Overview
- Description
- The Robert M.W. and Ruth Benedicta Kempner papers consist of general correspondence, correspondence and legal documents related to the Nuremberg trials, selected publications, research material, and restitution case files documenting lawyer Robert Kempner and sociologist Ruth Benedicta Kempner. The collection includes Kempner’s correspondence and research files, Ruth Benedicta Kempner’s files, and records document Kempner’s law office. Records documenting Kempner’s work at the International Military Tribunal and at the subsequent tribunals include general correspondence, trial records, evidence indexes, prosecution and defense records, research files, and interrogation reports. The collection also includes photographs, scrapbooks, and sound and video recordings.
- Date
-
1935-1993
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Lucian W. Kempner
- Collection Creator
- Robert M. W. (Max Wasili) Kempner
Benedicta M. Kempner - Biography
-
Robert Max Wasilii Kempner (1899-1993) was born in Freiburg, Germany, studied law and political science and other subjects at the universities of Berlin, Breslau and Freiburg. He became the senior legal adviser to the police in Prussia, and he opposed Nazism. After Hitler came to power, Hermann Göring accused Kempner of anti-Nazi activities and fired him, and he was held for two months in a concentration camp. Wilhelm Frick revoked Kempner’s German citizenship on the basis of his Jewish background. Kempner was expelled from Germany and settled in the United States. He returned to Germany after the war and served as assistant U.S. chief counsel during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, heading the Defense Rebuttal Section. His knowledge of the German legal system helped him anticipate the defendants’ defense strategies of prepare for cross-examinations. He also served as counsel at the 1947-1948 trial of the German Foreign Office. After Nuremberg, Kempner split his time between the United States and Germany where he represented Jewish clients in restitution cases against Germany. He also appeared as an expert witness at the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961.
Benedicta Maria Kempner (1904-1982) was born Ruth Lydia Hahn in Geislingen, Germany to a family with a tradition of missionary work. She trained in social work and sociology and worked in Berlin’s youth welfare system. She and her husband, Robert Kempner, were temporarily arrested by the Gestapo and then expatriated from Germany. They moved to Italy and then to the United States. Much of her work was influenced by an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1954 and documents clergy who were persecuted under the Nazi regime.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Scrapbooks. Photographs. Correspondence. Transcripts. Reports.
- Extent
-
400 linear ft..
22 compact discs.
26 phonograph records.
- Extent
-
390 boxes
41 oversize folders
1 book enclosure
60 oversize boxes
- System of Arrangement
- The Robert M.W. and Ruth Benedicta Kempner papers are arranged as eight series and thirty nine subseries:
Series 1: Robert M.W. Kempner Personal Correspondence and Research
Subseries 1: Robert M.W. Kempner General Correspondence
Subseries 2: Birthday Greetings
Subseries 3: Letters of Recognition and Thanks ("Ehre")
Subseries 4: Correspondence Regarding Schooling and Employment
Subseries 5: Correspondence and Other Records Regarding Publications
Subseries 6: Correspondence with Family
Subseries 7: Records relating to Lydia Rabinowitch Kempner
Subseries 8: Personal, Civil, and Legal Documents and Related Records
Subseries 9: Records Regarding Lectures and Speaking
Subseries 10: Correspondence and Other Records Regarding the Eichmann Trial
Subseries 11: Records Regarding the Landeschulheim, Florence
Subseries 12: Records Regarding Kempner’s Dismissal and Loss of German Citizenship
Subseries 13: Correspondence & Other Records Regarding Post-war German And Other War Crimes Trials
Series 2: Robert M.W. Kempner Research Files
Subseries 1: General Subject Files
Subseries 2: Records Regarding Research on German Government Organization and Function
Subseries 3: Records Regarding Research on the German Police
Subseries 4: Records Regarding German Espionage Against the United States
Subseries 5: Records Regarding Postwar German and European Politics
Series 3: Ruth Benedicta Kempner Papers
Subseries 1: Ruth Benedicta Kempner General Correspondence
Subseries 2: Family Correspondence and Related Documents
Subseries 3: Correspondence and Related Records Regarding Publications
Subseries 4: Compiled Research Materials
Series 4: Robert M.W. Kempner Legal Office Records
Subseries 1: General Office Correspondence
Subseries 2: Correspondence with Attorneys
Subseries 3: Civil and Criminal Litigation in Germany Case Files
Subseries 4: Adoption Correspondence and Case Files
Subseries 5: Individual Client Restitution Case Files
Subseries 6: Legal Research Subject Files
Subseries 7: Landsdowne Law Office Client Case Files
Series 5: Records Regarding Robert M.W. Kempner’s Work at the International Military Tribunal and at the Subsequent Tribunals
Subseries 1: General Correspondence
Subseries 2: Records Regarding the Preparation and Conduct of the IMT and the Ministries Case (Case XI)
Subseries 3: Indexes and Finding Aids to Evidentiary Material, Case XI
Subseries 4: Prosecution & Defense Document Books, Case XI
Subseries 5: Research Files on Individual Defendants, Case XI
Subseries 6: Research Files by Subject or Charge, Case XI
Subseries 7: Interrogation Reports
Series 6: Photographs
Series 7: Scrapbooks
Series 8: Sound and Video Recordings
Subseries 1: Phonograph Recordings
Subseries 2: Audiotape Recordings
Subseries 3: Videotape Recordings
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Ministries Trial, Nuremberg, Germany, 1948-1949.
- Personal Name
- Kempner, Robert M. W. (Robert Max Wasilii), 1899-1993.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Lucian W. Kempner donated the Robert M.W. and Ruth Benedicta Kempner papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1999.
- Funding Note
- Digitization of this collection has been supported in part by a grant from Iron Mountain.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 13:42:05
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn502566
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
- In Copyright - Use Permitted
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Requires Research Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
Contact Us
Also in Robert M.W. Kempner collection
The collection consists of artifacts, correspondence, and documents relating to the experiences of Robert M.W. Kempner.
Date: 1935-1993
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) lapel pin
Object
Lapel pin offered to members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) who received certificates commemorating their service in World War II.
Relic of Saint Edith Stein
Object
Devotional keepsake
Object
Devotional keepsake in the form of a red plastic heart with poem printed on front.
Alfred Rosenberg diary
Document
The diary, which begins in April 1936, contains entries in which Rosenberg reflects on contemporary events, including the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, the invasion of Poland, Germany’s relations with other countries prior to the war (Romania, Spain, Afghanistan, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Italy), the personalities and activities of other Nazi leaders, his antipathy to organized religion and to the Roman Catholic church in particular, accounts of his meetings with Hitler, the latter’s affirmations of Rosenberg’s writings and activities, and his perceptions of the popularity and reception of his writings among the general public, including “Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts.” The latter part of the diary treats Rosenberg’s appointment by Hitler as Reichminister of the Occupied Eastern Territories, differences in policy between Rosenberg and others in how to administer these territories, political infighting, eventual military setbacks on the Eastern front, and his accounts of the effects of war and bombing raids on Germany. The diary ends in December 1944. Additional years of this diary (1934-1935) are held by the National Archives and Records Administration (U.S.), in College Park, Maryland. A digitized version is available as is a transcript.
Envelope
Object
Envelope addressed, stamped, and postmarked. Is accompanied by original letter (2001.62.4a).
Medallion pouch
Object
Black leather pouch which opens at top by a flap; used to hold religious medallion (2001.62.6a)
Pouch
Object
Dark green plastic pouch which opens at top by a flap; used to hold religious image (2001.62.7a)
Envelope
Object
Envelope addressed, stamped, and postmarked. Is accompanied by original letter (2001.62.8a).
Envelope
Object
Envelope addressed, stamped, and postmarked. Is accompanied by original letter (2001.62.10a).
Envelope
Object
Partial piece of an envelope addressed, stamped, and postmarked. Is accompanied by original letter (2001.62.12a).
World War I Iron Cross medal
Object
Iron Cross medal and ribbon
Object
Medal
Object
Medal and ribbon
Object
Mother's Cross
Object
