The Leipzig War Crimes Trial: Precedent for Nuremberg

British Investigators and Witnesses Arrive for the Trials

In 1921 and 1922, a total of 12 “war crimes” trials were held before the highest German court, the Reichsgericht in Leipzig. The accused were former members of the imperial German armed forces suspected of having perpetrated war crimes. At first, in keeping with Articles 228 and 229 of the Treaty of Versailles, the Allied powers had planned that as many as 888 Germans accused of war crimes would be extradited and face trial in Allied courts. However, the German government succeeded in averting their extradition. Instead, it emphasized that it was willing to prosecute all Germans accused of committing crimes against nationals of enemy states or against enemy property, underscoring this promise with changes in German laws. 

The Allies acquiesced, and on 7 May 1920 they presented a much shorter list with the names of 45 suspects and the details of their alleged crimes. This roster had been winnowed down from the longer list that had included such notables as General Hindenburg, father of gas warfare Fritz Haber, and former chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg. They were to be tried by the German Reichsgericht in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles that stipulated the arrest and trial of German combatants and officials defined as war criminals by the Allied governments. with both the trials and the verdicts coming under criticism from Germany and the Allies alike. The accused were treated like heroes by the German public, and all but seven were acquitted; these seven mostly received light sentences, four years incarceration in the most extreme case. Since no Allied personnel were charged or prosecuted, the complaint that the proceedings were one-sided "victor's justice" was irrefutable.

Reichsgericht Building, Leipzig, Site of the Trials

Nonetheless, some of the violations were quite serious, and the individuals involved should have been held accountable. Two of the trials involved the sinking of hospital ships, one of which was followed up by the machine-gunning of survivors in the water. Four cases involved large-scale abuse of POWs and two involved mistreatment of civilians.

Although largely regarded as a failure at the time, the Leipzig trials were the first attempt to devise a comprehensive system for prosecution of violations of international law. This trend was renewed during the Second World War, as Allied governments decided to try, after the war, defeated Axis leaders for war crimes committed during the war, notably with the Nuremberg Trials and International Military Tribunal for the Far East.

Sources: Western Front Association; Encyclopedia.com; Encyclopedia 1914-1918 Online