I didn't know it was so bad.
Couple of incendiaries, these old buildings go up like cellophane.
There's a wall that separates the old section of Nuremberg from the new.
Goes back to...
How far does it go back, Schmidt?
- 1219, sir. - 1219.
This is where the Nazi Party held their rallies, isn't it?
They all came here. Hitler. Goebbels. The whole crew.
Thousands of them, from all over Germany.
Does he have to blow that damn horn so much?
It's not necessary to blow the horn so much, Schmidt.
You both know your duties?
Well, here we are. A little bit of old Germany.
- Senator Burkette. - Captain.
Captain Byers, this is Judge Haywood.
- Byers here will be your aide. - My what?
Clerk. General guide. Liaison. Any capacity you wish to use me in.
This will be your staff, sir. Mr. And Mrs. Halbestadt.
Hello.
- Good afternoon. - Good afternoon, Your Honor.
Welcome.
You've already met your driver, Schmidt.
I am at your service any time you need me. Day or night.
Thanks.
Let's show him around the rest of the place. Dan?
We're in the reception room.
Living room.
Study is in there.
There are two bedrooms on this floor, three upstairs.
Furniture is part antique, part US Army.
The piano's showing signs of wear and tear, but it's a genuine Bechstein.
Quite a view, isn't it, sir?
Senator, I really don't need all this.
The United States government always does it right.
- You know that, Dan. - Who used to live here?
An important Nazi general and his wife, sir.
Let's see. Is there anything else Judge Haywood ought to know?
Sir, are there any questions?
Yes.
- You're West Point, aren't you, Captain? - Yes, sir.
- What's your first name? - Harrison. Harry.
Harry, look, I'm not West Point.
And all this formality gets me down a little, not to say puts me ill at ease.
Do you think it would be too much an infraction of the rules...
if you were to call me Judge, or Dan, or something?
Okay, Judge.
We shop at the army commissary.
There isn't enough food at the local markets for the Germans.
The driver knows where it is.
Here's a copy of the indictment of the case. Thought you might want to look it over.
I hope you'll be comfortable here, sir.
Captain, I think the whole state of Maine would be comfortable here.
My office is next to yours at the Palace of Justice...
- if you need anything. - Thank you.
Senator?
Do you think I really need the three servants?
It kind of makes me feel like a damn fool.
It helps them out, as well as you. You see, here they eat.
I need three servants.
It's good to have a man of your stature here, Dan.
Sure.
I was the only man in America qualified for this job.
Senator, you know I wasn't the first choice, nor even the tenth.
- You know it, and I know it. - What do you mean?
Let's face it. Hitler is gone, Goebbels is gone.
Goering is gone. Committed suicide before they could hang him.
Now we're down to the business of judging the doctors, businessmen and judges.
Some people think they shouldn't be judged at all.
So?
So it makes for a hell of a lack of candidates for the job.
You had to beat the backwoods of Maine to come up with a hick like me.
I hope you're not sorry you came.
No. I'm not sorry I came.
I just wanted you to know that I know where the body is buried.
No, I think the trials should go on.
Especially the trials of the German judges. I hope I'm up to it.
You're up to it.
Relax.
Thanks.
Enjoy this place while you can.
You're going to be a pretty busy fellow.
Thanks for everything, Senator.
- See you tomorrow, Judge. - Right.
Shall we take these upstairs?
Yes. Thank you.
- Here, I can take that... - No, let me take it. Please.
Here they come.
The tribunal is now in session.
God bless the United States and this honorable tribunal.
The tribunal will now arraign the defendants.
The microphone will be placed in front of the defendant, Emil Hahn.
Emil Hahn?
Are you represented by counsel before this tribunal?
Not guilty.
The question was, are you represented by counsel before this tribunal?
I am represented.
How do you plead to the charges and specifications...
in the indictment against you? Guilty or not guilty?
Not guilty on all counts.
Friedrich Hoffstetter?
Are you represented by counsel before this tribunal?
I am represented.
How do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?
You may be seated.
Werner Lammpe?
Are you represented by counsel before this tribunal?
Counsel?
Yes, of course. I am represented.
How do you plead to the charges? Guilty or not guilty?
You may be seated.
Ernst Janning?
Are you represented by counsel before this tribunal?
I represent the defendant, Your Honor.
How do you plead to the charges and specifications set forth...
in the indictment against you? Guilty or not guilty?
Your Honor, may I address the court?
The defendant does not recognize the authority of this tribunal...
and wishes to lodge a formal protest in lieu of pleading.
A plea of "not guilty" will be entered.
The prosecution will begin its opening address.
Slow and easy, Junior.
The case is unusual...
in that the defendants are charged with crimes...
committed in the name of the law.
These men, together with their deceased or fugitive colleagues...
are the embodiment of what passed for justice during the Third Reich.
The defendants served as judges during the period of the Third Reich.
Therefore, you, Your Honors, as judges on the bench...
will be sitting in judgment...
of judges in the dock.
And this is as it should be.
For only a judge knows how much more a court is than a courtroom.
It is a process and a spirit.
It is the house of law.
The defendants knew this, too. They knew courtrooms well.
They sat in their black robes...
and they distorted, they perverted, they destroyed justice and law in Germany.
Will the prosecution please watch the light?
- The interpreter cannot follow you. - I'm sorry, Your Honor.
They distorted, they perverted...
they destroyed justice and law in Germany.
Now, this in itself is undoubtedly a great crime.
But the prosecution is not calling the defendants...
to account for violating constitutional guarantees...
or withholding due process of law.
The prosecution is calling them to account...
for murder...
brutalities...
torture...
atrocities.
They share with all the leaders of the Third Reich...
responsibility for the most malignant, the most calculated...
the most devastating crimes in the history of all mankind.
And they are perhaps more guilty than some of the others.
For they had attained maturity long before Hitler's rise to power.
Their minds weren't warped at an early age by Nazi teachings.
They embraced the ideologies of the Third Reich as educated adults...
when they, most of all...
should have valued justice.
Here they'll receive the justice they denied others.
They'll be judged according to the evidence presented in this courtroom.
The prosecution asks nothing more.
Herr Rolfe will make the opening statement for the defense.
May it please the tribunal...
it is not only a great honor...
but also a great challenge...
for an advocate...
to aid this tribunal in its task.
The entire civilized world...
will follow closely what we do here.
For this is not an ordinary trial...
by any means of the accepted, parochial sense.
The avowed purpose of this tribunal...
Is broader than the visiting of retribution on a few men.
It is dedicated to the reconsecration...
of the temple of justice.
It is dedicated to finding a code of justice...
the whole world will be responsible to.
How will this code be established?
It will be established...
in a clear...
honest evaluation...
of the responsibility for the crimes in the indictment stated by the prosecution.
In the words of the great American jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes:
"This responsibility will not be found only in documents...
"that no one contests or denies.
"It will be found in considerations of a political or social nature.
"It will be found, most of all...
"in the character of men. "
What is the character of Ernst Janning?
Let us examine his life for a moment.
He was born in 1885.
Received the degree of Doctor of Law in 1907.
Became a judge in East Prussia in 1940.
Following WWI, he became one of the leaders of the Weimar Republic...
and was one of the framers of its democratic constitution.
In subsequent years he achieved international fame...
not only for his work as a great jurist, but also as the author of legal text books...
which are still used in universities all over the world.
He became Minister of Justice in Germany in 1935.
If Ernst Janning is to be found guilty...
certain implications must arise.
A judge does not make the laws.
He carries out the laws of his country.
The statement:
"My country, right or wrong... "
was expressed by a great American patriot.
It is no less true for a German patriot.
Should Ernst Janning have carried out the laws of his country?
Or should he have refused to carry them out and become a traitor?
This is the crux of the issue at the bottom of this trial.
The defense is as dedicated to finding responsibility...
as is the prosecution.
For it is not only Ernst Janning who is on trial here...
it is the German people.
The tribunal will recess until further notification.
If it's all right with you, Byers can file these briefs later.
That was quite a damning speech by Col. Lawson, wasn't it?
I wonder if those men in the dock can really be responsible...
for the things he listed in the indictment.
I've been here for two years, and after that long...
you find that responsibility is not a cut-and-dried thing.
What are you fellows up to over the weekend?
My wife and I are going to Liège.
There's nothing in Liège. I've been there.
My son was in the 101st.
He's buried in the American cemetery outside Liège.
I'm sorry.
That's all right.
See you Monday, Dan.
Coming my way?
No, I'm going to stay here for a moment. I'm waiting for some records from Byers.
Right.
Here are the reports you asked for, sir.
Thank you.
Captain, do you think you can get me a copy of the books Ernst Janning wrote?
- There are quite a few of them. - I'd like all of them.
And also a copy of the Weimar constitution.
- Do you think you can get that for me? - Of course.
Thank you.
- How long have you been here, Captain? - Two years.
- Two years? That's a long time. - Yes, sir.
- Any friends? - Sure.
German friends?
Yes.
A girl?
Yes.
Her parents were Nazis, but she was eight when they came in.
- I didn't ask you that. - I know.
But maybe you were thinking it. It's natural to think about it.
I thought if anybody was going to indoctrinate her, it might as well be me.
Will there be anything else?
No, I think I'll just take a walk around town on my own.
Try the old section. Everyone stops for beer and sausage there.
Thank you.
- Do you understand English? - Yes, a little.
- What did she say? - She said, "Goodbye, Grandpa. "
Are they treating you all right?
Yes. They're treating me all right.
We still have some friends...
who have contact with the American authorities.
I can tell them if they're not treating you all right.
They're treating me all right.
Dr. Janning...
we are both in an embarrassing position.
I know you didn't want me as your counsel.
I know you didn't want anyone.
But I must tell you something. Will you listen to me?
Yes.
I intend to represent your case with complete dignity.
There will be...
no appeal to sentiment, no falling at the mercy of the court.
The game...
will be played according to their own rules.
We'll see whether they have the courage to sit in judgment on a man like you.
The way I see it...
the most important elements in the case...
are the sterilization decrees, and the Feldenstein-Hoffman affair.
Dr. Janning, I must tell you something.
I admired you...
since I was a boy in the university.
It was because I thought I might be able to achieve...
some of the things you have done...
that saw me through the war.
You have been somebody to look up to, for all of us.
Is that all, Herr Rolfe?
Yes.
Thank you.
Dr. Wieck, do you know the defendant, Ernst Janning?
Yes, I know him.
Will you tell us in what capacity?
We served in the Ministry of Justice together from 1929 till 1935.
Did you know him before that?
Yes.
He was a law student of mine.
- Did you know him well? - Yes.
- Was he a protégé of yours? - Yes.
Why?
He was always a man of great intelligence.
He was a man born with the qualities of a great legal mind.
Would you tell us from your own experience...
the position of the judge in Germany prior to the advent of Adolf Hitler.
The position of the judge was one of complete independence.
Now, would you describe the contrast, if any...
after the coming to power of National Socialism in 1933?
Judges became subject to something outside of objective justice.
They became subject to what was necessary for the protection of the country.
Would you explain this, please?
The first consideration of the judge...
became the punishment of acts against the state...
rather than objective consideration of the case.
And what other changes were there?
The right to appeal was eliminated.
The Supreme Court of the Reich was replaced by...
People's and Special Courts.
The concept of race was made a legal concept for the first time.
And what was the result of this?
The result?
The result was to hand over the administration of justice...
into the hands of the dictatorship.
Now, Dr. Wieck...
Col. Lawson, I would like to ask a few questions.
Did the judiciary protest these laws abridging their independence?
A few of them did.
Those who did resigned, or were forced to resign.
Others adapted themselves to the new situation.
Do you think the judiciary was aware of the consequences to come?
At first, perhaps not.
Later it became clear to anyone who had eyes and ears.
Thank you.
Now, would you please describe for us the changes in criminal law?
It was characterized by...
an ever-increasing inflation of the death penalty.
Sentences were passed against defendants...
just because they were Poles, or Jews, or politically undesirable.
Novel National Socialist measures were introduced.
Among them...
sexual sterilization for those who were categorized as asocial.
Did it become necessary for judges...
to wear any distinctive mark on their robes in 1935?
The so-called Fuehrer's Decree...
required judges to wear the insignia of the swastika on their robes.
- Did you wear such an insignia? - No.
I would have been ashamed to wear it.
Did you resign in 1935?
Yes, sir.
Did Ernst Janning wear a swastika on his robe?
Yes.
That's all. Thank you.
Herr Rolfe.
You used the phrase, "What was necessary for the protection of the country. "
Will you explain for the tribunal...
the conditions in Germany at the time National Socialism came to power?
What conditions?
Would you say there was widespread hunger?
Yes.
Would you say there was internal disunity?
Yes.
Was there a Communist Party?
Yes.
Was it the third-largest party in Germany?
Yes.
Would you say...
that National Socialism helped to cure some of these conditions?
Yes, but at a terrible price...
Please confine yourself to answering the questions only.
Therefore, was it not possible that a judge might wear a swastika...
and yet work for what he thought was best for his country?
No. It was not possible.
You were not in the administration...
from the years 1935 to 1943...
by your own admission.
Is it not possible that your view of the administration...
might be distorted?
No. It is not.
How can you testify about what was going on in the administration...
if you were not there?
I had many friends in the legal administration.
There were journals and books.
From journals and books?
I see.
You referred to:
"Novel National Socialist measures introduced...
"among them sexual sterilization. "
Are you aware that sexual sterilization was not invented by National Socialism...
but had been advanced for years before as a weapon...
in dealing with the mentally incompetent and the criminal?
Yes. I am aware of that.
Are you aware that it has advocates among leading citizens in other countries?
I am not an expert on such laws.
Then permit me to read one to you.
This is a High Court opinion...
upholding such laws in existence in another country.
And I quote:
"We have seen more than once that the public welfare...
"may call upon the best citizens for their lives.
"It would be strange indeed, if it could not call upon those...
"who already sapped the strength of the state for these lesser sacrifices...
"in order to prevent our being swamped by incompetence.
"It is better for all the world...
"if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offsprings for crime...
"or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent their propagation...
"by medical means in the first place.
"Three generations of imbeciles are enough. "
Do you recognize it now, Dr. Wieck?
No, sir, I don't.
Actually, there is no particular reason you should...
since the opinion upholds the sterilization law...
in the State of Virginia, of the United States...
and was written and delivered by that great American jurist...
Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Now, Dr. Wieck.
In view of what you have just learned...
can you still say that sexual sterilization was a novel National Socialist measure?
Yes, I can say it.
Because it was never before used as a weapon against political opponents.
Do you personally know of a case...
where someone was sterilized for political reasons?
I know that such things were done.
That's not the question. Please answer the question.
Do you know of a case?
I don't know of any specific case, or specific date...
I am asking you if you have any firsthand, personal knowledge of such a case!
No, I have no such personal knowledge.
Thank you.
You are aware of the charges in the indictment against Ernst Janning?
Yes, I am.
Can you honestly say he is responsible for them?
Yes, I can.
Do you consider yourself free of responsibility?
Yes, I do.
Did you ever swear to the Civil Servant Loyalty Oath of 1934?
Your Honor, I object.
The witness doesn't have to answer that question.
He's not on trial.
All Germany is on trial, Your Honor.
This tribunal placed it on trial when it placed Ernst Janning on trial.
If responsibility is to be found, the widest latitude is to be permitted.
Objection overruled.
Did you ever swear to the Civil Servant Loyalty Oath of 1934?
Everyone did.
We are not interested in what everyone did.
We are interested in what you did.
Would you read the oath from the Reich Law Gazette, March, 1933?
"I swear that I shall be obedient...
"to the leader of the German Reich and people, Adolf Hitler.
"That I shall be loyal to him, that I will observe the laws...
"and that I will conscientiously fulfill my duties...
"so help me God. "
Everyone swore to it.
It was mandatory.
Yes.
But you're such a perceptive man, Dr. Wieck.
You could see what was coming.
You could see that National Socialism was leading Germany to disaster.
"It was clear to anyone who had eyes and ears. "
Didn't you realize...
what it would have meant if you, and men like you...
would have refused to swear to the oath?
It would have meant that Hitler could never have come to absolute power.
Why didn't you?
Can you give us an explanation?
Has it something to do with your pension?
Did your pension mean more to you than your country?
Your Honor!
I object to the entire line of questioning, and ask that it be stricken from the record.
I thought prosecuting counsel was dedicated to finding responsibility.
Your Honor, I made an objection.
Prosecution is not interested in finding responsibility?
There is responsibility for more here than swearing to a loyalty oath...
- and you know it. - There is indeed.
One thing that even the German machine, with its monumental efficiency...
has been unable to destroy...
Order.
All the victims. More victims than the world has ever known.
- They will walk into this courtroom... - Order!
This tribunal will admonish both counsel. It will tolerate nothing of this kind again.
We're not here to listen to outbursts of this kind, but to serve justice.
Your Honor, I made an objection.
The objection is overruled.
The witness is excused.
Did you ever read any books by Janning?
No, I don't think so.
- The Meaning of the Law. - How is it? Interesting?
All the books by Janning are interesting. They're more than that.
They're a picture of an era, its hopes, its aspirations.
They weren't very different from ours, really.
Listen to this, on the signing of the Weimar constitution:
"Now we can look forward to a Germany without guns and bloodshed...
"a Germany of justice, where men can live instead of die...
"a Germany of purpose, of freedom, of humanity...
"a Germany that calls for the best in man. "
Now, how could a man who wrote words like these...
be part of sterilizations and murders? How could he be?
There are a lot of things that happened here that nobody understands.
I know.
But the prosecution will have to prove...
every inch of its allegation...
against a man like Janning if I'm to pronounce sentence on him.
Gentlemen, I'm on my way. Coming, Ken?
Right.
There's just this business on the curtailment of rights.
Tomorrow.
Dan, my wife is planning a little get-together tomorrow night at the Grand Hotel.
She wants you to come.
I thank you.
And she'd like to provide you with some kind of female companionship.
She has a feeling that you might be lonely here.
No, thanks, Curtiss. Thanks very much.
You know how these wives are. They love to play Cupid.
I think I'll keep it stag.
All right. How about you, Ken?
Thanks. My wife and I have an engagement. Good night.
- Good night. - Good night, Dan.
Mrs. Halbestadt, could I...
Hello.
Your Honor, this is Madame Bertholt.
This is His Honor, Judge Haywood.
Madame Bertholt, this is her house.
She came to get some of her belongings from the basement.
I didn't know she was coming.
This is my responsibility, Mrs. Halbestadt.
I've been storing some of my things here...
until I could get a room large enough to keep them in.
I hope you don't mind.
No. Not at all.
You can examine what I have here, if you like.
Of course not.
Then I'll just take these out.
- Here. - Thanks, Mrs. Halbestadt.
- Let me help you. - No. I can manage all right.
I'll take these outside. Please.
Good night.
It's heavy. It's full of books and pictures...
things that mean nothing to anyone but me.
- Mr. Schmidt? - Your Honor.
Would you drive Mrs. Bertholt home, please?
Yes, Your Honor.
- I hope you're comfortable here. - Yes, I am. Very.
My favorite spot was always the garden.
Remind Mr. Halbestadt to take good care of the rock garden.
You'll get a great deal of pleasure out of it in summer.
I'll sit in front, thank you.
- Good night. - Good night.
- Karolinenstrasse 115, please. - Yes, madam.
Sit down.
You worked for Mrs. Bertholt, didn't you?
Yes, Your Honor.
How long did she live here?
Madame Bertholt?
Madame Bertholt and her family have lived here for many generations, Your Honor.
Thank you.
Your Honor, you came in here for something?
I was just going to make myself a sandwich.
- We will make it for you. - No.
- We will make anything you want. - No. It's nothing.
I always used to do it for myself back home.
What would you like? I have some ham and cheese and liverwurst.
Cheese will be fine.
That's very kind of you.
What was it like, living under National Socialism?
What was it like?
Yes. I mean, day to day?
You know, I know many people at home like you.
You're good people. I believe that.
What was it like for you, living under Hitler?
We were not political. Mr. Halbestadt and I are not political.
No, but...
you must have been aware of some of the events that were going on.
Many things were going on.
There were parades.
Hitler and Goebbels came here every year.
What was it like?
We never attended meetings. Never.
I'm not trying to put you on trial.
I'm just curious. I'd like to know.
- Here's your sandwich, Your Honor. - Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
For instance, there was a place called Dachau...
which was not too many miles from here.
Did you ever know what was going on there?
We knew nothing about it.
How can you ask if we knew anything about that?
I'm sorry.
Your Honor, we are only little people.
We lost a son in the army...
and our daughter in the bombing.
During the war we almost starved.
It was terrible for us.
I'm sure it was.
Hitler did some good things.
I won't say he didn't do some good things.
He built the Autobahn.
He gave more people work.
We won't say he didn't do some good things.
But the other things...
the things they say he did to the Jews and the rest...
we knew nothing about that.
Very few Germans did.
And if we did know...
what could we do?
But Mrs. Halbestadt said you didn't know.
Mrs. Bertholt. How did she react to all this?
Madame Bertholt is a very fine woman, Your Honor.
I'm sure she is. What about her husband?
He was in the army.
What happened to him?
He was one of the defendants in the Malmedy Case.
General Bertholt. Karl Bertholt.
He was executed, Your Honor.
Yes, I know that.
The document then states that the photographer, Rudolf Lenz...
is requested to present himself within two weeks...
at one the hospitals mentioned below...
for medical treatment.
Next, prosecution presents affidavit document no. 488...
which concerns the seamstress, Anni Meunch.
Document reads as follows:
"District Court, Frankfurt am Main, has decided the following:
"The seamstress, Anni Meunch, daughter of Wilhelm Meunch...
"is to be sterilized.
"She is therefore requested to present herself within two weeks...
"at one of the hospitals mentioned below.
"If she does not take herself voluntarily...
"she will be taken by force. "
Next, document no. 449...
interrogatories in the German and English text...
concerning the farmer's helper, Meyer Eichinger.
Your Honor...
defense objects to introduction of these repetitive documents.
According to the ruling of the first tribunal...
such documents are not even admissible...
unless supported by independent evidence of their authenticity.
Objection sustained.
Your Honor, may I ask the defense a question?
Yes.
Would evidence on sterilization be admissible if there were a witness?
- Yes. - Thank you.
Prosecution calls the witness, Rudolph Petersen.
Will you raise your right hand?
I swear by God, the Almighty and Omniscient...
that I will speak the pure truth and withhold and add nothing.
I do.
Will you please tell the court your full name and place of residence?
Rudolph Petersen. Frankfurt am Main, Gratweg Nummer 7.
When were you born, Mr. Petersen?
May 20, 1914.
And what is your occupation?
I'm a baker's helper.
Are your parents living?
No.
What were the causes of their deaths?
Mr. Petersen, did they die of natural causes?
Yeah, natural.
What political party did your father belong to?
The Communist Party.
Now think back.
Do you remember anything unusual...
that happened to you and your family in 1933...
before the Nazis came to power?
I mean, anything of a violent nature.
Yeah.
How old were you at the time?
Nineteen.
Would you please tell the court what happened?
Some SA men broke into our house...
and they broke the windows and the door...
and they called us traitors...
and they tried to beat up my father.
What happened then?
My brothers and I, we went to help him.
And there was a fight...
and finally we got them outside in the street...
and we beat them up...
and turned them over to the police.
Did the police do anything about it?
- No. - Why not?
It was then...
at the time of the national elections.
You mean the time the National Socialists came to power?
Yeah.
What happened after 1933...
after the Nazis came to power?
I got a job on a farm...
but for the work, to drive a truck was necessary.
I went to the city building to apply for a license.
And what happened there?
They took me to an official.
Did you ever have any dealings with this official before?
He was one of the men...
who broke into our house that night.
What did he say to your application?
He said an examination there would have to be.
Where was the examination to take place?
In the district court of Stuttgart.
Who was the presiding justice in the court?
Justice Hoffstetter.
What happened in the courtroom?
They asked me my full name...
and so forth.
What else did they ask you?
They asked me when Adolf Hitler and Dr. Goebbels were born.
What did you reply?
I told them I didn't know, and also that I didn't care.
Did they ask you any more questions?
No. They told me that I would be hearing from them in ten days.
I see. Now, Mr. Petersen...
I'd like you to look at something.
Do you recognize it?
Yeah.
Would you please read it for the tribunal?
"District Court of Stuttgart.
"The baker, Rudolph Petersen, born May 20, 1914...
"son of railway employee, Hans Petersen...
"is to be sterilized. "
Now would you read the last paragraph?
"It is therefore requested...
"he present himself within two weeks...
"to one of the hospitals mentioned below.
"If he does not...
"betake himself voluntarily...
"he will be taken by force. "
Please read the signature at the bottom.
"Presiding Justice Hoffstetter. "
Would you read what is written below the signature?
- Below? - Below.
"By authority of...
"Ernst Janning...
"Minister of Justice. "
Your Honor...
may the defense see the file of Mr. Petersen?
What did you do after you received the letter, Mr. Petersen?
I ran away.
I stayed at the farm of a friend I have.
And did you return?
- Did I what? - Did you return?
Yes.
And what happened then?
The police came.
Where did they take you?
To the hospital.
Mr. Petersen, excuse me.
I wonder if you could speak a little louder, please.
To the hospital.
And what happened at the hospital?
They kept me there.
The nurse who was...
Well, she came in, anyway.
She was to prepare me for the operation.
And she said she thought the whole thing was terrible.
Then the doctor came in who was supposed to do the...
And he said he thought it was awful.
Were you, in fact, sterilized?
Thank you very much, Mr. Petersen.
That's all.
Herr Rolfe?
Mr. Petersen...
you may take your earphones off now, if you want to.
You say you work as a baker's helper? Is that correct?
Yes, that is right.
What other occupations have you held?
I have worked for my father.
What did your father do?
He was a railroad worker.
Yes, but what did he do?
He would raise and lower the barrier...
at the crossing, for traffic.
And you spoke about your brothers. How many brothers do you have?
Five.
And sisters?
Four.
- Then you are a family of ten? - Yes.
What occupations do your brothers have?
Laborers.
All laborers? I see.
You said the court at Stuttgart asked you two questions:
The birth dates of Hitler and Dr. Goebbels. Is that correct?
Yes, correct.
What else did they ask you?
Nothing else.
Are you sure?
Are you sure there were no questions about your schooling?
Objection!
The witness has already answered that question.
Objection sustained.
May I ask you...
how long did you attend school?
Six years.
Six years? Why not longer?
I had to go to work.
Would you consider yourself a very bright fellow at school?
School?
It was a long while ago. I don't...
Perhaps you were not able to keep up with the others...
and that's why you did not continue?
Objection, Your Honor.
The witness' school record has nothing to do with what happened to him.
It was the task of the Health Court to sterilize the mentally incompetent.
Objection overruled.
Were you able, or were you not able...
to keep up with the others?
I would like to refer to the efficiency report made at the school about Mr. Petersen.
He failed to be promoted, and was placed in a class of backward children.
You say your parents died of natural causes.
Yes.
Would you describe in detail the illness your mother died of?
She died of her heart.
In the last stages of her illness, did your mother...
show any mental peculiarities?
No.
In the decision that came down from Stuttgart...
it is stated that your mother suffered from hereditary feeble-mindedness.
That is not true!
Can you give us some clarification...
as to how the Hereditary Health Court in Stuttgart arrived at that decision?
It was just something they said to put me on the operating table.
- It was just something they said? - Yes.
Mr. Petersen, there was a simple test...
that the Health Court used to ask in all cases of mental incompetence.
Since you say they did not ask you then...
perhaps you can answer it for us now.
Form a sentence out of the words "Hare," "Hunter," "Field. "
Your Honor, objection.
Was the court in Stuttgart constituted like this one?
I don't understand what...
Was there an audience?
An audience? Yes.
Thank you.
Objection overruled.
"Hare," "Hunter," "Field. "
Take your time.
They had already made up...
When I walked into the court, they had made up their minds.
They put me in the hospital, like a criminal.
I could not say anything. I could not do anything.
I had to lay there.
My mother...
what you say about her...
She was a woman, a servant woman who worked hard.
She was a hardworking woman...
and it is not fair what you say.
Here.
I want to show you. I have here her picture.
I would like you to look at it.
I would like you to judge.
I want that you tell me...
was she feeble-minded?
My mother!
Was she feeble-minded?
Was she?
I feel it is my duty to point out to the tribunal...
that the witness is not in control of his mental processes.
I know I am not. Since that day.
I've been half I've ever been.
The tribunal does not know how you were before.
It can never know.
It has only your word.
Court is adjourned.
That's one problem we have with the prosecution.
It's filled with young radicals like Lawson.
Is that what Lawson is? A young radical?
He was a personal protégé of FDR.
FDR had a few friends who weren't radicals, didn't he?
Name one.
Wendell Wilkie.
Is he your idea of a conservative?
As a matter of fact, Dan, I've been wondering how you stand.
I'll clarify that for you, Curtiss. I'm a rock-ribbed Republican...
who thought that Franklin Roosevelt was a great man.
One of those?
Max!
- Max Perkins. You know him? - No, I don't think so.
He's with the United Press.
Max, what are you doing here?
I thought you might kick up a row or something.
I haven't had that much to drink.
- I'm sorry, this is Judge Ives. - Hello.
- Mrs. Ives. - How do you do?
- Judge Haywood, Mrs. Bertholt.
- We have met. - Yes, we have.
Won't you join us for a drink?
We would like to very much.
- Max, will you sit here? - Thank you.
Incidentally, Max, I admired your article on Mrs. Bertholt very much.
It was straight reporting.
Her defense of her husband was quite eloquent.
Are you going to do a story on these trials?
I'll tell you something frankly, Judge.
At the moment, I couldn't give a story away on the Nuremberg Trials.
What do you mean, Mr. Perkins?
The American public just isn't interested anymore.
But the war's only been over two years, Mr. Perkins.
That's right.
- May I take your order? - Yes. See what the ladies will have.
How about some more beer, Dan?
No. I think I've had my fill of beer. I'd like to try something else, if I may.
Why don't you try some Sonnenberg, or Schwalbenwinkel? It's the local wine.
- Sonnenberg or... - Schwalbenwinkel.
Yes, I think I'd like that. Some Schweissenwinkel.
- Will you have some? - Yes, thank you. I'll have the same.
- Should we stay with the beer, Max? - Fine.
Thank you.
- You got home all right the other night? - Yes, thank you.
I don't know what I would have done without the car.
You speak English very well, Mrs. Bertholt.
Thank you. My husband and I spent three years in America.
I hope you had a chance to see something of Nuremberg.
I'm afraid mainly the road between my house and the Palace of Justice.
And then some places that have to do with the case, the historical aspects.
The Nazi aspects.
You should see some of the other parts of Nuremberg.
There are many beautiful things to see in the old part of town.
Museums we're trying to rebuild.
And there's a concert, a piano concert next week at the old opera house.
Arthur Reiss. He was a refugee from Hitler in the early days.
We've persuaded him to come back.
It ought to be quite an evening. Would you like to come?
Yes, I would.
I'll tell them to leave a ticket for you at the box office. I'm on the committee.
- Thank you very much, Mrs. Bertholt. - It's nothing.
You see, I have a mission with the Americans, as Mr. Perkins can tell you.
What is that?
To convince you that we're not all monsters.
- Good evening, Colonel. - Good evening.
Colonel. Maj. Radnitz.
Good evening, Mrs. Bertholt.
I hope you'll excuse me.
But you've just come...
No, I must go. Please excuse me. It was awfully nice meeting you.
If you want to hear the concert, there'll be a ticket for you at the box office.
- Thank you. - Good night.
- Good night, Mrs. Bertholt.
Mrs. Bertholt doesn't hold a burning passion for me.
I prosecuted her husband.
There are many people who think a death sentence...
would not have been passed against Gen. Bertholt today.
I'm sure there are.
I'm sure there are people who think...
all the prisoners in Nuremberg should be free today.
All of them. Let...
Excuse me.
I've had one or two too many...
as might be painfully obvious to you gentlemen.
The spectacle this afternoon with Mr. Petersen put me off my feed. I'm sorry.
Three beers and Schwalbenwinkel, please.
Schwalbenwinkel.
It's good beer. They make it good in this country.
You know, there's one thing about Americans.
We're not cut out to be occupiers.
We're new at it. We're not very good at it.
We come over here, and what do we see?
We see this beautiful country.
It is beautiful. It's very beautiful.
We see the culture that goes back for hundreds of years.
We see its gemütlich charm...
and the charm of people like Mrs. Bertholt.
We've got a built-in inferiority complex.
We forgive and forget easy.
We give the other guy the benefit of the doubt.
That's the American way.
We beat the greatest war machine since Alexander the Great.
And now the boy scouts take over.
The trouble with you, Colonel, is you'd like to indict the whole country.
That might be emotionally satisfying to you...
but it wouldn't be exactly practical, and hardly fair.
Hardly fair?
"Hare. "
"Hunter. "
"Field. "
That's right, let's be fair.
"The hare was shot by the hunter in the field. "
It's really quite simple.
Colonel, I think we ought to be going.
Yes, we really shouldn't be discussing this.
No, Judge. We're fair Americans, and true-blue.
We mustn't do anything that's out of order.
No, sir. We can't do anything that's out of order.
There are no Nazis in Germany. Didn't you know that, Judge?
The Eskimos invaded Germany and took over.
That's how all those terrible things happened.
It wasn't the fault of the Germans. It was the fault of those damn Eskimos.
Excuse me.
- Good night, Colonel. - Good night.
Can I have your attention, please? I'm sorry to interrupt your dancing.
The following officers are requested to report to their units.
Maj. McCarthy, Maj. Citron, Maj. Cantor, Capt. Byers...
Capt. Connell, Capt. Douglas, Capt. Wolfe...
Maj. Booth, and Maj. Rice.
Thank you. You can continue dancing.
Harry, what is it?
The Russians have made their move in Czechoslovakia.
It's rumored Masaryk committed suicide. We're sending units up.
What do you think's going to happen?
I don't know.
Judge Haywood...
Elsa Scheffler.
"President Truman responded to the crisis...
"by calling for an extension of military training.
"He stated that he is deeply concerned with the survival of the Western nations...
"in face of the threat from the East. "
"Threat from the East. "
Herr Janning, did you hear this?
Did you hear what's in the paper? Exactly what Hitler said.
"The clash for survival between East and West. "
He knew!
They'll see that we knew exactly what we were doing all the time.
They cannot call us criminals, and at the same time ask us to help them.
We must stand together now.
The most crucial part of this case is coming up.
We have fallen on happy times, Herr Hahn.
In old times it would have made your day if I'd deigned to say good morning to you.
Now that we are here in this place together...
you feel obliged to tell me what to do with my life.
Herr Janning, you must stand with us.
It is not good for Germans to turn on one another.
We have a common ground now.
Listen to me, Herr Hahn.
There have been terrible things that have happened to me in my life.
But the worst thing that has ever happened...
is to find myself in the company of men like you.
I have nothing in common with you and Party hacks like you.
You have something in common. You were part of that same regime.
You stood by that regime, the same as the rest of us.
And there's something else you have in common.
You are a German.
Good evening. Did you like it?
Yes, I did. Very much indeed.
Can I drop you?
I only live a few blocks from here. I was going to walk.
Would you like to go for a walk?
Yes, I would.
I won't need the car now. I'll walk with Mrs. Bertholt.
- Shall I wait for you, Your Honor? - That won't be necessary.
I'll wait for you, Your Honor.
The German people love to sing, no matter what the situation.
I've noticed that.
Do American people sing in bars, too? I have forgotten.
No. We're apt to be pretty sullen in bars.
I wish you understood German.
The words are very beautiful.
Very sad.
Much sadder than the English words.
The German soldier knows he's going to lose his girl...
and his life.
The lantern burns every night.
It knows the steps...
and the way you walk.
It burns every night, but I've been long forgotten.