[NUREMBERG TRIALS]: An interesting group of T.Ls.S. etc. by various individuals, all relating to Dr. Fritz Sauter ...

[NUREMBERG TRIALS]: An interesting group of T.Ls.S. etc. by various individuals, all relating to Dr. Fritz Sauter, a German lawyer and defence counsel at the Nuremberg Trials, comprising (in chronological order), an official English translation prepared by Virginia von Schon of a document addressed by Sauter to the Secretary General of the International Military Tribunal, one page, 4to, Nuremberg, 17th December 1945, stating, in part, 'Last week I requested that a certificate be made out for me that I can present to the Housing Office in Munich to prevent requestioning of my home and my office. I take the liberty of repeating this request herewith, especially in consideration of the fact that I again received a special delivery letter from Munich yesterday, according to which the rooms used by me up to now are to be requisitioned. Thus I am running the risk of being without quarters in Munich after the end of the Nuernberg trial, and I am convinced that the International Military Tribunal in no way sanctions what amounts to a punishment for me for my activity at this court in having my rooms in Munich taken over meanwhile by others'; a D.S. by Brigadier General William L. Mitchell (1897-1974, General Secretary of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg), one page, 4to, n.p. (Nuremburg), 17th December 1945, being a typed memorandum addressed to the Commanding General of the International Military Tribunal and stating, in part, 'It is requested that the attached petition from Dr. Sauter, who is a defense counsel in the trials at Nurnberg, be turned over to the military government authorities for appropriate action. The Tribunal has informed defense counsel that it expects that each of them will regard his duty to the International Military Tribunal as of the first and most pressing importance. Consequently, counsel are not entitled to be absent from the sessions of the court without the expressed permission of the Tribunal. Since Dr. Sauter is assisting in the trial, the Tribunal is anxious that he should not suffer the loss of his office and apartment as a result of his work at the trial'; a D.S. by Brigadier Leroy H. Watson (1893-1975) of the United States Army, one page, oblong 8vo, Headquarters Command (Nuremberg), 18th December 1945, to the Commanding General of the Third United States Army, the typed document stating that it is to the interest of the court that Dr. Sauter's office and apartment should not be taken from him whilst he is acting as defence counsel at the Nuremberg Trials; a D.S. by Captain R. A. Knight, Assistant Adjutant General to Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott, one page, oblong 8vo, Headquarters, Third United States Army, 4th March 1946, to the Commanding General of the International Military Tribunal, the typed document concerning Sauter's request and stating, in part, 'It will be noted that the action recommended by OMG is not based on Dr. Sauter's present activities but upon his past record. Pending further information the Director, Office of Military Government for Bavaria has been requested to withhold further action'; a D.S. by Captain Augustus B. Hill, Chief, Social Insurance, Benefits, and Housing Section, Manpower Branch, two pages, 4to, Office of Military Government for Bavaria, 20th February 1946, being a typed memorandum addressed to Lt. Edward T. Diaz at the Headquarters of the Third United States Army and stating, in part, 'The housing case of Dr. Heinrich (sic) Sauter has been investigated by this office…..According to the records of the Investigation Section, Special Branch Public Safety, at this Headquarters, Dr. Heinrich (sic) Sauter, of Counsel for the Defense at the War Crimes Trials at Nuremberg, joined the Nazi Party in 1941. His Nazi affiliations are further shown by his memberships in the NSKK and the NSRB. In September, 1940, Dr. Sauter applied to the Police-Praesidium, Munich, for permission to carry a pistol; this application was referred to the Gestapo, and their answer, in the files of Special Branch, was that they had no objections to Dr. Sauter's being armed…..the apartment and office of Dr. Sauter have been taken over by the Housing Office in order to accommodate former concentration camp inmates and victims of the Nazi persecutions. Dr. Sauter and his small family have been assigned other quarters……Information received by this office indicates that Dr. Sauter was not only a member of the Nazi Party but also, in every sense of the term, an ''activist''. The report is that up until the time of the occupation of Munich by our troops, Dr. Sauter was denouncing and condemning the Allies bitterly. That he was ''an avowed believer in Nazism'' seems beyond dispute…..Housing policy in regard to members of the Nazi Party has been laid down by the Office of Military Government for Germany (US) at Berlin…..which states…..no Nazi is permitted to live under conditions more favorable than those enjoyed by other persons in the community. It is a matter for German authorities to decide if compliance with this policy requires the eviction of any Nazi from his home…..It is therefore the opinion of this office that the German Housing Office of Munich was within its rights and had full authority to require Dr. Sauter to relinquish his former premises and to occupy others less desirable'; a D.S. by Lieutenant Colonel Airey Neave (1916-1979), in bold pencil, one page, slim 8vo, Office of the General Secretary, International Military Tribunal, 22nd March 1946, being a typed memorandum and stating, in full, 'Dr. Sauter was not appointed by the court. I have informed him of the circumstances and the papers have been referred to C.I.C. who have no comments to make', also annotated and signed by Leroy H. Watson with his initials in pencil. Each of the documents are neatly laid down to the recto and verso of four individual pages and all have file holes to the upper edges. Some staining to two of the documents, otherwise generally VG, 7 Dr. Fritz Sauter, a German lawyer, served as defence counsel to Joachim von Ribbentrop (to 5th January 1946), Walther Funk and Baldur von Schirach at the Nuremberg Trials. Airey Neave (1916-1979) British Lieutenant Colonel who was held as a prisoner of war at Colditz Castle (Oflag IV-C) during World War II, making a successful escape on 5th January 1942 and becoming the first British officer to make a 'home run' from Colditz. Neave was later recruited as an intelligence agent for MI9 and served with the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg where he was honoured with the role of reading the indictments to the Nazi leaders on trial. Provenance: The present document originated from the archives of Dr. Hans Werner who was responsible for directing the printing of the Record of the Trial of Major War Criminals in 42 volumes and in three different languages (English, French & German) immediately following the Nuremberg Trials.