WWII NAZI WAR CRIMES TRIAL AT DACHAU GROUPING WW2

WWII US War Crimes Trials photo grouping consisting of 1) Photograph and envelope of one of the stenographers of the Dachau trials. On the back of the photo all the ladies are identified. The envelope was sent from V.N. Keller clearly stating Dachau Detachment. 2) four small black and white first generation photos of inside the courtroom. These photos measure 3 3/4 X 2 1/2 inches. 3) Seven copies of an original photo of the judges and both defense and prosecution attorneys. 4) Six photos of the security guard detachment and where they were bivouacked. Clearly showing a large Nazi eagle and where the swastika was placed an 18th Infantry DI plaque is over top of it. 5) Six photographs of inside the courtroom 6) War Crimes Security Office pass named to a Czech civilian named Karel Vojacek saying this card is issued in lieu of WDAGO 65 and that it is not transferable and is signed by the Security Commander Captain S. J. Thomas. 7) Dachau concentration camp, 1945. Dachau concentration camp, 1945 - sheet commemorating the memory of those who were murdered in the concentration camp. 8) Two Photographs of Dachau Detachment Judge Advocate Division US ETO. These photos measures 8 X 5 1/2 inches. 9) INFORMATION on the MALMEDY CASE to be Heard at Camp Dachau, Germany 2 MAY 1946. This is not a period copy of the report but still valuable for the information on the inside showing all of the defendants along with their crimes. 10) Signed copy of Jochen Peiper, Justice Denied by David G Williams. Malmedy massacre The Malmedy massacre was a series of killings committed by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper, part of the 1st SS Panzer Division, against American prisoners of war and Belgian civilians during the Battle of the Bulge. Although the killing of over 80 American POWs near Baugnez was the primary subject of the eventual trial, it was only one of a series of war crimes committed by Kampfgruppe Peiper between mid-December 1944 and mid-January 1945. In total, over 750 POWs were murdered, mostly executed at close range by gunshots to the head (though the eventual U.S. Senate investigation would tally the official total at 362 POWs and 111 civilians). Most of the testimony provided by the survivors stated that about 120 Americans from the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion (FAOB), were surprised by the German armored advance on Baugnez, and surrendered. They were then gathered in a field near the Baugnez crossroads, at which time the SS troops fired on their prisoners with machine guns. Several SS prisoners later testified that a few of the prisoners had tried to escape. Others claimed that a few of the prisoners had recovered their previously discarded weapons and fired on the German troops as they continued their progress toward Ligneuville. Of the 84 bodies recovered a month later, most showed wounds to the head, seemingly much more consistent with a deliberate massacre than with self-defense or with injuries inflicted on prisoners who were attempting to escape. As soon as the SS machine gunners opened fire, the American POWs panicked. Some tried to flee, but most were shot where they stood. A few sought shelter in a café at the crossroads. The SS soldiers set fire to the building, and shot all who tried to escape the flames. Some in the field had dropped to the ground and pretended to be dead when the shooting began. However, SS troops walked among the bodies and shot any who appeared to be alive. On January 13, 1945, American forces secured the areas where the killings occurred. The bodies were recovered on January 14 and January 15, 1945, with the cold weather preserving the evidence and keeping the bodies and their wounds mostly intact. The autopsies revealed that at least twenty of the victims had suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head, inflicted at very close range. These were in addition to wounds made by automatic weapons. Another 20 showed evidence of small-calibre gunshot wounds to the head without powder-burn residue; 10 had fatal crushing or blunt-trauma injuries, most likely from rifle butts. Some bodies showed a single wound, in the temple or behind the ear. Most of the bodies were found in a very small area, suggesting the victims had been gathered just before they were killed. Trial proceedings The trial – Case Number 6-24 (US vs. Valentin Bersin et al.) – was one of the Dachau Trials, which took place from May 16, 1946 to July 16, 1946. The defendants appeared before a military court of senior American commissioned officers. The defendants were 73 former members of the Waffen-SS, mostly from the SS Division Leibstandarte. Highest in rank were SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Sepp Dietrich, commander of the 6th Panzer Army, his chief of staff, SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Krämer, SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Priess, commander of the I SS Panzer Corps and SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper, commander of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment - the core element of Kampfgruppe Peiper, which conducted the massacre. The counts of indictment related to the massacre of more than three hundred American prisoners of war "in the vicinity of Malmedy, Honsfeld, Büllingen, Ligneuville, Stoumont, La Gleize, Cheneux, Petit Thier, Trois Ponts, Stavelot, Wanne and Lutrebois", between December 16, 1944 and January 13, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the massacre of about one hundred Belgian civilians in the vicinity of Stavelot. The defense was directed by Colonel Willis M. Everett Jr., a lawyer from Atlanta, assisted by other American and German lawyers. The prosecution was led by Colonel Burton L Ellis. Six defendants, including Peiper, complained to the court that they had been victims of physical violence or threats of violence meant to force them to provide extrajudicial confessions. The defendants were invited to confirm the statements they had made under oath. Of the nine who testified, three had claimed mistreatment they had suffered. For most of the accused, the defense argued that they either had not participated, or had done so by obeying a superior's orders. The court ruled that all but one of the defendants were guilty in some degree. Forty-three were sentenced to death, including Peiper; the rest were sentenced to from ten years to life in prison. Dietrich received a life sentence and Priess 20 years imprisonment. Verdicts On July 16, 1946 the verdict was delivered on 73 members of the Kampfgruppe Peiper. 43 sentenced to death by hanging, including Peiper 22 sentenced to life imprisonment 2 sentenced to 20 years imprisonment 1 sentenced to 15 years 5 sentenced to 10 years