Historically important grouping of three trial briefs prepared by key American prosecutors during the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg, which were later presented to Major Robert G. Stephens, Jr., (1913-2003), a staff member of Robert H. Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court Justice who served as chief prosecutor for the United States during the trials. Each hardcover volume, 8.25 x 13.5, bound in contemporary blue leather boards, contains a period printed copy of a detailed brief used to convict the Nazi war criminals on trial. These briefs were individually signed by their respective author and prosecutor and then presented to Stephens prior to his departure from the hearings, ca. Mid-1946. The briefs are as follows:
“The Conspirators Placed Their Dominated Organizations On a Progressively Militarized Basis, Count One - IV (D) 3 (f),” 9 pages, dated November 10, 1945, signed on the lead page in fountain pen, “Morton E. Rome.”
“The Gestapo and the SD and Ernst Kaltenbrunner,” 70 pages, dated November 10, 1945, signed and inscribed on the index page in fountain pen, “To Bob - ‘Good luck,’ Whit Harris.”
“The Nazi Conspirators Sought to Subvert the Influence of the Churches Over the People of Germany,” 21 pages, no date, signed and inscribed on the opening page in fountain pen, “All the best, Bob, Al Martin.”
Meticulous in their arrangement, each of these highly detailed briefs, which bear the occasional handwritten amendment, contains a concise and organized summary of the legal arguments, facts, and evidence that were provided to the court prior to the historic Nuremberg trials. In overall fine condition, with a few small tears, and some light toning and staining.
Between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946, the IMT tried 24 of the most important political and military leaders of Nazi Germany. Its verdict followed the prosecution in declaring the crime of plotting and waging aggressive war ‘the supreme international crime’ because ‘it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.’ In total, 12 of the defendants were sentenced to death, with several others receiving lengthy prison sentences. The Nuremberg Trials marked a significant moment in history, as they established the principle that individuals could be held accountable for international crimes, even if they were acting on behalf of a state. These trials laid the groundwork for subsequent trials of war criminals and played a crucial role in shaping modern international law, including the establishment of the United Nations and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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