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Partly-printed DS, in German, one page, 8 x 11.75, November 9, 1945. Document headed (translated), "The International Military Tribunal, Defendant's Application for Summons for Witness," made while preparing his defense for the Nuremberg trials. Schacht and his defense lawyer request testimony from "Senior Ministerial Counsellor Sperl," citing his knowledge of Schacht's "struggles against the party, especially against the Gauleiters." Schacht asserts that this will demonstrate his "opposition to the Party." Signed at the conclusion in pencil by Hjalmar Schacht, and countersigned by his defense counsel. Backed by archival paper and in fine condition, with professional cleaning to the paper. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation.
Friedrich Sperl was a high-ranking civil servant who managed the Banking Department under Schacht at the Reich Ministry of Economics before moving to the private sector under Nazi pressure. Both men were arrested by the Gestapo after the failed July 20, 1944 plot against Hitler, and Sperl survived concentration camp imprisonment until the war's end. His testimony backed Schacht's central defense argument, that his early economic warnings and his protection of non-Nazi personnel showed opposition rather than conspiracy. It worked: Schacht was one of only three defendants at the main International Military Tribunal to be acquitted outright, found not guilty on all charges against him.
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