Open trials of Nazi criminals and their accomplices in the USSR in 1943–1949

During the Great Patriotic War, the people of the USSR faced the incredible cruelty from the German Fascist invaders and their accomplices. In 1941, Academician Р.L. Kapitsa proposed the creation of a commission to investigate the crimes of the fascists. Soviet lawyers argued that only open trials of the fascists could satisfy the need for just retribution of the people who suffered from the inhumane actions of the occupiers. The aim of the research is to examine the 21 trials of Nazis that took place in the USSR from 1943 to 1949. The research is based on general scientific and specialized legal methods of cognition. It is concluded that the trials were conducted at a high professional level. Soviet investigators and prosecutors meticulously collected evidence of the Nazis’ criminal activities, recorded witnesses’ testimonies, conducted thorough forensic examinations, and documented photographic and video evidence of the Nazis’ criminal activities. During the judicial investigations, the crimes of the Nazis were proven, the aim of which was the extermination and enslavement of the peoples living in the territory of the USSR, and primarily the Russian people. The facts of the deliberate torture and murder of children, women, the elderly, prisoners of war, and Jews were proven. It has been proven that Hitler’s and Japanese doctors conducted medical experiments on Soviet citizens, which caused mass deaths. The facts of the preparation of biological warfare against the USSR have been proven. The courts held 256 Nazi criminals and their accomplices accountable, of which 81 criminals were sentenced to the highest penalty and 175 to corrective labor camps.

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