United Nations War Crimes Commission records

Identifier
irn79237
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2014.26
  • RG-67.041M
Dates
1 Jan 1943 - 31 Dec 1949
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
  • English
  • French
  • Polish
  • Japanese
  • Chinese
  • Dutch
  • Italian
Source
EHRI Partner

Web Source

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn79237

Extent and Medium

456,156 digital images, JPEG

180 microfilm reels (digitized), 16 mm

digital images,

Creator(s)

  • United Nations War Crimes Commission

Biographical History

The United Nations War Crimes Commission was established at a meeting held at the Foreign Office in London on October 20, 1943. The Commission, operating from a secretariat in London, consisted of government representatives appointed by the 17 member countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yugoslavia. The first official meeting took place on January 11, 1944, and the Commission continued its activities until the end of March 1948, and was dissolved in May of that year. In addition to the main commission, a separate Far Eastern sub-commission was established at the suggestion of the Chinese ambassador.This sub-commission was initially based in Chongqing, and later, Nanjing, operating from November 1944 until March 1947. The primary activities of the Commission were to identify and prepare lists of alleged war criminals, and to help establish the legal machinery used by the member countries to apprehend, bring to trial and prosecute war criminals.

Archival History

United Nations Archives and Records Management Section

Acquisition

The collection was initially copied onto microfilm, and subsequently digitized, through a cooperative agreement with the United Nations Archives and Records Management Section (UN-ARMS) in 2014. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the collection from UN-ARMS via the United States Holocaust Museum International Archives Project in May 2014.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the records of the United Nations War Crimes Commission including the following: charge files consisting of formal charges submitted to the Commission, lists of war criminals, suspects, and material witnesses; summary minutes of meetings; documents, reports, and related material; correspondence; reports of national military tribunals, including US military courts; transcripts of proceedings and documents of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo trials); international prosecution section documents; as well as index cards of war criminals, 1942-1948, and index to the UK, US, and other countries war crimes trials, arranged alphabetically by defendant.

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in six series: 1. Charge Files (PAG-3/2.0); 2. Periodical and Other Lists of War Criminals, Suspects and Material Witnesses (PAG-3/1.2), including Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, or CROWCASS (PAG-3/2.1); 3. Administrative files, including meeting minutes, documents, reports and related materials (PAG-3/1.0 - PAG3/1.1); 4. Tribunal materials, including Reports of National Military Tribunals (PAG-3/2.2) and Transcripts and Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (PAG-3/2. 5. Reference Material Submitted by Outside Sources (PAG-3/3.0); 6. Indexes, consisting of card indexes of individual defendants, cross referenced with earlier. Indexes and lists of persons arranged alphabetically and categorized by countries; correspondence with National Offices regarding cases arranged in alphabetical order; Registers of Charge Files arranged chronologically. The records are arranged in the order in which they are maintained at the UN-ARMS, and in which order they were initially microfilmed by that organization.

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright Holder: United Nations Archives and Records Management Section

People

  • Hőlzer, Robert--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Meyer, Kurt, 1910-1961--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Jung, Wilhelm--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Andrae, Arthur Kurt, 1900--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Bühler, Josef, 1904-1948--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Höss, Rudolf, 1900-1947--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Forster, Albert, 1902-1952--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Weigel, Walter--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Neitz, Johann--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Yamashita, Tomobumi, 1885-1946--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Ossenbach, Wilhelm--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Braganza, Francisco--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Saki, Takashi--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Schumacher, Johann, G.--Trials, litigation, etc.

Corporate Bodies

  • United Nations War Crimes Commission

Subjects

  • United States--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Tokyo Trial, Tokyo, Japan, 1946-1948.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Law and legislation.
  • China--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Sources.
  • Greece--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Prisoners of war--Philippines--Manila.
  • War crime trials--Indexes.
  • War crimes--Legal status, laws, etc.
  • War criminals--United States--History--20th century.
  • War criminals--Europe--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Belgium--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Czech Republic--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • United Kingdom--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Crimes against humanity--Europe--History--20th century.
  • Norway--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities--Investigations.
  • Australia--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Yugoslavia--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Ethiopia--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Poland--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Canada--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Denmark--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • War criminals--History--Registers.
  • France--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Prisoners of war--History--20th century.
  • Luxemburg--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • War crimes trials
  • Japan--History--World War, 1939-1945--Trials, litigation, etc.

Genre

  • Minutes.
  • Document
  • Registers.
  • Reports.
  • Correspondence.
  • Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.

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