Hitler stands trial.

Apologies for duplication - first posting on this board!

Just delete the post above by editing it.

Anyway what would happen if Hitler gives one of his crazy hypnotic speeches at the Nuremberg trials? It is possible for him to return to his previous state without the drugs of Morell, Hitler may no doubt make a partial recovery like Goering did when he stopped taking his drugs.
 
I was under the impression that Stalin planned to have Hitler summarily executed upon his capture. Is this untrue?
It is untrue, Stalin was the most insistent of all the Allies that Nazis be publicly tried for war crimes; he wanted to make a propaganda coup out of showing the world just how evil the Nazis were. The fact that this could be used to justify their occupation of Nazi and nazi-allied territory certainly didn't hurt things either.

Hitler is going to hang no matter what; not guilty by reason of insanity is not nearly so effective a defense in 1945 as it is in 2008, and the Allies are well aware that Hitler is far too dangerous to be left alive even if he is absolutely looney. In any case, as others have said he's likely to make a partial recovery once removed from the quack dosing him with cocaine, amphetamines, and other such things as part of a "medical" treatment.

The biggest effect we might see on history is what happens to the other defendants at Nuremburg. The "just following orders" defense will have an entirely different implication if the man who gave those orders is alive and in the room during the trial; likewise other efforts surviving Nazi leaders made to shift the blame to Hitler will change a lot if he's still alive. Also, the defendents who essentially pled partially guilty and threw themselves on the mercy of the court like Speer might not do so if Hitler is still alive and demanding they all stand united in the trial.
 
Could someone write a trial script?

Way, way too long and too boring. Using this as a model:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/imt.asp

I think it would play out like this:

Hitler is captured by the Soviet Union in his Bunker in Berlin.
Hitler is paraded around by Stalin and Red Army, we might see some kind of penal parade in Red Square.

Stalin turns over Hitler at the Nuremburg Trial.
Hitler's defense attorney makes some kind of move to address Hitler's mental state, which is rejected by the Prosecution--that said, his condition improves enough for him to argue, even with his own defense attorney.

Hitler does get in a few rambling speeches and dialogues, but its pre-ordained that Hitler is going to be executed, and while the trial might be extended by three or four days as a result of the outcome, Hitler is hung, along with most of the others.
 
When I suggested for Hitler a possible defense of 'insanity', I was presuming the well-known British gift for fair-play, compromise...and ruthless self-interest.
After all, look at the way we dealt with Rudolph Hess!

OTL, in its latter years, we fought WWII with great disregard for (enemy) human life and - at its ATL ending - such an apparently enlightened judgement for the conflict's primary architect is nothing of the kind.

Firstly, it would have demonstrated to the entire German people that, far from following a military genius, they had (mis)placed their trust into the hands of a drooling madman - who had (mis)led them to humiliation...again.

That would have made post-war resurgance of die-hard Nazi-ism far less popular: who wants to admit they were fooled by a liar/megalomaniac (cf: OTL - PM Blair, over Iraq etc).

Secondly, it would be intended from the outset that the puspose of such a trial would be the humiliation of Hitler (and the destruction of his legend) and, inevitably, he would not be required to outlive it by very long.
I'm sure that Allied Intelligence had access to many traceless poisons!

It has been rumoured that one or more terminally-ill British momarchs were helped on their way by judicious overdoses of opiates; how much less scruple then to dispose of a monster, once his show-trial had been milked to maximum effect?
 
Finding Hitler insane either in a trial or finding his unfit to plead might well have been factually defensible and make a lot of political sense.

However I can imagine no circumstance under which any of the power involved in the Nuremberg trial would accept any outcome which did not end up at the end of a rope- unless some more exotic executiion was felt appropriate.
 
Just delete the post above by editing it.

Anyway what would happen if Hitler gives one of his crazy hypnotic speeches at the Nuremberg trials? It is possible for him to return to his previous state without the drugs of Morell, Hitler may no doubt make a partial recovery like Goering did when he stopped taking his drugs.

The improvement due to no drugs is nothing compared to the worsening due to no Reich. He won't recover. He'll be a wreck.

Assuming he did, he won't deliver no speeches. Art. 18 of the IMT Charter would allow the Soviet judge to have him prevented from speaking if needed to stop any of that pointless loss of time during hearings.
 
This is off on a tangent but kind of funny anyhow: in a recent novel by Clive Cussler, a silver urn with Hitler's ashes was recovered. To prevent that urn and ashes from becoming an icon/touchstone for neo-Nazis, the ashes were summarily flushed down the toilet.
 
there is a book.........sort of

George Steiner wrote an incredible novel called "The portage to San Cristobal of A.H." It's plot line is that Hitler is found in the jungle of south america as a withered old man by nazi hunters. Each chapter is a reminiscence of people all over the world as they react to the rumour that a living Hitler might just have been found alive. In the novel Hitler gives a long,electric monologue in self defence. Without spoiling the read too much I would strongly suggest reading this rather slim volume.
 

TelClaven

Banned
I read a book a long time ago that had Hitler attempting to escape via Italy. He's pursued by a NKVD team that is in turn being followed by an American OSS agent who's curious why they're rampaging through Italy.

Conclusion comes with the NKVD knocking out the SS team and capturing Hitler, the American OSS agent shows up on the seen, sees the logic in letting the Russians have Hitler, shrugs his shoulders and goes on his merry way.

Stalin has Hitler put in a cage too small to stand up in and too narrow to lie down in, suspended in a white room with spotlights shining on him from all corners all the time. Over the years, Stalin comes down to admire his prize as Hitler degenerates into an animal like state of insanity.
 
Whoever wrote this book has not read enough about Stalin's preferred way to do this - show trials.
Agreed; Stalin wouldn't want to keep Hitler quietly hidden and covered up, he would want to show the entire world that he'd caught Hitler, then parade him around before very publicly executing him.

Hitler caged up like a beast is a fun mental image though.
 
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