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The Malmédy Massacre Trial (U.S. vs. Valentin Bersin, et al) was held in May-July 1946 in Dachau to try the German Waffen-SS soldiers accused of the Malmédy massacre of December 17, 1944. The highest-ranking defendant was the former SS general, Sepp Dietrich. It attracted great attention because of the nature of the crime and the later disputes about the conduct of the trial. The trial is repeatedly brought up by the German extreme right-wing.
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Trial
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The Malmédy Massacre Trial was held before the Dachau International Military Tribunal. The way this tribunal conducted its trials has been criticised, not only by right-wing and neo-nazi groups, but also in the United States. In the case of the Malmédy Massacre Trial the defense was not permitted to dispute if the crime had actually taken place. Guilt was established beforehand, the defendants were required to prove their innocence. Some witnesses were paid to testify, other witnesses were not made available for cross-examination, some of the defendants were tortured. The chief defence lawyer did not speak German, had never defended anyone in a criminal trial before and had never fought in combat. Some of the people involved in the trial, including investigators and translators, had suffered personally from the Nazi regime.
Verdicts and aftermath
On July 16, 1946 the verdict was delivered on 73 members of the Kampfgruppe Peiper.
- 43 sentenced to death by hanging
- 22 sentenced to life imprisonment
- 2 sentenced to 20 years imprisonment
- 1 sentenced to 15 years imprisonment
- 5 sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
- the former Colonel Joachim Peiper was sentenced to death.
The sentences were commuted at the behest of a U.S. Senate armed services subcommittee led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. In no case was a death penalty carried out.
See also
External links
- The Malmedy Trial and the Legends of Tortured Defendants, IGDR. In German. http://www.idgr.de/texte/legenden/folter/folter.php
- Malmedy Massacre Trial. http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapbook/DachauTrials/MalmedyMassacre01.htmlde:Malmedy-Prozess