Photograph of Nazi war criminals in the courtroom at the Belsen trial. September 1945

Photograph of Nazi war criminals in the courtroom at the Belsen trial. September 1945

A rare photograph from the courtroom at the Belsen trial which is officially called "The Trial of Joseph Kramer and 44 Others." The Photographed are the 45 defendants, former members of the Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz concentration camps. The photograph before us was taken in the early days of the trial in Belsen on September 24, 1945.

One of the defendants, the most famous of whom was the Archie killer Josef Kramer who was the camp commander in Auschwitz and then in Bergen-Belsen - seen sitting in the front row on the left (on his shirt number 1) - sentenced to death on November 17, 1945. Also noteworthy is the infamous Nazi criminal Irma Grese (She was notorious for her cruelty and sadistic behavior toward camp inmates), who was executed on December 13, 1945 (first row, fifth from the left). Of the total defendants, 12 were Capo cops, 16 SS companies and 16 SS members. 

The Belsen Trials held in Linburg - Germany were a series of trials conducted by the Allied occupation authorities against senior officials in Nazi Germany after the end of World War II. The defendants were men and women from SS units and officials who worked in various concentration camps, particularly in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. The first trial in which Kramer was sentenced to death aroused much interest in the world. It was the first time the general public had heard direct testimony from those responsible for the massacre that took place in the extermination camps in Eastern Europe. The trial lasted 54 days. All the defendants claimed not to be guilty. On November 17, the court sentenced 11 of the Defendants to death by hanging, 18  to 15 years in prison, and 14 were released following pleas and appeals.

Size: 18x13 cm. Very good condition.