When did the Nuremberg trials take place?
Nuremberg trials
The first and best known of these trials was that of the major war criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT). It was described as "the greatest trial in history" by Sir Norman Birkett, one of the British judges who presided over them.[1] Held between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946,[2] the Tribunal was given the task of trying 24 of the most important political and military leaders of the Third Reich – though the proceeding against Martin Bormann was tried in absentia, while another defendant, Robert Ley, committed suicide within a week of the trial's commencement.
Erich von Manstein
Manstein was moved to Nuremberg in October 1945. He was held at the Palace of Justice, the location of the Nuremberg Trials of major Nazi war criminals and organisations. While there, Manstein helped prepare a 132-page document for the defence of the General Staff and the OKW, on trial at Nuremberg in August 1946. The myth that the Wehrmacht was "clean"—not culpable for the events of the Holocaust—arose partly as a result of this document, written largely by Manstein, along with General of Cavalry Siegfried Westphal. He also gave oral testimony about the "Einsatzgruppen", the treatment of prisoners of war, and the concept of military obedience, especially as related to the Commissar Order, an order issued by Hitler in 1941, requiring all Soviet political commissars to be shot without trial. Manstein admitted that he received the order, but said he did not carry it out. Documents from 1941 presented at Nuremberg and at Manstein's own later trial contradict this claim: He actually received regular reports throughout that summer regarding the execution of hundreds of political commissars. He denied any knowledge of the activities of the "Einsatzgruppen", and testified that soldiers under his command were not involved in the murder of Jewish civilians. Otto Ohlendorf, commander of "Einsatzgruppe" D, contradicted this during his testimony, saying that not only was Manstein aware of what was happening but that the Eleventh Army was involved. In September 1946, the General Staff and the OKW were declared to not be criminal organisations.