War crimes 1939-1945

1. Introduction

This research guide gives a brief account of those records in The National Archives which relate to war crimes and criminals (both alleged and proved) during the Second World War. The procedures adopted for the investigation of war crimes and the trial of war criminals in Europe are dealt with in the first sections of the research guide; there follows a section on records relating to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Finally, the investigation of war crimes and the trials of war criminals conducted by the British in the Far East are discussed.

2. United Nations War Crimes Commission

In the early 1940s the Allied governments began to seriously address the issue of war crimes and their investigation. At a meeting of representatives of 17 of the Allied nations in October 1943, the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) was established. Its purpose was to collect, record and investigate evidence of war crimes and their perpetrators, to liaise with national governments to this end, and, at a later stage, to advise governments on the legal procedures to be adopted in bringing suspects to trial. It was the responsibility of the national governments concerned to act upon the evidence supplied to them by the Commission. The first official meeting of the UNWCC was held in January 1944, and the organisation continued to be active until 1948. The Soviet Union declined to participate.

The records of the UNWCC, its sub-commissions and committees, are housed in the United Nations Archives in New York. Documentation on all aspects of the UNWCC's work occurs in the General Correspondence of the Foreign Office, mainly in that of the Political Departments (FO 371). Relevant files are listed in the Index to General Correspondence of the Foreign Office, 1920-1951, under the general heading of 'War Criminals'. Minutes of UNWCC meetings, bulletins, circulars and general correspondence occur in the papers of the War Crimes Branch of the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TS 26/66-109). UNWCC minutes for the period June 1944 to August 1945 may also be found in WO 219/3585, together with progress reports and other associated documents. Correspondence with Allied National Offices, to whom information on suspects was forwarded, is in TS 26/110-123.

The UNWCC issued lists of war crimes suspects, which were circulated to Allied governments and which contain brief details of the crime(s) alleged or proved to have been committed by the persons listed. Copies of these lists will be found in TS 26/876-891, and in FO 371.

3. Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects

To assist the UNWCC and Allied governments in tracing ex-enemy nationals suspected of committing war crimes or atrocities in Europe, a Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects (CROWCASS) was set up by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in the spring of 1945. The object of CROWCASS was to provide a pool of information on persons in Allied detention and those wanted on war crimes charges, on which national governments could draw and to which they were encouraged to contribute. CROWCASS published lists of detainees and wanted persons, similar in format to those produced by the UNWCC.

Documentation on the initial functions and organisation of CROWCASS will be found in FO 945/343 (Control Office for Germany and Austria General Department). Miscellaneous correspondence and papers concerning the creation, control and organisation of the Central Registry exist in WO 309/1425, WO 309/1426, WO 309/1427; related papers are in WO 32/12200. Further material of an administrative nature will be found in FO 1032/787 and 2206, and in WO 311/618, WO 311/619, WO 311/620, WO 311/621, WO 311/622. Documentation on the financing of CROWCASS is among records of the Control Office for Germany and Austria's Finance Division (FO 944/733 and 965).

For other references to CROWCASS material, the Index to General Correspondence of the Foreign Office should be consulted. There are references to several lists of wanted persons issued by CROWCASS in the 1945 volume under the general heading 'War Criminals'. Such lists will also be found in WO 311/60 and WO 309/1703, WO 309/1704, WO 309/1705, WO 309/1706.

4. The investigation of war crimes in Europe

In the immediate post-war period, responsibility for collecting evidence of war crimes rested with a variety of units attached to the Headquarters of the Allied Forces in Europe. In Germany, several investigation teams operated with the 21 Army Group (later British Army of the Rhine). In Austria, investigations were conducted by the British Military Police and, subsequently, by a War Crimes Section of the Judge Advocate General's Branch, British Troops in Austria. Several War Crimes Investigation Teams were active in Norway; they were responsible to the HQ Allied Land Forces Norway.

It was not long before the administrative machinery for investigating war crimes perpetrated in enemy and enemy-occupied Europe was consolidated and simplified. In Germany, the various units operating with HQ British Army of the Rhine were merged to form the War Crimes Group (North West Europe). In Austria, a War Crimes Group (South East Europe) was created in 1947 to deal with investigations both in Austria and in Italy.

Case Files of the War Crimes Group (NWE) are in WO 309, and cover both individual cases and general procedural policy. A few Quarterly Historical Reports of the Group and of its War Crimes Investigation Unit will be found in WO 267/600, WO 267/601, WO 267/602. Case Files of the War Crimes Group (SEE) are in WO 310. Most of these files concern investigations in Austria and Italy, although a few deal with Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. Related documentation occurs among the Headquarters and Regional Files of the Allied Commission for Austria (FO 1020). Files of the War Crimes Investigation Branch, HQ Allied Land Forces Norway are in WO 331.

Overall responsibility for war crimes policy and related legal procedures lay with the Military Department of the Judge Advocate General's Office (renamed after 1948 the Directorate of Army Legal Services). The war crimes files of this body, dealing with the investigation and prosecution of war criminals for offences committed in all military theatres of World War Two, are in WO 311. Card indexes relating to files in this record class have been preserved in WO 353. Card indexes of persons passed to or wanted by various allied authorities constitute the class WO 355. Readers should consult the Introductory Notes to these classes in the class lists.

Diverse material on war crimes policy in Europe, including numerous individual cases, occurs among the Military Headquarters Papers, Allied Force Headquarters, in WO 204. Policy papers, mainly concerning crimes committed by or against Italians, are to be found in WO 204/2189, WO 204/2190, WO 204/2191, WO 204/2192, WO 204/2193. Documentation on the investigation of war crimes in South East Europe is in WO 204/2194-2200.

Reports of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) courts of enquiry into alleged atrocities committed against Allied prisoners of war by the German Armed Forces have the references WO 219/5045-5054. These files are subject to a 75 year closure period.

A sample of lists of charges prepared against Germans and Italians in connection with war crimes investigations occurs among the War Crimes Papers of the Treasury Solicitor's Department, in TS 26/176-802.

For further documentation on war crimes investigations, readers are advised to search other series of records. Among the records of the War Office and Foreign Office, the following should be noted:

5. War crimes trials in Europe

There was considerable variation in the procedures adopted by the Allies for trying those accused of war crimes in Europe and the Far East. In Europe, most cases were dealt with by Allied military courts, although in Germany itself the occupying authorities set up a number of different courts to try alleged war criminals.

Records of proceedings in British military courts, involving both members of enemy armed forces and civilians charged with committing war crimes against British and Allied nationals, are to be found among the War Crimes Papers of the Judge Advocate General's Office (WO 235). Records of European trials in this class are arranged as follows:

There is a nominal index at the beginning of the WO 235 list.

The International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg (see below) declared many organisations of the National Socialist period in Germany to be criminal. These included the SS, the SA and the Party leadership corps. Under the provisions of Military Government Ordinance No 69 of 31 December 1946, former members of such organisations were liable to trial before German tribunals and various other courts set up by the occupying powers. This major operation was code-named 'Old Lace'.

The most comprehensive accumulation of papers on 'Old Lace' is to be found among the records of the Control Commission for Germany's Legal Division (FO 1060/1195-1230). Further papers are in FO 1060/139-142, FO 1060/1023, FO 1060/1038, FO 1060/1078-1086. The legal background and technical procedures of the operation are documented in FO 945/356. Reports on 'Old Lace' trials, including the first trial at Recklinghausen in June 1947, occur in FO 937/150, in FO 1005/1810, FO 1005/1811, FO 1005/1812, FO 1005/1813, FO 1005/1814, and in FO 1032/2205. These files also contain progress reports and other miscellaneous papers.

Between 1945 and 1949, the British and US governments undertook to try a number of senior German military figures on war crimes charges. The British trial of Erich von Manstein, which took place in Hamburg in 1949, is extensively documented. A record of proceedings and documents in evidence may be found under the reference FO 1060/1288-1358. Other Manstein trial documents have the references WO 235/589 and 590-594. Correspondence and papers concerning Manstein, Brauchitsch, Rundstedt and Strauss, all of whom were in British custody after the war, are contained in FO 1032/1948 and 2215, and in PREM 8/1112.

Daily transcripts of proceedings and other documents relating to the trial in Venice of Albert Kesselring are held by the Imperial War Museum (formerly TNA: PRO reference FO 647; the same series also contains records of the Falkenhausen and Roechling trials). Correspondence and other papers on Kesselring, mostly concerning his imprisonment, are in FO 1005/1900 and FO 1060/493-501. Churchill's reaction to the sentence imposed on Kesselring is documented in PREM 8/707.

Apart from the Four-Power IMT, Nuremberg was also the venue for a succession of United States military tribunals. Among the various cases heard before these tribunals were the German High Command Case, the 'Ministries Case' (von Weizsaecker et al) and the 'Industrialists Cases' (Krupp, Flick and I G Farben). Microfilmed records of proceedings and related documentation are housed in the National Archives, Washington DC. Excerpts from these proceedings have been published as Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law No 10 (15 vols, Washington DC: GPO, 1949-50). The Imperial War Museum currently holds transcripts of proceedings etc. of the twelve trials (formerly TNA: PRO reference FO 646).

Some documentation concerning the US military tribunals is contained in the records of the Control Commission for Germany (BE) Legal Division. Papers relating to the German High Command trial are in FO 1060/1377, and include summaries of charges, evidence, and the legal background to the trial. Transcripts of documents in evidence at the trial of Weizsaecker and Neurath are in FO 1060/1359-1371; miscellaneous correspondence concerning Neurath's imprisonment in Spandau occurs in FO 1060/517 and 518. Reports of the British observer at the trials of Friedrich Flick and Alfried Krupp are to be found among the records of the Control Office for Germany and Austria's Legal Division (FO 937/124 and 143). Correspondence on the bringing to trial of Krupp and associates is in PREM 8/391.

Other documentation on war crimes trials is to be found in the General Correspondence of the Foreign Office (Political), in FO 371. Information on the composition, terms of reference and other details of Allied Courts in Germany can be gleaned from documents contained in the records of the Control Commission for Germany (BE) Legal Division (FO 1060) and the Control Office for Germany and Austria's Legal and General Division (respectively FO 937 and FO 945).

Documentation on the prosecution of war criminals occurs also in the Military Headquarters Papers, Allied Force Headquarters, in WO 204/11112-11132 and WO 204/11315, WO 204/11330.

6. International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg

The IMT Nuremberg was set up on the basis of the London Agreement of 8 August 1945, by which the Allied Powers undertook to prosecute and punish the major war criminals of the European Axis. The IMT tried the leaders of the German government, National Socialist Party and Armed Forces, and others whose actions were deemed to transcend any specific geographical location. This proceeded separately from, but in tandem with, the war crimes investigations and trials outlined in previous sections of this research guide.

The trial records of the IMT have been transferred to the Imperial War Museum (formerly TNA: PRO reference FO 645). These consist of daily transcripts of proceedings, exhibits, judgements, briefs etc. Transcripts of proceedings and documents in evidence have been published as Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (42 vols, Nuremberg: IMT, 1947-49). Transcript minutes of proceedings can be found in the General Correspondence of the Foreign Office (Political) for 1946, in FO 371/57435-57517. There is no detailed index to these records.

Miscellaneous correspondence and papers relating to the IMT Nuremberg are in FO 1019. This class includes correspondence of the British War Crimes Executive (BWCE: the British prosecution team led by Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe) and of the Court Contact Committee, together with applications for witnesses, documents submitted on behalf of defendants, and correspondence from the public. Further correspondence of the BWCE on various aspects of the trial is among the records of the Control Commission for Germany (BE) Political Division, in FO 1049/425, FO 1049/426, FO 1049/427, FO 1049/428, together with other correspondence on the progress of the trial. Similar documentation will be found in FO 945/332, FO 945/345, and FO 945/346 ; FO 1032/2203, FO 1032/2209, FO 1032/2245 and FO 1032/2246; and in FO 1060/95 and FO 1060/1378-1389 .

For Foreign Office correspondence on the Nuremberg trial, readers should consult the Index to General Correspondence of the Foreign Office, 1920-1951. Documents are listed under the heading 'War Crimes: German (Nuremberg Trials); most of those that survive will be found in FO 371.

The Nuremberg Trial is documented also in records of the Prime Minister's Office and of the Cabinet Office. Readers should consult the lists and (in the case of Cabinet records) the subject indexes for the following:

Minutes of the first meeting of the ad-hoc Committee on Appeals Against Sentences at the Nuremberg Trial of War Criminals are in CAB 130/13. Some of the Nuremberg Trial documentation can be viewed on line via The Avalon Project and the Nuremberg Trial Project.

7. War crimes investigation and trials in the Far East

The majority of Japanese who were brought to trial on war crimes charges, and who did not appear before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Tokyo (see below), were tried by military commissions of the 8 US Army at Yokohama. Responsibility for the investigation and bringing to trial of persons accused of crimes against British nationals devolved upon General Headquarters, Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA).

The main accumulation of files concerning ALFSEA's investigations into war crimes is to be found in WO 325. Files of the Judge Advocate General's Military Department are in WO 311; material on South East Asia occurs in particular in WO 311/538-565. Card indexes and record cards concerning investigations and trials in South East Asia form the classes WO 356 and WO 357. Readers are advised to consult the Introductory Notes to these records in the lists.

Files on policy and numerous individual cases are scattered throughout the Military Headquarters Papers, Far East, in WO 203. The principal references are: WO 203/2080, WO 203/4571, WO 203/4926, WO 203/4927, WO 203/5592-5596, WO 203/6086 and WO 203/6087. Quarterly Historical Reports of Far East Land Forces investigation teams, 1946-47, are in WO 268/102, WO 268/103, WO 268/104. Documentation on crimes committed against Allied prisoners of war is scattered throughout the records of the War Office's Directorate of Military Intelligence (WO 208).

Transcripts of proceedings in British Military Courts in the Far East are among the War Crimes Papers of the Judge Advocate General's Office in WO 235/813-1117. Samples of charge sheets filed against individuals accused of war crimes, including charges brought by Australia, may be found in TS 26/803-847.

Transcript records of the IMT in Tokyo are currently deposited at the Imperial War Museum (formerly TNA: PRO reference FO 648). This set is incomplete, but the full series is available in Tokyo and Washington. See The Tokyo War Crimes Trials. The Complete Transcripts of the Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, ed R J Pritchard and S M Zaide (22 vols, New York: Garland, 1981). Foreign Office correspondence on the setting up of the IMT Tokyo is in FO 371/57422-57429.

These and other files on war crimes trials and investigations are listed in the Index to General Correspondence of the Foreign Office, 1920-1951, under the headings 'War Criminals' and 'War Criminals: Japanese'.

8. Imperial War Museum

Readers wishing to consult war crimes trial records held by the Imperial War Museum, as described in this research guide, should enquire at the following address:

Department of Documents
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London
SE1 6HZ
020-7416-5000