What exactly would Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels have been charged with had they been tried at Nuremberg?

by namigga

More importantly, what would they have been found guilty of?

Brad_Wesley

There were 4 indictments leveled against Goering and the other high ranking Nazi's in the first of the series of Nuremberg Trials. They were:

A. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace

B. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace

C. War crimes

D. Crimes against humanity

Goering was convicted of all 4, and there is no doubt Hitler would have been convicted as well.

Now, let's look at Himmler. He would said he was innocent of the first two as he was not a military man and didn't plan any wars. On the second two who would have denied knowing of the crimes.

On the second two there is no doubt he would have been convicted as of course he was involved but also his subordinate Kaltenbrunner was convicted with the same defense.

He may have been declared innocent on A. or B., but it's unlikely as other party insiders were convicted of them, including Hess, when Hess was probably innocent of that anyway. Even Wilhelm Frick, the minister of the interior was convicted on B simply because of his high rank pretty much.

So, Himmler is convicted of all 4 and executed most likely.

Goebbels would have said that he was the minister of Propaganda and was not a military man and that his position was a civillian one and that's it.

He still gets convicted on all 4 because:

  1. He specifically was involved in war crimes including the overseeing the shipment out of Berlin of Berline's jews. 2. His role as a propaganda man would have still gotten him convicted as they convicted Julius Streicher of it even though he was just an evil dumbass who edited a magazine and had no real power.

As to the first two, I contend that Goebbels still would have been convicted for the some reason Hess was.