The verdicts against leading Nazis are announced in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice
The revelations of the war crimes committed by the Third Reich convinced the Allies of the need to bring its leaders to justice. Signatories from all continents concluded the London Agreement, which provided the legal basis for the establishment of the International Military Tribunal to conduct the trial. The charges included the preparation and execution of wars of aggression, crimes against civilians and prisoners of war, and mass murder in the extermination camps.
The city of Nuremberg, birthplace of the Nuremberg Laws and venue for the Reich Party Rallies, was chosen as the location for the trial. The Nuremberg courthouse was largely undamaged, had a prison next door and was located in the American zone of occupation. On 1 October 1946, after more than ten months of proceedings, the verdicts were handed down to 24 “major war criminals”: twelve were sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment, four received long prison sentences, and three were acquitted. Two of the defendants had committed suicide before their sentences could be passed.
Weitere Ereignisse an diesem Tag
1920 Berlin expands, gobbling up surrounding settlements
In 1871, Berlin was a city of some 800,000 people. The unification of Germany started a process of population growth both inside and outside the city limits. After the First World War, more than a million people lived in the seven towns surrounding Berlin: Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Schöneberg, Neukölln, Lichtenberg, Spandau and Köpenick. Territorial reform seemed inevitable, and the Prussian authorities passed the Greater Berlin Act, which came into force on 1 October 1920. This increased the city’s surface area from 66 to 878 km², or 13 times its previous size. The population doubled from 1.9 million to 3.8 million. With the stroke of a pen, Berlin had jumped to become the third largest city in the world in terms of population and the second largest in terms of area.
1957 Thalidomide goes on sale
1 October 1957 saw a new wonder drug go on sale. Marketed as a sedative to help pregnant women sleep and deal with morning sickness, Thalidomide – or Contergan as it was known in Germany – was available over the counter and was prized for its lack of significant side effects. After suspicions arose that it might indeed affect the child’s nervous system and even cause physical damage, the drug was made prescription-only. However, it remained available for several months afterwards and was not withdrawn until late November 1961. Subsequent investigations revealed that at least 5,000 newborn babies worldwide had been born with damaged or missing limbs after their mothers took Thalidomide during pregnancy. Fifty years after the scandal was uncovered, over 2,000 victims of the drug were still alive in Germany.
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