Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg; on the left is Hermann Göring, center is Rudolf Hess and right is Joachim von Ribbentrop.  Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, said of Hess, the Deputy Führer, “But Hess – he’s insane.  He’s been insane for a long time.  We knew it when he flew to England.”  Göring took poison and committed suicide on October 15, 1946 – hours before he was to be hanged.  Hess died under mysterious circumstances on July 17, 1987, while confined at Spandau Prison in Berlin.  Von Ribbentrop was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.  His last words were, “God guard Germany!  God have mercy on my soul!  My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of world peace, there should be understanding between East and West.”