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Partly-printed DS in German, signed “Hermann Göring,” one page, 8 x 12.75, November 30, 1945. Document headed (translated), "The International Military Tribunal, Defendant's Application for Summons for Witness," made while preparing his defense for the Nuremberg trials. Göring and his defense lawyer, Otto Stahmer, request testimony from Dr. Rudolf Lehmann, Ministerial Director in German High Command, who had knowledge of the following facts: "a) concerning the military breaches of International Law by the countries in a state of war with Germany. b) concerning the conception of Law and the administration of Law of the accused Göring with regard to war crimes within the sphere of the companies under the accused. The Witness shall confirm that Göring as supreme Law Lord of the Luftwaffe always insisted on the most severe punishment of the members of the Wehrmacht under him." In fine condition, with minor archival reinforcements to the file holes at the top edge. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation.
This document comes from the preparatory phase of the Nuremberg Trials, when Hermann Göring—the most infamous surviving Nazi and the main target of the International Military Tribunal—was organizing his defense. As head of the Luftwaffe and a central figure in the Nazi regime, Göring sought to portray himself as a conventional military leader and bureaucrat rather than a principal architect of Nazi crimes. In this request to summon Dr. Rudolf Lehmann, his defense attempts to argue both that Allied powers had also breached international law and that Göring maintained strict legal discipline within his command, even claiming he enforced severe punishment for violations by his subordinates. This reflects a broader strategy to recast his actions within the framework of accepted wartime conduct.
Ultimately, these arguments were unconvincing. The Tribunal found overwhelming evidence of Göring’s central role in the Nazi system, from consolidating power in the early regime to overseeing economic exploitation and participating in policies tied to persecution and genocide. Despite his efforts to defend his record, he was convicted on all four counts and sentenced to death. Göring’s case became a defining example of Nuremberg’s central principle: that top leaders could be held personally accountable for aggressive war and crimes against humanity, regardless of attempts to justify their actions as lawful or necessary.
Lehmann, the witness Göring sought to call, was himself a senior legal official within the German High Command (OKW), serving as Ministerial Director and playing a key role in the Wehrmacht’s legal administration. After the main Nuremberg Trial, Lehmann was tried in the subsequent High Command Trial (1947–1948), where he was found guilty of war crimes for his involvement in implementing and legitimizing unlawful orders, including those related to execution of prisoners of war. His conviction reinforced the broader Nuremberg principle that legal officials who enabled or justified violations of international law could be held criminally responsible alongside military and political leaders.
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