German General Alfred Jodl, Albert Speer and Karl Donitz come out of their HQ after their arrest. Jodl was found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg and was executed
23rd May 1945: German General Alfred Jodl, Albert Speer and Karl Donitz come out of their HQ after their arrest. Jodl was found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg and was executed.
In a way it was unjust. Most, if not all, of his actions were the conduct of war. He did make orders as any Admiral would. But if the same standards had been applied to American generals and admirals, they would have been guilty as well.
Doenitz had the best lawyer and it showed.
“Before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Dönitz was indicted as a major war criminal on three counts: (1) "conspiracy to commit crimes against peace", (2) "Planning, initiating, and waging wars of aggression", and (3) "crimes against the laws of war". Dönitz was not indicted on a fourth count of "crimes against humanity". Kranzbühler had the unprecedented task of defending Nazi Germany's last Reichspräsident (President) and Grand Admiral.”
“Kranzbühler made his presence known immediately. In his very first court appearance, he appeared before the international tribunal in his full Kriegsmarine uniform, indicating that if the head of the Navy was on trial, then it would be the Navy that would defend him. This entrance caught not only the attention of the members of the court, but also a group of Russian guards who immediately confronted Kranzbühler with their arms.”
“The indictments made against Dönitz bothered Kranzbühler a great deal. As a result, he wanted to make it immediately clear to the tribunal that, though on the losing side of the war, Dönitz's actions were not deserving of the indictments brought against him. Kranzbühler argued that if the Grand Admiral of the German Navy was to be tried, he should be addressed by the court with the respect he deserved as a military leader. While the prosecutors (including Chief Prosecutor Robert Jackson) and judges at Nuremberg continued to address the defendant without any recognition, Kranzbühler always referred to Dönitz as Grand Admiral, or "Herr Grossadmiral".
“Dönitz was sentenced to 10 years in prison – solely for his conviction related to waging a war of aggression. Once again, Dönitz's order to conduct unrestricted submarine warfare was not officially included in his sentence; however this was still the main reason why most judges wanted him convicted.”
Admiral Nimitz supported his defense with an affidavit that the Allies had engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare in the Pacific.
Dönitz served 10 years in Spandau Prison plus the additional 18 months he had spent at Mondorf and Nuremberg while awaiting trial and being tried. If it were not for the efforts of Kranzbühler, particularly in respect to his defense related to Count #3, Dönitz would have likely served a much longer sentence or perhaps even have been sentenced to death.
“Despite the fact that Dönitz received only 10 years, Kranzbühler was bothered by the ultimate verdict. Remarking on the conviction, he noted that "This conviction was born out of the dilemma to take the Grand Admiral into prison for political reasons". According to Kranzbühler years later "As I learned later on, an American law advisor made the proposal to the Allied control office to nullify the verdict."
“Despite all of the negative aspects of Nuremberg, Kranzbühler did note the importance and significance of the Nuremberg Trials. According to Kranzbühler, the British would have summarily shot the principal leaders of the Third Reich. The Russians would have adhered to the same principle, only multiplying the victims. But the United States insisted that expiation be sought and found by judicial proceedings. In this regard, Kranzbühler concluded that the International Military Tribunal proceedings discharged the tensions between the victors and the vanquished.”
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