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Partly-printed DS, in German, signed "Hermann Göring," one page, 8 x 12.75, December 5, 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 request testimony from "Dr. Mastny," citing his knowledge of these facts: "The word of honor given by the Defendant Goering to the Ambassador Dr. Mastny referred only to whether the occasion of German troops marching into Austria in March 1938 was intended as proceedings by Germany against Czechoslovakia. Goering replied to the inquiry of witness—as the witness would not quiet down after the reply by the defendant—he gives his word of honor that the intended action concerns only the annexation of Austria and that Czechoslovakia will not be touched by it. The conversation referred only to this case and had nothing to do with later events."
Göring seeks the testimony as "proof that Goering did not break his word of honor." Signed at the conclusion in pencil by Hermann Göring, and countersigned by his defense counsel, Otto Stahmer. Backed by archival paper and in fine condition, with a small spot of paper loss affecting the text. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation.
Göring’s application sought the testimony of Dr. Vojtěch Mastný, Czechoslovakia’s minister in Berlin, concerning a personal assurance Göring had given during the Anschluss crisis of March 1938. According to Göring’s account, he pledged his “word of honor” that German military action was directed solely toward Austria and posed no threat to Czechoslovakia. He now asked the Tribunal to establish that the promise had been truthful when made and applied only to the immediate circumstances of the Austrian annexation.
The request carries striking historical irony. Czechoslovakia did not mobilize during the Anschluss, and within a year Germany had dismantled the Czechoslovak state. At Nuremberg, such assurances were cited as part of the regime’s pattern of calming one neighbor while preparing the next act of expansion. By asking the Tribunal to vindicate his “word of honor,” Göring effectively drew renewed attention to a pledge whose credibility had been overwhelmed by the events that followed—a revealing and unusually self-defeating feature of his defense.
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