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Partly-printed DS, in German, signed “Hans Fritzsche,” one page, 8 x 12.5, December 12, 1945. Document headed (translated), "The International Military Tribunal, Defendant's Application for Document," made while preparing his defense in the Nuremberg trials. In part (translated): "I, Hans Fritzsche, hereby request that the Tribunal require the production of the following document to be used for my defense: archives of the report 'Deutscher Schnelldienst' of the department 'Deutsche Presse' in the Reich Ministry of Propaganda." He notes that "Before and during the war, the defendant Fritzsche, through his employees and through proper authorities, has examined each report of German atrocities, murders and war crimes that came from abroad…The above mentioned official communication always stated that, either nothing has happened, or that the claim, according to international law has legal facts at its basis. These facts are important in examining the deeds of which the defendant Fritzsche has been accused." Signed at the conclusion in pencil by Fritzsche, and countersigned by his defense counsel. Backed by lightweight cardstock and in fine condition. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation.
This request formed part of the successful strategy that secured Fritzsche's acquittal. The Tribunal accepted that his official duties, formulated by his superiors Reich Press Chief Otto Dietrich and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, did not amount to policy-making power, and that his propaganda work, however strongly antisemitic in tone, was not shown to incite the physical destruction of conquered peoples or Jews. Fritzsche was acquitted of all charges on October 1, 1946, one of only three defendants, alongside Hjalmar Schacht and Franz von Papen, to walk free from the main Nuremberg trial.
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