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The judges comprising the American Military Tribunal which presided over the Dora-Mittelbau war crimes trial. The officers' names, from left to right, are: Major W. M. Vanderburgh, Lt. Colonel L. S. Tracy, Colonel Joseph W. Benson, Colonel Frank Silliamn, III, Lt. Colonel David H. Thomas, Colonel Claude O. Bunch, and Lt. Colonel Roy J. Herte.

Photograph | Photograph Number: 43066
The judges comprising the American Military Tribunal which presided over the Dora-Mittelbau war crimes trial. The officers' names, from left to right, are: Major W. M. Vanderburgh, Lt. Colonel L. S. Tracy, Colonel Joseph W. Benson, Colonel Frank Silliamn, III, Lt. Colonel David H. Thomas, Colonel Claude O. Bunch, and Lt. Colonel Roy J. Herte.

The judges comprising the American Military Tribunal which presided over the Dora-Mittelbau war crimes trial. The officers' names, from left to right, are: Major W. M. Vanderburgh, Lt. Colonel L. S. Tracy, Colonel Joseph W. Benson, Colonel Frank Silliamn, III, Lt. Colonel David H. Thomas, Colonel Claude O. Bunch, and Lt. Colonel Roy J. Herte.

Date
1947 September 25
Locale
Dachau, [Bavaria] Germany
Photo Designation
PURSUIT OF JUSTICE -- Concentration Camp/Atrocity Trials -- US Army Trials -- Dora-Mittelbau (Nordhausen)
Photo Credit
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park

About This Photograph

Event History
On August 7, 1947, an American Military Tribunal in Dachau, Germany brought to trial nineteen former camp personnel and prisoners from the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp system, including a number of its sub-camps. All of the defendants were charged with beating and killing inmates, as well as with indulging in acts of personal sadism against them. Some specific charges were also raised against individual defendants. Shortly after the defense opened its case on October 25, the four kapos among the accused testified against their fellow defendants, providing additionally incriminating evidence. The tribunal's findings were announced on December 24 and all but four of the defendants were found guilty. Following Christmas, sentences were announced on 30 December, with former SS-Obersturmfuehrer Hans Karl Moeser being the only man sentenced to death. Seven others were sentenced to life in prison while the rest received various jail terms. Every one of the defendants, with the exception of one person, was released after serving only from seven to ten years. Moeser was executed in June 1948.

https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007145.

Keywords and Subjects

Rights and Restrictions

Photo Source
National Archives and Records Administration, College Park
Copyright: Public Domain
Source Record ID: 111-SC-290902 (Album 5581)
 
Record last modified: 1998-07-06 00:00:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1040660