Wilhelm List is handed the indictment in the Hostages Trial.

The Hostages Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Wilhelm List, et al.) was the seventh of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT). Image File history File links Wilhelm List is handed the indictment in the Hostage Trial in 1947. ... Image File history File links Wilhelm List is handed the indictment in the Hostage Trial in 1947. ... Wilhelm List (Siegmund Wilhelm von List) (May 14, 1880 - August 17, 1971), was a German Field Marshal during World War II. He entered the Army in 1898 and served as a staff officer in the First World War. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Nuremberg (German: Nürnberg, German-Franconian dialect: Närnberch) is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Holocaust. ... Chief prosecutor Telford Taylor opens the prosecution case in the Krupp Trial The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials (or, more formally, the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT)) were a series of twelve U.S. military trials for war crimes against surviving members of the military, political, and...

This case is also known as the "Southeast Case" because the defendants were all German generals leading the troops in south-eastern Europe during the Balkans Campaign, i.e. in Greece, Albania, and what was then Yugoslavia (and also in Norway), and they were charged as the responsibles for the hostage-taking of civilians and wanton shootings of these hostages and of "partisans" that the German troops committed there in the years from 1941 on. Combatants Germany Italy Bulgaria Albania Greece United Kingdom Australia New Zealand Yugoslavia Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Giovanni Messe Alexander Papagos Henry Maitland Wilson The Balkans Campaign was the Italian and German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia during World War II. It began with Italys annexation of Albania in April... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal V, were Charles F. Wennerstrum (presiding judge) from Iowa, George J. Burke from Michigan, and Edward F. Carter from Nebraska. The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor, the chief prosecutor for this case was Theodore Fenstermacher. The indictment was filed on May 10, 1947; the trial lasted from July 8, 1947 until February 19, 1948. Of the 12 defendants indicted, Franz Böhme committed suicide before the arraignment, and Maximilian von Weichs was severed from the trial due to medical reasons. Of the remaining ten defendants, two were acquitted; the others received prison sentences ranging from seven years to lifetime imprisonment. Charles F. Wennerstrum (October 11, 1889 - June 1, 1986) was an American lawyer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Burke, George James, Sr. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Largest metro area Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq mi (200,520 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 0. ... Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 - May 22, 1998) was a U.S. lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition against Senator McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of the U.S... In the common law legal system, an indictment (IPA: ) is a formal charge of having committed a most serious criminal offense. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Franz Böhme Born in Austria on April 15, 1885 Franz Friedrich Böhme rose to the rank of General in the German Army, serving as Commander of the Twentieth Mountain Army and Commander-in-Chief of Norway. ... Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ... Maximilian von Weichs Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von Weichs zu Glon (12 November 1881 - 27 September 1954) was a German Generalfeldmarschall and a military leader in World War II. He was born into a noble family at Dessau, a son of an Army colonel. ...

Indictment

The accused faced four charges of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity: In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

1. Mass murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Greece, Albania, and Yugoslavia by having ordered hostage taking and reprisal killings.
2. Plundering and wanton destruction of villages and towns in Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Norway.
3. Murder and ill-treatment of prisoners of war, and arbitrarily designating combattants as "partisans", denying them the status of prisoners of war, as well as their killing.
4. Murder, torture, deportation, and sending to concentration camps of Greek, Albanian, and Yugoslav civilians.

All defendants were indicted on all counts; they all pleaded "not guilty". This article deals with mass killings which are not considered genocide. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ...

The tribunal had to deal with two pressing questions:

1. were partisans "lawful belligerents" and thus entitled the status of prisoners of war?
2. was taking hostages and reprisals against civilians as a "defense" against guerilla attacks lawful?

On the question of partisans, the tribunal concluded that under the then current laws of war (the Hague Convention No. IV from 1907), the partisan fighters in southeast Europe could not be considered lawful belligerents under Article 1 of said convention ^[1]. On List, the tribunal stated The two parts of the laws of war (or Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)): Law concerning acceptable practices while engaged in war, like the Geneva Conventions, is called jus in bello; while law concerning allowable justifications for armed force is called jus ad bellum. ... The longtime status of Netherlands as a largely neutral nation in international conflicts and the corresponding ascendance of The Hague as a primary location for diplomatic and international conferences has led to several negotiated conventions over the years being termed the Hague Convention: The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907...

"We are obliged to hold that such guerrillas were francs tireurs who, upon capture, could be subjected to the death penalty. Consequently, no criminal responsibility attaches to the defendant List because of the execution of captured partisans..."^[1]

Regarding hostage taking, the tribunal came to the conclusion that under certain circumstances, hostage taking and even reprisal killings might constitute an allowed line of action against guerilla attacks. In the tribunal's opinion, taking hostages (and killing them in retaliation for guerilla attacks) was subject to several conditions ^[2]. The tribunal also remarked that both the British Manual of Military Law and the U.S. Basic Field Manual (Rules of Land Warfare) permitted the taking of reprisals against a civilian population. (The British manual didn't mention killing, the U.S. manual included killing as a possible reprisal.) Nevertheless, the tribunal still found most of the accused guilty on count 1 of the indictment because it considered the acts committed by the German troops in excess of the rules under which the tribunal considered hostage taking and reprisal killings lawful. Guerilla may refer to Guerrilla warfare. ... The phrase Francs-tireurs was used to describe irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and from that usage is is sometimes used to refer more generally to guerrilla fighters who fight outside the laws of war[1]. The term...

One common line of defense of the accused was the Plea of Superior Orders: they stated that they were only following orders from higher up, in particular from Hitler and Field Marshal Keitel. The tribunal recognized this defense only for some of the lower-ranked defendants, but concluded that in particular the highest-ranking officers List and Kuntze should have been well aware of the fact that these orders violated international law and thus should have opposed the execution of these orders, even more so as they were in a position that would have allowed them to do so. The Nuremberg Defense is a legal defense that essentially states that the defendant was only following orders (befehl ist befehl) and is therefore not responsible for his crimes. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (September 22, 1882 - October 16, 1946) was a German field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) and a senior military leader during World War II. // Keitel was born in Helmscherode, Brunswick, German Empire, the son of Carl Keitel, a middle-class landowner, and his wife Apollonia...

Defendants

I — Indicted   G — Indicted and found guilty Wilhelm List (Siegmund Wilhelm von List) (May 14, 1880 - August 17, 1971), was a German Field Marshal during World War II. He entered the Army in 1898 and served as a staff officer in the First World War. ... Maximilian von Weichs Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von Weichs zu Glon (12 November 1881 - 27 September 1954) was a German Generalfeldmarschall and a military leader in World War II. He was born into a noble family at Dessau, a son of an Army colonel. ... Combatants Germany Italy Bulgaria Albania Greece United Kingdom Australia New Zealand Yugoslavia Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Giovanni Messe Alexander Papagos Henry Maitland Wilson The Balkans Campaign was the Italian and German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia during World War II. It began with Italys annexation of Albania in April... Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. ... Lothar Rendulic (November 23, 1887 – January 18, 1971) was a Colonel General in the Wehrmacht during WWII. Rendulic was born on in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to a Croatian family (Croatian spelling of the surname is Rendulić). He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and served during World War I... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Franz Böhme Born in Austria on April 15, 1885 Franz Friedrich Böhme rose to the rank of General in the German Army, serving as Commander of the Twentieth Mountain Army and Commander-in-Chief of Norway. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ...

See also

• Subsequent Nuremberg Trials
• Command responsibility
• Kragujevac, a city in Serbia where the German troops committed a massacre on October 21, 1941.

Chief prosecutor Telford Taylor opens the prosecution case in the Krupp Trial The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials (or, more formally, the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT)) were a series of twelve U.S. military trials for war crimes against surviving members of the military, political, and... Peace Palace in The Hague Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard, or the Medina standard is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes. ... Location in Serbia General Information Mayor Veroljub Stevanović Party SDPO Land area 865 km² Population (2002 census) 211. ... Anthem: Capital (and largest city)  Belgrade Official languages Serbian written with the Cyrillic alphabet1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Establishment    - Formation 8th century   - Independence c. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

References

• (WCC 1949): Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, Vol. VIII, 1949 of the United Nations War Crimes Commission.
• Description from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
• Another description

The United Nations War Crimes Commission (initially called the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes) was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by the Nazi Germany and its allies in World War Two. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} The hostages trial, trial of Wilhelm List and others: Notes held at University of the West of England original source: United Nations War Crimes Commission. Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. Volume VIII, 1949
2. ^ The law relating to hostages and reprisals held at University of the West of England original source: United Nations War Crimes Commission. Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. Volume VIII, 1949

The University of the West of England (abbrev. ... The University of the West of England (abbrev. ...