Today in History- November 20th NUREMBERG TRIALS BEGIN: November 20, 1945 Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II.The Nuremberg Trials were conducted by an international tribunal made up of representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. It was the first trial of its kind in history, and the defendants faced charges ranging from crimes against peace, to crimes of war, to crimes against humanity. Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence, the British member, presided over the proceedings, which lasted 10 months and consisted of 216 court sessions. On October 1, 1946, 12 architects of Nazi policy were sentenced to death. Seven others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 years to life, and three were acquitted. Of the original 24 defendants, one, Robert Ley, committed suicide while in prison, and another, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was deemed mentally and physically incompetent to stand trial. Among those condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, leader of the Gestapo and the Luftwaffe; Alfred Jodl, head of the German armed forces staff; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior.On October 16, 10 of the architects of Nazi policy were hanged. Goering, who at sentencing was called the "leading war aggressor and creator of the oppressive program against the Jews," committed suicide by poison on the eve of his scheduled execution. Nazi Party leader Martin Bormann was condemned to death in absentia (but is now believed to have died in May 1945). Trials of lesser German and Axis war criminals continued in Germany into the 1950s and resulted in the conviction of 5,025 other defendants and the execution of 806. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE GENERAL INTEREST 1820 American vessel sunk by sperm whale 1947 Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=general&month=10272963&day=10272985 AUTOMOTIVE 1959 The British Anglia Comes To America historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=automotive&month=10272963&day=10272985 CIVIL WAR 1864 : Sherman on the move historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=civil&month=10272963&day=10272985 COLD WAR 1948 American consul in China held "hostage" by communists historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=coldwar&month=10272963&day=10272985 CRIME 1945 The first day of the Nuremberg Trials historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=crime&month=10272963&day=10272985 ENTERTAINMENT 1952 Sinatra screen-tests for From Here to Eternity historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=entertainment&month=10272963&day=10272985 LITERARY 1875 Henry James' first novel is published historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=literary&month=10272963&day=10272985 OLD WEST 1843 Blacksnake Hills trading post is renamed St. Joseph historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=oldwest&month=10272963&day=10272985 VIETNAM WAR 1969 Seymour Hersh files follow-up to My Lai story historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=vietnamwar&month=10272963&day=10272985 WALL STREET 1993 Cranston Censured for Keating Dealings historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=wallstreet&month=10272963&day=10272985 WORLD WAR II 1945 Nuremberg war-crimes trials begin historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=worldwarii&month=10272963&day=10272985 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Create a profile for your subscriptions; emailmgr.aetv.com/newprofile.jsp?brand=thc