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Title: Doenitz at Nuremberg: A Reappraisal by William L. Hart, H. K. Thompson, Henry Strutz ISBN: 0-939484-05-6 Publisher: Legion for the Survival of Freedom, Incorpora Pub. Date: 01 June, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.75

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Autographs of WWII Personalities
Comment: The full title of this book is: "Doenitz at Nuremberg: A Re-Appraisal -- War Crimes and the Military Professional." There are two editions of this book, the regular issue, and a special edition of only 250 printings containing a page autographed by (Grossadmiral) Karl Donitz: reading "This is copy No. ___ of a limited edition of 250 copies personally signed by Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz". Both editions contain the reprinted facsimile autographs and photographs of over 400 worldwide military officers and politicians, who also wrote a brief paragraph explaining why they believe Admiral Doenitz (Donitz) should NOT have been convicted of the WWII "war crimes" counts levied against him during the 1946 Nuremberg War Criminal trials. There are many very interesting and surprising writings from Allied navy admirals and army generals noting why they beieve Adm. Doenitz should have been acquited. This is a "much needed" reference book for those of us who are autograph-collecting "hounds" of WWII personalities.

Rating: 5
Summary: New Lights on the Trial
Comment: I believe many people heard of the Nuremberg Trial, but I doubt many people know much of the details of the Trial. Nor the debate about the Trial ensued for decades after the Trial. Frankly I have to admit that I myself did not have any idea of it until recently when this book happened to cross me. I wish people read this book with an open-mind. And I wish this still be a country where free speech still prevails. I highly recommend this important book which should not escape the sight of any history-lover and professional historians. The power and merit of this book rest on the brave challenge, the sharp criticism on the sensitive subject--the Nuremberg Trial--that have made by those four hundred leading personalities in the military, law, arts, diplomacy, philosophy, history and religion all around the world (on Allied side) who were armed with richly embroidered knowledge of international law and equipped with the historical truth according to their own experience in the Second World War.

The main points of their challenge and criticism lay in the followings:

First, the Trial was a gross travesty on justice and illegal as far as international law concerned, because, in the first place, 'according to the principles of international law universally recognized up to 1945 and explicitly admitted by the Allied and Associated Powers after the First World War, the Allies had no jurisdiction over the citizens of anther sovereign state for acts done in the service of that state'. In the second place, the law on the Trial was based on ex post facto law. They argued that that the definition of the crime and its punishment were fixed only after commission of the acts imputed alone radically has contravened the ancient principle of jurisprudence: 'Nulla poena sine lege, nullum crimen sine lege.'('No punishment without a law, no crime without a law.'); that the Resolution On Human Rights of the League of Nations was founded on this basic principle, which Article 11 of this resolution states: 'No one may be punished for an act if at the time of this act a punishment for it was not pre-established in international law or in the laws of the county concerned.' In the third place, the trial violated one of the basic principles of law that 'he who judges in his own case is not only a suspect and therefore a challengeable judge; he is simply not a judge. If he sits as judge, the illegality of the process and the nullity of the sentence are absolute and incurable'. In the forth place, the Charter of the Tribunal abolished the rules of evidence which in every civilized country have been introduced for the protection of accused persons against prejudiced and unreliable assertions.

Second, the Trial was unfair in the sense of fairness, because if it was really for trial war criminals, it should put all the war criminals of both sides before justice not only Germans. They even argued that as for crimes against humanity, those governments which ordered the destruction of German cities, thereby destroying irreplaceable cultural values and making burning torches out of women and children should also have stood before the bar of justice. Some opinions are even so bold and so sharp as it is stated that there is no doubt that in ordering the destruction of large enemy cities, which represented an important part of the very basis of European culture and civilization, the Allied political leaders have incurred a dire responsibility before the bar of history.

Third, the Trial was dangerous in military sense, because putting military personals on trial and death just because of obedience destroyed the basic principles of discipline and made any national defense impossible and in chaos. They argued how in the name of common sense a military officer could wage any kind of war except an aggressive one without being a traitor to his country, that everyone took an oath when he entered the U.S. Navy to defend the United States against all enemies---and there was not anything said about doing it in a non-aggressive manner, that after Nuremberg Trial practice, maybe we should add a proviso to the oath saying, 'Before carrying out the orders of my superior officers, I will check to insure that they are compatible with our international commitments, the Charter of the United Nations, etc.'

In short, according to their opinion, the Trial is illegal and unjust, the Trial is just a revenge, a lynch like ancient time, merely victors revenging their vanquished.

Another contents of the book is the deep sympathy and touching apology towards Germans including those dead sentenced by the Trial expressed by those leading personals. For instance, Royal Naval Admiral Sir Barry Domvile states: 'Anybody who was a victim of the iniquitous Nuremberg Trials has my deep sympathy.' Once US Army Colonel and President Judge of Pennsylvania Honorable Edward Leroy von Roden wrote: 'This country owes to Grand Admiral Doenitz and to many other men at the least a humble apology for what we have caused them to suffer...Let us hope that Admiral Doenitz and other enemy patriots will be aware of the fact that there are great numbers of loyal Americans who are ashamed of the behavior of those in our government who were responsible for what was done.'