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ALS in pencil, in German, signed “Seyss-Inquart,” one page, 8 x 11.75, October 19, 1945. Handwritten letter to the General Secretary of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, in full (translated): "I request an interview in the matter of my defense. If the officer who so far participated as interpreter at the interrogation is qualified for this interview, I request that he be designated." Backed by lightweight cardstock and in fine condition, with uniform toning. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation.
Affixed on the reverse is a TLS by William L. Mitchell, General Secretary of the International Military Tribunal, dated December 20, 1945, in part: "Upon consideration of the request by Seyss-Inquart for permission to receive copies of the trial proceedings and documents from his Counsel for use by the defendant during the Christmas recess…The Tribunal expresses the desire that, subject to proper security regulations, this request be met as fully as possible."
Also includes a TLS by Leroy H. Watson, dated December 19, 1945, explaining: "If it is the desire of the Tribunal that prisoners be furnished the trial proceedings and documents, this can be done only by these documents being furnished directly from the Document Division…Upon receipt, they will be subjected to complete scrutiny…and all paper clips or other metal removed…Eve this is recommended against as it would open the way for a great accumulation of papers in the cell tending to untidiness, providing possible concealment of contraband, and creating a fire hazard."
Written just one day after Arthur Seyss-Inquart was formally indicted at Nuremberg, this letter captures the defendant at the very outset of organizing his defense, requesting both an interview and the assistance of an interpreter. The accompanying correspondence further illustrates the extraordinary practical and security concerns surrounding the imprisoned Nazi leadership: even routine access to trial transcripts and defense papers required scrutiny for metal objects, contraband, and potential hazards within the cells.
Seyss-Inquart, Hitler's former Reich Commissioner for the occupied Netherlands and a central figure in the deportation of Dutch Jews and the brutal repression of resistance, ultimately stood trial on all four counts; he was acquitted of conspiracy but convicted of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and hanged at Nuremberg on October 16, 1946.
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