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Partly-printed DS, in German, signed “Hermann Göring,” one page, 7.75 x 12.75, January 15, 1946. 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. Ramon von Ondarze," citing his knowledge of these facts: "The witness, who was a member of the personal staff of the defendant and answered all sanitary and medical questions turning up there, has knowledge of the following facts: Goering did not know anything of the experiments carried out on prisoners in Dachau by Dr. Rascher and Dr. Romberg."
Göring seeks the testimony to refute "the reproach of committing crimes against humanity." Signed at the conclusion in pencil by Hermann Göring, and countersigned by his defense counsel, Otto Stahmer. Backed by lightweight cardstock and in fine condition. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation, as well as an official copy of a letter by W. L. Mitchell, Secretary-General of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, concerning the witness request.
At Nuremberg, Göring’s defense sought to separate him personally from the notorious Dachau medical experiments conducted by Sigmund Rascher and Hans Romberg, which included high-altitude and freezing tests carried out on concentration camp prisoners for research connected to Luftwaffe operational problems. Dr. Ramon von Ondarza, Göring’s longtime physician and a member of his personal staff, was requested specifically to testify that Göring had no knowledge of the experiments.
When the application was argued before the Tribunal on February 23, 1946, British prosecutor Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe acknowledged that such testimony could be relevant, but von Ondarza had not been located; the court instead permitted testimony from Field Marshal Erhard Milch and left open the possibility of interrogatories should von Ondarza be found. Göring continued to deny any personal role in assigning or authorizing experiments on concentration camp prisoners, maintaining at trial that he had learned of Rascher’s activities only through the Nuremberg proceedings themselves.
Göring was convicted on all four counts charged against him: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but committed suicide by cyanide in his Nuremberg prison cell on October 15, 1946, just hours before the scheduled executions.
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