Archive of four reports and publications on Landsberg Prison, known following World War II as War Criminal Prison No. 1, where convicted Nazi war criminals were held and executed, most having been convicted at the Dachau or Nuremberg Trials. Consists of:
Brief typed description of the history of War Criminal Prison No. 1 headed "Draft," 7.25 x 11.5, two pages, bearing a few handwritten notations. In part: "After the 1st World War and during the period of the German Republic the Prison was operated by the State of Bavaria and it was in this Prison during 1923–1924 that Adolf Hitler was confined after being convicted of High treason against the State of Bavaria. It was during this confinement that Hitler wrote his book 'Mein Kampf'…The American Army took over the prison early in 1946…The Prison was formally designated WCP No 1 in Feb 1947. Many convicted War Criminals were sentenced to serve at this prison. Most of the war criminals who were sentenced to death were executed here. A total of 286 executions were completed here."
Detailed typed outline entitled "Operation of War Criminal Prison No. 1," 8 x 10.5, 27 pages, November 1, 1949, notated "File" at the top of the first page. The document provides the specifics of everything from the construction of the building to a breakdown of meal rations provided for prisoners. Other topics include details on cell size, security measures, personal supplies issued to prisoners, the prison library, educational activities and vocational training, a prison orchestra and choir, and religious services.
Publication entitled Landsberg: A Documentary Report, released by the Office of the US High Commissioner for Germany, 8 x 10.5, 30 pages, stamped on the front cover, "Received, 5 Feb. 1951, WCP No. 1." The report consists of information related to the evaluations conducted by US High Commissioner for Germany John J. McCloy regarding requests for the clemency of war criminals, containing a statement by McCloy, the decisions made on each prisoner, a portion of a report by the Clemency Board, and descriptions of crimes committed by convicted war criminals whose sentences were not commuted.
Typed draft of a report entitled 'The Life and Death of the Last Seven Red Jackets,' by Alfred Heinrich, 8 x 10.5, 50 pages. The manuscript offers biographical information of the last seven men hanged at Landsberg, on June 7, 1951, and offers criticism of the decision to hang them rather than grant them clemency. The seven men hanged were Oswald Pohl, Otto Ohlendorf, Erich Naumann, Worner Braune, Paul Blobel, Hans Schmidt, and Georg Schallermair, all of whom were convicted for mass murder of the Jewish people.
Material is in overall good to very good condition, with moderate to significant dampstaining of most items, covers of the publication and first page of the Heinrich manuscript detached, and various creases and tears.
During the occupation of Germany by the Allies after World War II, the US Army designated Landsberg Prison, located in in the town of Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria, Germany, as War Criminal Prison No. 1, where they held and executed convicted Nazi war criminals. The first prisoners arrived in December 1945 after being convicted in the Dachau Trials, which preceded the Nuremberg Trials. The Dachau Trials were conducted in 489 separate proceedings over the course of three years, and a total of 1,416 were convicted as war criminals, all of whom were sent to War Criminal Prison No. 1. The 'Subsequent' Nuremberg Trials—held after the first, most well-known trial of major Nazi figures—sentenced an additional 110 to the prison. The most famous of these tribunals held at Nuremberg was the Doctors' Trial, in which 16 doctors and officials were convicted of having been involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia; all of those convicted were sent to Landsberg.
The prison became especially controversial with the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, which abolished the death penalty. Germans of all types—politicians, church leaders, businessmen, and artists—called for clemency of the prisoners and closure of the prison. It was at this point that John McCloy agreed to review the sentences of 28 convicted war criminals on death row, ultimately commuting the sentences of 21—this is what is described in Landsberg: A Documentary Report. The death sentences for the remaining seven were upheld, as described in Heinrich's 'The Life and Death of the Last Seven Red Jackets.' Overall this is a historic archive of period items related to these most important postwar trials. RR Auction COA.
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