The Ministries Trial (or, officially, the United States of America vs. Ernst von Weizsäcker, et al. ) was the eleventh of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II . These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal , but took place in the same rooms at the Palace of Justice . The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the " Subsequent Nuremberg Trials " or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT).
66-847: This case is also known as the Wilhelmstrasse Trial , so-named because both the Reich Chancellery and the German Foreign Office were located at the Wilhelmstrasse , a street in Berlin that was often used as a metonym for overall German governmental administration. The defendants in this case were officials of various Reich ministries, facing various charges for their roles in Nazi Germany and thus their participation in or responsibility for
132-467: A Mitläufer (follower) a fine of DM 50,000. Herbert Backe , the former minister for agriculture who should also have been tried, committed suicide on 6 April 1947 while in custody awaiting the trial. Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery ( German : Reichskanzlei ) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called Reichskanzler ) in the period of
198-667: A Nikolsburg preliminary (26 July) and a final peace treaty of Prague (23 August). Austria accepted the Prussian demand for the German Confederation to be dissolved. Prussia was allowed to create instead a "closer federation" ( ein engerer Bund ) in Germany north of the river Main. Bismarck had already agreed on this limitation with the French emperor Napoleon III prior to the peace talks. On 18 August 1866, Prussia and
264-483: A director of forced labour later in the war. Speer recalls that the whole work force—masons, carpenters, plumbers, etc. were invited to inspect the finished building. Hitler then addressed the workers in the Sportpalast ; interior fittings, however, were not finished until the early 1940s. In the end, the project cost over 90 million Reichsmarks (equivalent to 400 million 2021 €), and hosted the various ministries of
330-517: A larger number of North and Central German states signed the North German Confederation Treaty establishing a Bündnis (alliance). The treaty created a military alliance for one year. It also affirmed that the states wanted to form a federal state based on the Prussian proposals of June 1866. They agreed to have a parliament elected to discuss a draft constitution. At the same time, the original East Prussian cradle of
396-548: A narrow corridor, there were certain disposed cells, all eroded by explosions… All this produced a grim and distressing impression. If photography of this underground citadel of Hitler existed, they would become a proper illustration to Dante's Hell ; just select which circle. After World War II in Europe ended, the remains in what was then East Berlin (the Soviet-occupied sector of a divided Berlin) were demolished by
462-858: A new "German Confederation", but it lasted only four months. Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the Constitution of the German Empire which prevailed until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised
528-460: A round room with domed ceiling, and saw before him a gallery 480 feet (150 m) long. Hitler was particularly impressed by my gallery because it was twice as long as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Hitler was delighted: "On the long walk from the entrance to the reception hall they'll get a taste of the power and grandeur of the German Reich!" During the next several months he asked to see
594-598: A stairway set at right angles which could be closed off from each other. Devastated by air raids and almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Berlin , the ruins of the Old Reich Chancellery were not cleared until 1950. In late January 1938, Adolf Hitler officially assigned his favourite architect, Albert Speer , to build the New Reich Chancellery around the corner on Voßstraße ,
660-481: A united Germany and use it as a pretext to launch a violent repression against Catholicism throughout Germany. Thus, it was Bismarck's intention to make the new federal state look like a confederation in the tradition of the German Confederation and explains the name of the country and several provisions in the draft constitution — Bismarck needed to make the federal state more attractive (or at least less repulsive) to southern German states which might later join. During
726-420: A western branch-off of Wilhelmstraße, requesting that the building be completed within a year. Hitler commented that Bismarck's Old Chancellery was "fit for a soap company" and not suitable as headquarters of a Greater German Reich . It nevertheless remained his official residence, where Hitler lived in the so-called Führerwohnung ("Leader apartment"). The Old and New Chancellery shared a large garden area, with
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#1732766222217792-520: The Erfurt Union of 1849–1850. When the union parliament met in early 1850 to discuss the constitution, the participating states were mainly only those in Northern and Central Germany. Austria and the southern German states Württemberg and Bavaria forced Prussia to give up its union plans in late 1850. In April and June 1866, Prussia proposed a Lesser Germany again. A corner stone of the proposal
858-593: The Federal Republic of Germany . The Confederation came into existence following the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 over the lordship of two small Danish duchies ( Schleswig-Holstein ) resulting in the Peace of Prague , where Prussia pressured Austria and its allies into accepting the dissolution of the existing German Confederation (an association of German states under
924-532: The German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared since 1875, was the former city palace of Adolf Friedrich Count von der Schulenburg (1685–1741) and later Prince Antoni Radziwiłł (1775–1833) on Wilhelmstraße in Berlin . Both the palace and a new Reich Chancellery building (completed in early 1939) were seriously damaged during World War II and subsequently demolished. Today
990-588: The Customs Parliament ( Zollparlament ). On 1 January 1868, the new institutions came into force. Bismarck hoped that the Zollverein might become the vehicle of German unification. But in the 1868 Zollparlament election the South Germans voted mainly for anti-Prussian parties. On the other hand, the two Mecklenburg duchies and three Hanseatic cities were initially not members of
1056-559: The Customs Union. The Mecklenburgs and Lübeck joined soon after the North German Confederation was formed. Eventually, after heavy Prussian pressure, Hamburg acceded to the Customs Union in 1888. Bremen joined at the same time. Despite this, all these states fully participated in the federal institutions, even while outside the Customs Union and not directly affected by their decisions in that regard. One of
1122-435: The Prussian king (art. 11). The holder was de facto the head of state of the North German Confederation. (Bismarck wanted to avoid the title Präsident with its republican air.) For all intents and purposes, the Confederation was dominated by Prussia. It had four-fifths of the confederation's territory and population – more than the other 21 members combined. The Prussian king was a kind of head of state. Chancellor Bismarck
1188-699: The Prussian king holding as the head of state the Bundespräsidium was adopted on 1 July 1867. Laws could only be enabled with the consent of the Reichstag (a parliament based on universal male suffrage) and the Federal Council ( Bundesrat , a representation of the states). During the initial three and a half years of the Confederation, a conservative-liberal cooperation undertook important steps to unify (Northern) Germany with regard to law and infrastructure. The designed political system and
1254-500: The Prussian statehood as well as the Prussian-held Polish- or Kashubian-speaking territories of Province of Posen and West Prussia were formally ′annexed into Germany. Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt, former enemies in the war of 1866, had to agree their accession to the new federation in their respective peace treaties (Hesse-Darmstadt only joined with its northern province, Upper Hesse). Later in 1866, other states joined
1320-560: The Reich Chancellery, as mentioned by Gromyko, who stated the following: Doors, windows and chandeliers testified on them the big imprint of the battle, most of them being broken. The lowest floors of the Reich Chancellery represented chaos. Obviously, the garrison of the Citadel fiercely resisted here... All around lie heaps of crossbeams and overhead covers, both metal and wood and huge pieces of ferro-concrete. On both sides of
1386-522: The Reich. In his memoirs , Speer described the impression of the Reichskanzlei on a visitor: From Wilhelmsplatz an arriving diplomat drove through great gates into a court of honour. By way of an outside staircase he first entered a medium-sized reception room from which double doors almost seventeen feet high opened into a large hall clad in mosaic. He then ascended several steps, passed through
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#17327662222171452-577: The age of 25), the Reichstag . Another important organ was the Bundesrat , the 'federal council' of the representatives of the state governments. To adopt a law, a majority in the Reichstag and in the Bundesrat was necessary. This gave the allied governments, meaning the states (and, depending on the state, their princes), an important veto. Executive power was vested in a chancellor , being
1518-473: The building also served as the residence of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg , where he appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. The Hitler Cabinet held few meetings here. In 1935, the architects Paul Troost and Leonhard Gall redesigned the interior as Hitler's domicile. They also added a large reception hall/ballroom and conservatory, officially known as the Festsaal mit Wintergarten in
1584-462: The building and was uncharacteristically free in his praise for Speer, lauding the architect as a "genius". The chancellor's great study was a particular favourite of the dictator. In it there stood a grand marble-topped table, which remained generally decorative up until 1944, when it served as an important part of the Nazi leader's military headquarters; the study being used for military conferences. On
1650-450: The building be of solid construction, and that it be finished by the following January in time for the next New Year's diplomatic reception to be held in the new building. Speer claimed in his autobiography that he had completed the task of clearing the site, designing, constructing, and furnishing the building in less than a year. In fact, preliminary planning and versions of the designs were already being worked on as early as 1935. To clear
1716-481: The constitution was enabled. In August, the first Reichstag of the new federal state was elected. A major factor in determining the form the new federal government would take was the aftermath of the recently concluded American Civil War , which had seen the southern states forcibly re-incorporated into the United States of America and slavery abolished. While few Germans were particularly sympathetic toward
1782-515: The country adopted a new constitution, and the name of the federal state was changed to Deutsches Reich (German Empire). According to a minority among German experts, the North German Confederation and the southern states created a new federal state (the German Empire). Indeed, Bismarck allowed the south German states to save face and therefore used terminology suggesting a new creation. But Kotulla emphasizes that legally only accession of
1848-508: The customs union. Although it was formally inaugurated on 1 January 1834, its origins may be traced to a variety of custom unions among the German states, formed beginning from 1818. The Zollverein was not subordinate to the Austrian-led German Confederation (1815–1866) and Austria itself was excluded because of its highly protectionist trade policy, the unwillingness to split its customs territory into
1914-531: The demolition of the New Reich Chancellery was also supposedly used in the construction of the Moscow Metro's palatial-style subway stations after the war. Also, it is alleged that a heater from one of Hitler's rooms was placed in a Protestant hospital located not too far away from the Reich Chancellery. While the western half of the plot was used by the East German government for the establishment of
1980-590: The empire on 10 May 1871 in the Treaty of Frankfurt . For most of 1815–1833, Austria and Prussia worked together and used the German Confederation as a tool to suppress liberal and national ambitions in the German population. The first major step towards a Lesser German solution was the Zollverein , a customs union formed by the treaties of 1833, with Prussia being the primary driver behind
2046-405: The empire on 10 May 1871 in the Treaty of Frankfurt . The three constitutions (1867, January 1871, and April 1871) were nearly identical. It took roughly a decade to develop the country into a fully grown federal state, with several governmental departments (a kind of ministries), responsible state secretaries (a kind of ministers, 1878), and an imperial court ( Reichsgericht , 1879). All of
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2112-480: The following month. Henceforth, the governing bodies of the Customs Union were the Bundesrat and Reichstag of the North German Confederation, augmented by representatives of the south German governments in the former and members from these states elected in the same way as the others in the latter. When augmented thus for customs matters, the institutions were known as the Federal Customs Council and
2178-677: The functions of the confederation was to handle mail and issue postage stamps. In mid-1870, a diplomatic crisis concerning the Spanish throne led eventually to the Franco-Prussian War . During the war, in November 1870, the south German states of Bavaria , Württemberg , and Baden (together with the parts of Hesse-Darmstadt that were left out of the Confederation) joined the North German Confederation. On this occasion,
2244-544: The garden area. The latter addition was unique because of the large cellar that led a further one-and-a-half meters down to an air-raid shelter known as the Vorbunker . Once completed in 1936, it was officially called the "Reich Chancellery Air-Raid Shelter" until 1943, with the construction to expand the bunker complex with the addition of the Führerbunker , located one level below. The two bunkers were connected by
2310-650: The leadership of the Austrian Empire ), thus paving the way for the Lesser German version of German unification in the form of a federal state in Northern Germany. The construction of such a state became a reality in August 1866, following the North German Confederation Treaty , initially as a military alliance only, while its first federal constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy with
2376-483: The member states had already belonged to the German Confederation of 1815–66. Austria and the south German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained outside of the North German Confederation. Though, the northern province Oberhessen of the Grand Duchy of Hesse did join. In northern, central and eastern Germany, Prussia: Lauenburg is sometimes mentioned as one of
2442-468: The numerous atrocities committed both in Germany and in occupied countries during the war. The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal VI, were William C. Christianson (presiding judge) from Minnesota , Robert F. Maguire from Oregon and Leon W. Powers from Iowa . The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor ; the chief prosecutor was Robert Kempner . The indictment
2508-570: The office of the German chancellor is usually called Kanzleramt (Chancellor's Office), or more formally Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellor's Office). The latter is also the name of the new seat of the Chancellor's Office, completed in 2001. When the military alliance of the North German Confederation was reorganised as a federal state with effect from July 1, 1867, the office of a Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler)
2574-795: The only defendant to do so in the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials . The defendants were all indicted on at least one of seven counts: Count 1: Crime against peace Count 2: Taking part in a common plan or conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes (later dropped by the NMT in all trials) Count 3: War crimes against prisoners of war Count 4: Crimes against humanity through atrocities against German nationals on political, racial, and religious grounds between 1933 and 1939 (count dropped) Count 5: War crimes and crimes against humanity through atrocities against civilian population Count 6: War crimes and crimes against humanity through
2640-532: The only responsible federal minister of the country. There was no formal cabinet, and in the time of the North German Confederation there were only two government departments anyway: the Bundeskanzleramt as the general office of the chancellor, and, since early 1870, the foreign office. The chancellor was installed and dismissed by the Bundespräsidium . This office belonged automatically to
2706-558: The order of the Soviet occupation forces. Parts of the building's marble walls were rumoured to have been used in the building of the Soviet war memorial located in Treptower Park , or to renovate and repair the nearby war-damaged Mohrenstraße U-Bahn subway station. Petrographic analyses of materials used for construction there did not confirm those rumours. Some of the so-called "red marble" (actually limestone) obtained from
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2772-660: The other hand, the Cabinet room was never used for its intended purpose. The New Reich Chancellery suffered severe damage during the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945 (in comparison, the Old Reich Chancellery was not as badly damaged). Andrei Gromyko , who would later become the Soviet foreign minister, visited the partially-destroyed structure a few weeks after the fighting in the city had completely ceased. He recalls, "We reached it not without difficulties. Ruined edifices, formless heaps of metal and ferro-concrete encumbered
2838-408: The plans again and again but interfered remarkably little in this building, even though it was designed for him personally. He let me work freely. The series of rooms comprising the approach to Hitler's reception gallery were decorated with a rich variety of materials and colours, and totalled 221 m (725 ft) in length. The gallery itself was 147.5 m (484 ft) long. Hitler's own office
2904-503: The plundering and spoliation of the occupied territories Count 7: War crimes and crimes against humanity through the enslavement and deportation of concentration camp prisoners and civilians in the occupied countries for slave labor Count 8: Membership in a criminal organization, the NSDAP and the SS ^1 Stuckart was tried again in 1950 before a denazification court and sentenced as
2970-678: The political parties remained essentially the same also after 1870. Shortly after its inception, tensions emerged between the North German Confederation and the Second French Empire , which was ruled by the French Emperor Napoleon III . In Summer 1870, a dispute over a new king for Spain escalated into the Franco-Prussian War . At the time, the original Confederation had nearly 30 million inhabitants of whom 80% lived in Prussia , thus making up roughly 75% of
3036-465: The population of the future German Empire. Under these circumstances, the South German states of Baden , Hesse-Darmstadt , Württemberg and Bavaria previously opposed to the Confederation ultimately decided to join it. A new short-lived constitution subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1871 proclaiming in its preamble and article 11 the " German Empire " despite being titled as one of
3102-600: The precise institution (i.e., slavery) which had precipitated civil war in America, the prevailing viewpoint outside the U.S. at this time was that the slaves had only been emancipated as a reprisal for Southern secession from the American Union. With this in mind, many Catholics especially in Southern Germany feared that Prussia might one day might attempt to engineer a similar sort of secession crisis within
3168-479: The roughly three and a half years of the North German Confederation its major action existed in legislation unifying Northern Germany. The Reichstag decided on laws concerning, for example: The North German Confederation also became a member of the Zollverein , the German customs union of 1834. The North German Constitution of 16 April 1867 created a national parliament with universal suffrage (for men above
3234-651: The separate Austrian, Hungarian and Galician-Lodomerian ones, as well as due to opposition of Prince von Metternich to the idea. Nevertheless, the Zollverein managed to include by 1866 the majority of the German states. In 1849, the National Assembly in Frankfurt elected the Prussian king as the Emperor of a Lesser Germany (a Germany without Austria). The king refused and tried to unite Germany with
3300-533: The so-called "Death-Strip" adjacent to the Berlin Wall in 1961 (when the barrier was being constructed), a Plattenbau apartment block, together with a kindergarten, was built on the eastern half (along Wilhelmstraße) during the 1980s. 52°30′42″N 13°22′55″E / 52.51167°N 13.38194°E / 52.51167; 13.38194 North German Confederation The North German Confederation ( German : Norddeutscher Bund )
3366-572: The southern states to the North German Confederation was possible; the legal basis for such an accession was art. 79 of the North German federal constitution. On 10 December 1870 the Reichstag of the North German Confederation had adopted a new constitution , still titled as one of the Deutscher Bund (German Confederation) in spite of establishing for the state a new name Deutsches Reich (German Realm or German Empire) and granting
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#17327662222173432-412: The space for the New Reich Chancellery, the buildings on the northern side of Voßstraße No. 2–10 had been demolished in 1937. Over 4,500 people worked in shifts, so that progress could be made around the clock. The immense construction was finished 48 hours ahead of schedule, and the project earned Speer a reputation as a good organiser, which played a part in the architect becoming Armaments Minister and
3498-405: The symbolic day of 'foundation of the German Empire' ( Deutsche Reichsgründung ), although it had no constitutional meaning. After a new Reichstag was elected on 3 March 1871, the transition from the Confederation to the Empire was completed when the permanent Constitution of the German Empire prevailing until the demise of the monarchy entered into force on 4 May 1871, while France recognised
3564-472: The title of German Emperor to the King of Prussia holding the Bundespräsidium of the Confederation; it entered into force on 1 January 1871, but lasted only four months. Following the victory in the war with France, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. This latter date was later customarily celebrated as
3630-451: The treaty. The liberals in the Prussian parliament favored a wholesale annexation of all North German territories by Prussia. In a similar way, Sardinia–Piedmont had created the Kingdom of Italy . But Bismarck chose a different approach. Prussia incorporated (in October 1866) only the former military opponents Hannover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, the free city of Frankfurt, and the Hesse-Homburg area of Hesse Darmstadt. These areas were combined into
3696-410: The two new Prussian provinces of Hannover and Hesse-Nassau. Schleswig and Holstein also became a Prussian province. Bismarck sought advice from conservative and democratic politicians and finally presented a draft constitution to the other state governments. At the same time, in late 1866, Prussia and the other states prepared the election of a North German parliament. This konstituierender Reichstag
3762-399: The underground Führerbunker , where Hitler ultimately committed suicide at the end of April 1945. Hitler placed the entire northern side of the Voßstraße at Speer's disposal, assigning him the work of creating grand halls and salons which "will make an impression on people". Speer was given a blank cheque —Hitler stated that the cost of the project was immaterial—and was instructed that
3828-408: The way. To the very entrance of the Chancellery, the car could not approach. We had to reach it on foot..." He noted the New Reich Chancellery "...was almost destroyed... Only the walls remained, riddled by countless shrapnel, yawning by big shot-holes from shells. Ceilings survived only partly. Windows loomed black by emptiness." The last stage of defense by defending German troops took place inside
3894-409: Was 400 square meters in size. From the outside, the chancellery had a stern, authoritarian appearance. From the Wilhelmplatz , guests would enter the Chancellery through the Court of Honour (Ehrenhof) . The building's main entrance was flanked by two bronze statues by sculptor Arno Breker : "Wehrmacht" and "Die Partei" ("Armed Forces" and "The Party"). Hitler is said to have been greatly impressed by
3960-506: Was also prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia. In that role he instructed the Prussian votes in the Bundesrat. Prussia had 17 of 43 votes in the Bundesrat despite being by far the largest state but could easily get a majority by making alliances with the smaller states. In June 1867 a conference took place between Prussia and the south German states, who were not members of the North German Confederation. After pressure from Prussia, new Customs Union ( Zollverein ) treaties were signed
4026-407: Was elected in February 1867 based on state laws. The konstituierender Reichstag gathered from February to April. In close talks with Bismarck, it altered the draft constitution in some significant points. The konstituierender Reichstag was not a parliament but only an organ to discuss and accept the draft constitution. After that, the state parliaments (June 1867) ratified it so that on 1 July
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#17327662222174092-579: Was filed on 15 November 1947; the hearings lasted from 6 January 1948 until 18 November that year. Five months later, on 11 April 1949, the judges presented their 833-page judgment. Sentences were handed down on 13 April 1949. Of all the twelve trials, this was the one that lasted longest and ended last. Of the 21 defendants arraigned , two were acquitted, and 18 others were found guilty on at least one count of their indictments and received prison sentences ranging from three years to 25 years. In addition, one defendant, Ernst Wilhelm Bohle , pleaded guilty, becoming
4158-430: Was implemented at Berlin and staffed with the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck . After the unification of Germany on January 18, 1871, by accession of the South German states, Bismarck became Reich Chancellor of the new German Empire . In 1869, the Prussian state government had acquired the Rococo city palace of late Prince Radziwiłł on Wilhelmstraße No. 77 (former "Palais Schulenburg"), which from 1875
4224-407: Was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia , which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a de facto federal state ) that existed from July 1867 to December 1870. A milestone of the German Unification , it was the earliest continual legal predecessor of the modern German nation-state known today as
4290-404: Was refurbished as the official building of the Chancellery. It was inaugurated with the meetings of the Berlin Congress in July 1878, followed by the Congo Conference in 1884. In the days of the Weimar Republic the Chancellery was significantly enlarged by the construction of a Modern southern annex finished in 1930. In 1932/33, while his nearby office on Wilhelmstraße No. 73 was renovated,
4356-453: Was the election of a German parliament based on universal male suffrage. The proposal explicitly mentioned the Frankfurt election law of 1849. Otto von Bismarck , the minister-president of Prussia, wanted to gain sympathy within the national and liberal movement of the time. Austria and its allies refused the proposal. In summer 1866 Austria and Prussia fought with their respective allies in the Austro-Prussian War . Prussia and Austria signed
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