Neuengamme trials: Papers of J. C. Giffin
Extent and Medium
3 folders
Biographical History
The Neuengamme concentration camp case took place between 18 March and 3 May 1946 in Hamburg’s Curiohaus. A British military court tried 14 of the leading officers and guards of the Neuengamme concentration camp complex for war crimes. After 39 days, the judge advocate found all defendants guilty, sentencing 11 to death and 3 to prison for between 10 and 20 years. The executions were carried out on 8 October 1946.
Jeffrey Charles Giffin, whose papers these are, was a member of the presiding court. According to information provided by his family, he was born on 2 June 1919 in Acton, London. He studied at Acton County School, leaving in 1936. He started his military career with the Durham Light Infantry in October 1939. In August 1940, he received an emergency commission as a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Fusiliers. In May/June 1941, he attended an intelligence course at SMI Beaconsfield; he went on to serve as an intelligence office in Gibraltar. He returned to Britain in January 1944 and received a regular commission as a lieutenant in January 1945 with the Royal Fusiliers; in August he joined the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. Between 1947 and 1950, he served in various military intelligence departments at the War Office; in March 1950, he became Staff Captain of A Branch, BAOR.
Archival History
These documents were part of J. C. Giffin's estate. On his death in July 1995, they passed to his daughter Mrs Celia Toogood née Giffin. She donated the collection to the Library in 2018.
Acquisition
Donated 19.3.2018
Donor: Celia Toogood
Scope and Content
The collection primarily consists of handwritten notes, presumably by Giffin, on the trials. These cover the testimony provided by the witnesses for the prosecution and the defence made by the accused. In addition there are several official British documents on the case, including the depositions. There are also some statements by the defendants’ lawyers, as well as German press cuttings on the case.
System of Arrangement
The original order of the papers has largely been retained. Curt Wessig's speech in defence of Max Pauly was found in 2162/2 along with a note from Wessig apologising for arriving late; they have been moved to 2162/3.
Some newspaper clippings with their translations were found at the front of files 2162/2 and 2162/3; letters to and from Giffin on the trials and collection were found in 2162/3 and 2162/6. These were removed and given their own files.
Conditions Governing Access
Open
Subjects
- Medical crimes
- War crimes
- Camp doctors
- SS
- War crime trials
- Concentration camps
Places
- Hamburg-Neuengamme
- Occupied Germany [1945-1949]