Documentation from the Auschwitz Trials in Frankfurt, 1965-1968

The three Auschwitz trials were held in the District Court House in Frankfurt am Main from 1965-1968. The defendants at the trials were SS and Gestapo personnel who had served in Auschwitz and other people who had held positions in Auschwitz, including inmates who had held positions in the camp, such as Blockfuehrer ( block heads). The first Auschwitz Trial opened in December 1963, with 22 defendants being brought to trial, two of whom died during the proceedings. The most senior among them were Robert Mulka and Karl Hoecker, who had been adjutants to the camp commander. However, from the point of view of seriousness of the charges, the two were charged only with being accessories to murder, as opposed to other defendants who had come in direct contact with the inmates, who were accused of specific murder incidents. The verdicts were handed down in August 1965. Six defendants who had been charged with murder were sentenced to life imprisonment, three were found innocent for lack of proof and the rest were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to three and a half years.The second Auschwitz Trial opened in December 1965 and ended in September 1966. The three defendants on trial were senior staff personel in the camp. One senior staff member was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the other two to prison terms of eight years and three and a half years. The third Auschwitz Trial opened in August 1967 and ended in June 1968. The two defendants on trial were inmates who had held positions in the camp; they were charged with murder and abuse of other inmates. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment.