Allies Open Trial Of 20 Top Germans For Crimes Of War

Allies Open Trial Of 20 Top Germans For Crimes Of War
History-Making Case Begins In Nuremberg With Reading of Long Indictment GOERING FIRST DEFENDANT Presentation of Evidence Due to Start Today--Hess in Court Pending Ruling Allied Open Trial of 20 Top Germans
By KATHLEEN MCLAUGHLIN
Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES

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U.S., Russiato Trade Writers in Germany

Nuremberg, Germany, Nov. 20--Four of the world's great powers sit in judgment today on twenty top Germans whom the democratic nations charge with major responsibility for plunging the world into World War II. The twenty-first defendant, tacitly although not specifically named in the indictment, is the German nation that raised them to power and gloried in their might.

Subdued and tractable, awaiting their hour for what justification they can show, the accused filed by threes into the court room in the Palace of Justice here thirty minutes before the convocation of the International Military Tribunal created to weigh the evidence. They spent five and one-quarter hours listening more or less intently to the preliminary formalities in which the groundwork of the prosecution was laid.

3 Chief Prosecutors Absent

Lieut. Gen. Roman A. Rudenko of Russia, Sir Hartley Shawcross of Britain and Francois de Menthon of France, chief prosecutors for their respective countries, were absent. M. de Menthon was expected from Paris late today, Sir Hartley will return from England on Sunday and General Rudenko, who is ill in Moscow, will probably return in about two weeks.

The entire day was devoted to the reading of the lengthy charges and bills of particulars to which the defendants will plead tomorrow. Dramatic despite their familiarity and inevitable repetition, these documents reviewed the whole bloody annals of World War II, reviving for many auditors the stunned horror with which the peaceful nations reacted to the news of German atrocities. Statistics attested to the facts and staggering totals were piled up to challenge the defendants' future declarations of innocence.

Lord Justice Lawrence of Britain, who will preside for the duration of the trial, held court a half hour beyond the announced closing time of 4:30 to complete the text of the voluminous indictment. The actual presentation of evidence is expected to begin tomorrow morning.

Deputy Prosecutors Open

The second in command of the prosecution for each nation functioned first in today's program. Sidney Alderman for America, Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe for Britain, Charles du Bogt and Paul Coste-Floret for France and Col. Yuri Pokrovsky for Russia, spoke in that order.

Sir Norman Birkett is sitting with Lord Justice Lawrence as Britain's judge. Former Attorney General Francis Biddle and Judge John J. Parker of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals are the American representatives. Maj. Gen. J. T. Mikitchenko and A. F. Volkhoff represent Russia and Henri Donnedieu de Vabre and Robert Falco sit for France.

Each judge was backed by the flag of his country. The Russians, in Army uniforms, held the position at the left. Britain came next, beside the American delegates, with France at the extreme right. Brilliant in their combinations of red and white with blue, the four tall banners provided the only contrast to the muted tones of the dark walls, the dark green marble trim and the pale green hangings, whose soft folds trailed from the ceiling to the rim of the bench behind the judges.

Goering No. 1 at Last

The first seat in the first row of the defendants' box was occupied by Hermann Goering, the pompous, the exhibitionist, shorn of his medals and glitter as well as his excess poundage, at last in full possession of the unchallenged status as No. 1 Nazi that was publicly bequeathed to him so long ago by his now vanquished Fuehrer.

Next to him, in the order in which they are named in the arraignment sat Rudolf Hess, once the glamour boy of the National Socialist regime and now a self-professed psychiatric case whose allegation of loss of memory may result in a severance for him. Here too was Joachim von Ribbentrop, a wan shadow of the blustering champagne salesman turned diplomat, who carried the German terror into the Foreign Offices of smaller nations and apprehension everywhere.

Former Field Marshal Gen. Wilhelm Keitel, once chief of the High Command, appeared in uniform but without the symbols of his power. Then Alfred Rosenberg, the editor of the notorious Voelkischer Beobachter and Nazi party leader for foreign policy, who so effectively disseminated the propaganda and doctrinal techniques of Adolf Hitler's gang.

Frank Still Arrogant

As arrogant as when he was governor general of occupied Poland and his barbarism shocked civilization and decimated Polish communities, Frank sat half turned away from the American chief prosecutor, Justice Robert H. Jackson, as he listed crimes for which the German must answer, conversing meanwhile with Wilhelm Frick, former Minister of the Interior, who sat at his left.

Julius Streicher, the Jew-baiter, sat belligerently, his chin jutting forward, during the recital of his individual crimes as Gauleiter of Franconia and editor-in-chief of the Stuermer, as well as in other capacities. Walther Funk, once Minister of Economics, scratched his ribs frequently throughout the day, turning again and again to chat with Hjalmar Schacht, who occupied the last place in the front bench on the prisoners' dais. Speaking English perfectly, Schacht had no need for the earphones used by those accused of understanding only German, and he followed the proceedings with absorbed interest and constant reference to his copy of the indictment.

Former Grand Admirals Karl Doenitz and Erich Raeder, the former the originator and overlord of the U-boat wolf-packs and later self-appointed successor to Hitler, sat together in the second row, both wearing their uniforms without any distinguishing marks of rank. Baldur von Schirach, the youngest defendant, was next to them.

Beyond Fritz Sauckel, who came next, sat former Col. Gen. Gustav Jodl, also in uniform. Then came Franz von Papen.

Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the scourge of the Netherlands and Austria, was placed beyond von Papen, with Albert Speer, former Minister of Armament and Munitions, and Konstantin von Neurath, former "Protector" of Bohemia-Moravia.

The last in the order of seating was Hans Fritzache, former editor in chief of the official German news agency, Deutsche Nachrichten Buero, and head of the home press division of the Propaganda Ministry.

Two rows of chairs immediately below the prisoners' dock held black-robed German defense attorneys, some of whom also wore the traditional black biretta of their profession.

American military police aligned themselves behind and around the accused and watched the courtroom unceasingly for any signs of disturbance or attempt to communicate with the prisoners. Everyone entering was searched for possible weapons and compelled to remove his topcoat. Neither entry to nor exit from the courtroom was permitted during the sitting, except for couriers handling copy from the press section.

As he took his place, Goering, half rising again, bowed suavely to an American woman correspondent for a magazine whom he recognized in the front row of the press section. He then nodded casually to other familiar faces there, none of whose owners exhibited any gratification.

Goering soon tired of the seating facilities arranged for him and his associates, which were by all odds the most uncomfortable in the courtroom, and spent much time leaning forward with his chin cradled on folded arms atop the barrier in front of him. Utilizing the earsets with which every seat is equipped, he signaled his concurrence or negation at points in Justice Jackson's arraignment with energetic nods or shakes of the head.

The first such incident occurred when Justice Jackson quoted him as having declared in 1940 that Germany was rebuilding her airports. Goering punctuated the statement with a deliberate inclination of his head. A few minutes later he equally silently denied the assertion that he had been the "supreme leader of the Sturmabteilungen der NSDAP, commonly known as the SA [Storm Troops.]"

Von Papen, who had a mass said for him at 7:30 A.M. in the prison chapel, raised his head attentively as Justice Jackson's recital reached the bill of particulars against him, but he signified neither assent nor dissent. Hess divided his time at the morning session between a book that he held at knee level and alert attention halfway through the portion of the bill of particulars listing his own crimes, at which point he sat bolt upright, his eyes riveted on the speaker. Hess's manner wavered between listlessness and interest.

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