The 30 Minute Rule begins November 19 at 7:00 PM EST. An Initial Bid Must Be Placed By November 19 at 6:00 PM EST To Participate After 6:00 PM EST
Two items stemming from Göring's incarceration and trial at Nuremberg:
- Partly-printed DS, in German, signed "Hermann Göring," one page, 7.75 x 10.5, November 14, 1945. Document headed, "The International Military Tribunal, Defendant's Application for Document," made while preparing his defense for the Nuremberg trials. Göring and his defense lawyer request the book "Author: Neville Hendersson, Title: Failure of a Mission," saying that "Henderson describes in this book Goering's endeavors to preserve the peace...as evidence that Goering was opposed to a war of aggression and strove for a peaceful understanding." Signed at the conclusion in fountain pen by Hermann Göring, and countersigned by his defense counsel. Backed by lightweight cardstock and in fine condition. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation; a translation of his wife Emmy Göring's letter to the IMT is affixed to the reverse.
- ALS in German, signed “Emmy Göring,” three pages, 8 x 10.25, July 24, 1946. Handwritten letter to the International Military Tribunal, in full (translated): "I am submitting herewith a great request. Would it be possible for me to see my husband for a few minutes? I haven't seen my husband for a year and a quarter and I am longing so terribly for him that I don't see any way out; I need strength to carry on without my husband. A few minutes when I see him and could hold his hand would help me to no end. From the depths of my heart, I implore you not to refuse my request. I would be obliged if I could see him as soon as possible, in any case, however, before his last word. My husband is very much worried about my child and myself, who are without protection and help. It would also be, for him, of tremendous help if we could see each other." Backed by lightweight cardstock (with pages two and three back-to-back) and in fine condition, with slight blurring and offsetting to ink; affixed to the reverse of the first page is a contemporary copy of a letter by Nuremberg commandant Burton C. Andrus, dated October 17, 1946, noting that "Goering's carcass was delivered to the execution team at 0254."
Emmy Göring’s appeal came at a pivotal moment in the Nuremberg proceedings. When she wrote on July 24, 1946, the trial of her husband—Hitler’s designated successor for much of the Third Reich and the most prominent defendant before the International Military Tribunal—was nearing its conclusion. Her reference to seeing him “before his last word” anticipated the defendants’ final statements to the Tribunal, delivered on August 31, when Göring again denied responsibility for the crimes charged against him.
On October 1, Göring was convicted on all four counts and sentenced to death by hanging; Emmy and their daughter Edda were ultimately permitted a final visit. Göring avoided the gallows by swallowing cyanide on the night of October 15, only hours before the executions, lending a grim immediacy to the Andrus memorandum affixed to this letter recording the transfer of his body to the execution detail at 2:54 a.m.
