high command trial

The High Command Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Wilhelm von Leeb, et. al.) was the last of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT). The accused in this trial were all high-ranking generals of the German Wehrmacht (one was a former Admiral) and former members of the High Command of Nazi Germany's military forces. They were charged with having participated in or planned or facilitated the execution of the numerous atrocities committed in countries occupied by the German forces during the war. The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal V-A, were John C. Young (presiding judge) from Colorado, Winfield B. Hale from Tennessee, and Justin W. Harding from Alaska. The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor. The indictment was filed on November 28, 1947; the trial lasted from December 30 that year until October 28, 1948. Of the 14 defendants indicted, two were acquitted on all counts. Johannes Blaskowitz committed suicide during the trial. The remaining nine defendants received prison sentences ranging from three years including time served to lifetime imprisonment.

Indictment

The accused faced four charges of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity:

Crimes against peace by waging aggressive war against other nations and violating international treaties.
War crimes by being responsible for murder, ill-treatment and other crimes against prisoners of war and enemy belligerents.
Crimes against humanity by participating or ordering the murder, torture, deportation, hostage-taking, etc. of civilians in occupied countries.
Participating and organizing the formulations and execution of a common plan and conspiracy to commit aformentioned crimes.

All defendants were indicted on all counts; they all pleaded "not guilty". Count 4 of the indictment—the conspiracy charge—was soon dropped by the tribunal because it was already covered by the other charges. On count 1, the tribunal considered all accused not guilty, stating that they were not the policy-makers and that preparing for war and fighting a war on orders was not a criminal offense under the applicable international law of the time.

Defendants

lign="left"\|Function	colspan="4"\|Charges	align="left"\|Sentence
nbsp;		1!!2!!3!!4
align="top"\|Wilhelm von Leeb	valign="top"\|Former Field Marshal (until 1941)	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|3 years' imprisonment; released after the trial
align="top"\|Hugo Sperrle	valign="top"\|Former Field Marshal	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|acquitted
align="top"\|Georg von Kchler	valign="top"\|Former Field Marshal	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|20 years' imprisonment; reduced to 12 years in 1951; released 1953 due to medical reasons.
align="top"\|Johannes Blaskowitz	valign="top"\|Former Generaloberst	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|Committed suicide during the trial on February 8, 1948
align="top"\|Hermann Hoth	valign="top"\|Former Generaloberst	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|15 years' imprisonment; released 1954.
align="top"\|Georg-Hans Reinhardt	valign="top"\|Former Generaloberst	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|15 years' imprisonment; released 1952.
align="top"\|Hans von Salmuth	valign="top"\|Former Generaloberst	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|20 years' imprisonment; reduced to 12 years in 1951
align="top"\|Karl-Adolf Hollidt	valign="top"\|Former Generaloberst	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|5 years' imprisonment; released December 22, 1949
align="top"\|Otto Schniewind	valign="top"\|Former Admiral	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|acquitted
align="top"\|Karl von Roques	valign="top"\|Former Generalleutnant	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|20 years' imprisonment; died December 24, 1949.
align="top"\|Hermann Reinecke	valign="top"\|Former Generalleutnant; head of the General Office of the Armed Forces at OKW (Allgemeines Wehrmachts-Amt, AWA), also head of the office for the NSFO (National-Sozialistische Fhrungs-Offiziere, Nazi officers charged with political propaganda in the Wehrmacht)	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|lifetime imprisonment
align="top"\|Walter Warlimont	valign="top"\|Former Generalleutnant; deputy head of the Wehrmacht-Fhrungsstab (WMFS), the Armed Forces Operations Staff.	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|lifetime imprisonment; commuted to 18 years in 1951; released 1954.
align="top"\|Otto Whler	valign="top"\|Former Generalleutnant	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|8 years' imprisonment; released 1951
align="top"\|Rudolf Lehmann	valign="top"\|Former Generalleutnant, Judge Advocate-General of the OKW and as such responsible for the elaboration of the Commissar order, the Barbarossa order, and others.	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|G	valign="top"\|I	valign="top"\|7 years' imprisonment

I — Indicted G — Indicted and found guilty All sentences included time already served in custody since April 7, 1945.

Note

There was also a "High Command Case" in the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal. In that case, the German supreme command of the armed forces (OKW – Oberkommando Wehrmacht) was acquitted of the charge of having been a criminal organization.

References

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