| Original caption: “German War Crimes Trials. Nuremberg and Dachau. The door to Rudolf Hess’ cell at Nuremberg city jail is guarded constantly, primarily to thwart any suicide attempt. The guard here is Private First Class Joseph L. Pichierre, of Towanda, Pennsylvania, with the Eighteenth Regiment, First Infantry Division.” United States Army Private 1st Class Joseph L. Pichierre (April 2, 1921 – April 6, 1991), after the German surrender, was assigned as a member of the guard detachment at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. As 1 of the guards, he watched over some of the most notorious Nazis who were being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity at “Criminal Wing 1” on the ground floor. The “Big Twenty-One,” as they were known to the guards, included such infamous names as Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946), Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe, and former Stellvertreter des Führers Rudolf Heß (April 26, 1894 – August 17, 1987). He became the subject of a semi-famous United States Army Signal Corps photograph showing him operating his post at the cell door of Hess, continuously watching him very closely. After the conclusion of the trials, Joe was honorably discharged from the United States Army, having obtained the rank of Sergeant. After his military service, he went on to graduate from the University of Chicago and also the School of Optics in Brooklyn, New York. He was a retired optician and a retired employee of Progressive Equipment Company. He was a member of Standing Springs Baptist Church. Pichierre was survived by his wife and 1 daughter. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0960.jpg |
| Image Size | 809.64 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2304 x 2880 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 24, 1945 |
| Location | Justizpalast |
| City | Nuremberg |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NRE-338-FTL(EF)-3161(6) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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