On the 15th of November, Dodd and his colleagues visited the courtroom to test the interpretation system in which “We all wear headphones in the courtroom–and by turning a dial we can hear anything that is said in English, in French, in Russian or in German” [pg. 194, 11/15/1945]. The final U.S. Trial Committee was constituted and included General Donovan, Colonel Storey, Sidney Alderman, and Thomas Dodd. The case was to be ready for November 20th and all Dodd could say was,”… we simply are not ready. But I do believe we can improvise along and somehow make a good presentation”. [pg. 196, 11/17/1945]
At ten a.m sharp November 19th, 1945, the trial had began at long last. On the 21st, Jackson concluded his opening statement [available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L50OZSeDXeA]. The reading of the indictment by the representatives of the four nations followed consuming the second and third days of the trial.
The first week of December saw several more initial presentation of the cases on Aggressive War: Sidney Alderman–Czechoslovakia (December 3); Hartley Shawcross–Conspiracy to Commit Aggressive War (December 4); David Maxwell-Fyfe–Violation of Treaties and International Agreements, Griffith-Jones–Poland, United Kingdom and France (December 5); F. Elwyn Jones–Denmark and Norway (December 6) and Roberts–Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, Alderman–Austria and USSR, H. J. Phillimore–Greece and Yugoslavia wrapped up the week December 7th.
At long last it had begun and the research, planning, review and collection of documents would play out on the international stage.
–Owen Doremus and Betsy Pittman
[Owen Doremus, a junior at Edwin O. Smith High School, is supporting this blog series with research and writing as part of an independent study.]
The majority of the letters from Tom Dodd to his wife Grace have been published and can be found in Letters from Nuremberg, My father’s narrative of a quest for justice. Senator Christopher J. Dodd with Lary Bloom. New York: Crown Publishing, 2007.
Images available in Thomas J. Dodd Papers.