors and medical personnel were prosecuted for conducting brutal medical experiments on prisoners, prisoners of war, and civilians without their consent, as well as for participating in the euthanasia program, which involved the killing of individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. The trial lasted until August 1947, resulting in various sentences, including death sentences and imprisonment.

• Julius Streicher delivering his final statement. Streicher was one of the leading figures in Nazi antisemitic propaganda, the founder, owner, and editor of the antisemitic and propagandist newspaper "Der Stürmer" (The Attacker). In his defense, he claimed: "Your Honor! Neither in my role as Gauleiter nor as a political writer did I commit a crime… I reject the mass murder of Jews in the same way any decent German would." He was sentenced to death at the Nuremberg Trials for his role in the Holocaust and was labeled in the verdict as "Jew Enemy Number One." (Beside him in the photograph, Albert Speer and other Nazi war criminals can be seen.)

• A close-up photograph of theologian and pastor Werner Jentsch, who served as a military chaplain in the Luftwaffe. In 1945, Jentsch was appointed the German director of the POW welfare service of the YMCA by the Lutheran World Federation. As part of this work, he established a theological seminary for prisoners of war in Rimini. In late 1946, he returned, among other places, to Germany to testify at the Nuremberg Trials.

• Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Nazi war criminal and governor of Austria and the Netherlands, during his final statement with Rudolf Hess seen beside him. He was responsible for numerous war crimes in Poland and the Netherlands. He was charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, planning and initiating an aggressive war, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Among the defendants, he was the only one who did not distance himself from Hitler. He claimed that he had never sought to kill Jews but only to expel them from Europe, as they were "Germany's economic enemies." He was executed in Nuremberg on October 16, 1946, the last among those executed.

• Political prisoner Ferdinand Romhild, a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp, swearing an oath in court before giving his testimony.

• General Dwight D. Eisenhower, stepping off the plane. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, was responsible for planning and executing Operation Torch and the invasion of France and Germany (1944–1945) on the Western Front.

• A guard of honor held by the U.S. Army in the courthouse yard at the opening of the trials, general views of the courtroom, and more.

The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials held in the city of Nuremberg, where Nazi war criminals were prosecuted. The main trial, conducted before the International Military Tribunal, was against the leaders of the regime (The Prosecution vs. Hermann Göring and others), followed by twelve additional trials before U.S. military tribunals, where 185 individuals were prosecuted. Of these, 142 were convicted, 24 were sentenced to death, 20 received life imprisonment, and the rest received various prison sentences. The military trials addressed the Einsatzgruppen, the German High Command, Nazi doctors, industrialists, and other categories.

Photographs of identical size: 21x25 cm. Condition: Very good.