| Original caption: “One Will Hang; Other Gets Life – Hermann Goering (left) and Rudolph Hess hold their heads as the war crimes tribunal delivers its findings. Goering was sentenced to hang, and Hess was given life.” Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946), Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe (“Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force”) and Reichsminister Rudolf Heß (April 26, 1894 – August 17, 1987), Stellvertreter des Führers (“Deputy Leader”), grimly listen to the verdict by the International Military Tribunal. Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (September 16, 1891 – December 24, 1980), Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine (“Commander-in-Chief of the Navy”) 1943-1945, Leitenden Reichsminister (“Chief Reich Minister”) May 1945, is behind them in sunglasses. Heß had to leave the court as the judgment was delivered; he was suffering from stomach problems. After 9 months, the verdicts in the Major War Criminals Trial were read on September 30 and October 1, 1946. 12 defendants were sentenced to death, 3 to life imprisonment, and 4 to long prison terms. The Tribunal found 3 defendants not guilty. Goering was sentenced to death, but took a smuggled capsule of cyanide the night before the scheduled execution, committing suicide. Heß was sentenced to life imprisonment. Dönitz was sentenced to 10 years. The death sentences were executed in the old gymnasium on the grounds of the Nuremberg Prison on October 16, 1946. Hermann Göring committed suicide just a few hours before the execution of his sentence. After the hangings, the bodies were transported to Munich and cremated in the crematorium of the Ostfriedhof Cemetery. The ashes were then strewn in a tributary of the Isar River. Those sentenced to imprisonment remained 1st in Nuremberg and were then transported on July 18, 1947, to the Allied War Criminals Prison in Berlin-Spandau, where they remained until their terms were served. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0967.jpg |
| Image Size | 429.22 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2006 x 1619 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 30, 1946 |
| Location | Justizpalast |
| City | Nuremberg |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database