Witness statements during Mengele's trial in absentia

Fritz Weinschenk papers

Document

The Fritz Weinschenk papers primarily consist of case files documenting his assistance obtaining witness testimony related to war crimes proceedings in Germany. The papers also include Weinschenk’s writing files related to articles he wrote about the war crimes trials, and Gestapo Bremen and Abwehr files, which contain guidelines and regulations related to the Gestapo and government security. The war crimes case files document Weinschenk’s work with the West German government and West German courts and prosecutors in the prosecution of war criminals from the 1960s to the 1990s. German judicial authorities elicited the help of American lawyers such as Weinschenk to obtain the testimony of the thousands of survivor witnesses who lived in the United States because foreign courts are not allowed to exert subpoena power, many witnesses refused to travel to Germany or were reluctant to testify at all, and German law required that testimony acquired abroad be obtained through hearings conducted according to local procedures. The case files contain correspondence, witness lists and testimony transcripts, court records, billing records, clippings, and notes. Some of the witness testimony is included in formal reports while other testimony remains in the form of handwritten notes. The Martin Fellenz files contain nine black and white photographs of unidentified Nazi officials. The Weinrich file does not provide Weinrich’s first name. The case files series also contains files documenting research into available aerial photographs of the Auschwitz complex and files documenting Hans Buchheim’s expert testimony on the topic of duress. Please note that the files on Auschwitz aerial photography do not contain any photographs. Writing files include articles and drafts by Weinschenk, clippings and articles about the Holocaust and war crimes trials, correspondence with publishers and colleagues about his articles, notes, and programs and announcements for events and publications. A March 1979 letter encloses black and white photographs of Weinschenk at a Jewish War Veterans event. Gestapo Bremen files including Gestapo and Abwehr training course notes, guidelines, and regulations regarding topics such as police powers, technical services, counter-intelligence, espionage, criminal classifications, German émigrés, protection of government leaders, finger printing technology, and homosexuality. These files also include two letters to Dr. Gustav W. Rogge about such regulations. These files are believed to have been acquired by Weinschenk during his service in the U.S. Counter Intelligence Corps.