dtufail/nuremberg-trials-corpus huggingface dataset:
ON THE ISSUES PRESENTED BY the MEDICAL REPORTS 1. Counsel for the defendant Hess has made application to the Tribunal to appoint an expert designated by the medical faculty of the University of Zurich or of Lausanne to examine the defendant Hess with reference to his mental competence and capacity to stand trial. This application is denied. 2. The Tribunal has designated a commission composed of the following members: Eugene Krasnuchkin, M.D., Professor Psychiatry, Medical Institute of Moscow, assisted by Eugene Sepp, M.D., Professor Neurology, Medical Institute of Moscow Member, Academy of Medical Sciences, USSR; and, Nicolas Kuraskov, M.D., Professor of Medicine Medical Institute of Moscow, Chief Internist, Commissariat of Public Health, USSR. Lord Moran, M.D., F.R.C.P. President of the Royal College of Physicians, assisted by Dr. T. Reece, M.D., F.R.C.P. Chief Consultant Psychiatrist to the War Office, and Dr. George Ruddock, M.D., F.R.C.P. Director of Neurology to the London Hospital and Chief Consultant Neurologist to the War Office Dr. Nolan D. C. Lewis, assisted by Dr. D. Ewen Cameron and Col. Paul Schroeder, M.D. Professor Jean Delay. The Tribunal has requested the commission to examine the defendant Hess and furnish a report on the mental state of the defendant with particular reference to the question whether he is able to take his part in the trial, specifically: (1) Is the defendant able to plead to the indictment? (2) Is the defendant sane or not, and on this last issue the Tribunal wishes to be advised whether the defendant is of sufficient intellect to comprehend the course of the proceedings of the trial so as to make a proper defense, to challenge a witness to whom he might wish to object and to understand the details of the evidence. 3. The examiners have presented their reports to the Tribunal in the form which commends itself to them. It is directed that copies of the reports be furnished to each of the Chief Prosecutors and to defense counsel. The Tribunal will hear argument by the Prosecution and by defense counsel on the issues presented by the reports on Friday, November 30 at 4 P.M. INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL [signed] Geoffrey Lawrence Geoffrey Lawrence President Dated
to each of the Chief Prosecutors and to defense counsel. The Tribunal will hear argument by the Prosecution and by defense counsel on the issues presented by the reports on Friday, November 30 at 4 P.M. INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL [signed] Geoffrey Lawrence Geoffrey Lawrence President Dated Nurnberg, Germany this 24th day of November, 1945 Copies of four (4) Medical Reports attached (1) British Medical Report REPORT on Rudolf Hess, telephoned from London. "The undersigned, having seen and examined Rudolf Hess, have come to the following conclusion: 1. There are no relevant physical abnormalities. 2. His mental state is of a mixed type. He is an unstable man, and what is technically called a psychopathic personality. The evidence of his illness in the past four years, as presented by one of us who has had him under his care in England, indicates that he has had a delusion of poisoning, and other similar paranoid ideas. Partly as a reaction to the failure of his mission, these abnormalities got worse, and led to suicidal attempts. In addition, he has a marked hysterical tendency, which has led to the development of various symptoms, notably a loss of memory, which lasted from November 1943 to June 1944, and which resisted all efforts at treatment. A second loss of memory began in February 1945 and lasted till the present. This amnesic symptom will eventually clear, when circumstances change. 3. At the moment he is not insane in the strict sense. His loss of memory will not entirely interfere with his comprehension of the proceedings, but it will interfere with his ability to make his defense, and to understand details of the past, which arise in evidence. 4. We recommend that further evidence should be obtained by narco-analysis and that if the Court decides to proceed with the Trial, the question should afterwards be reviewed on psychiatric grounds." [signed] Moran J. Rees, MD, FRCP Dated 19th November, 1945 George Riddoch (2) Joint American and French Medical Report 20 November 1945 MEMORANDUM TO: Brigadier General Wm. L. Mitchell, General Secretary for the International Military Tribunal. In response to request of the Tribunal that the defendant Rudolf Hess be examined, the undersigned psychiatrists examined Rudolf Hess
George Riddoch (2) Joint American and French Medical Report 20 November 1945 MEMORANDUM TO: Brigadier General Wm. L. Mitchell, General Secretary for the International Military Tribunal. In response to request of the Tribunal that the defendant Rudolf Hess be examined, the undersigned psychiatrists examined Rudolf Hess on November 15th and 19th, 1945, in his cell in the Military Prison in Nurnberg. The following examinations were made: physical, neurological and psychological. In addition, documents were studied bearing information concerning his personal development and career. Reports concerning the period of his stay in England were scrutinized. The results of all psychological, special psychometric examinations and observations carried out by the prison psychiatrist and his staff were studied. Information was also derived from the official interrogation of the defendant on November 14th and November 16th, 1945. (1) We find, as a result of our examinations and investigations, that Rudolf Hess is suffering from hysteria characterized in part by loss of memory. The nature of this loss of memory is such that it will not interfere with his comprehension of the proceedings, but it will interfere with his response to questions relating to his past and will interfere with his undertaking his defense. In addition there is a conscious exaggeration of his loss of memory and a tendency to exploit it to protect himself against examination. (2) We consider that the existing hysterical behaviour which the defendant reveals was initiated as a defense against the circumstances in which he found himself while in England; that it has now become in part habitual and that it will continue as long as he remains under the threat of imminent punishment, even though it may interfere with his undertaking a more normal form of defense. (3) It is the unanimous conclusion of the undersigned that Rudolf Hess is not insane at the present time in the strict sense of the word. (s) D. Ewen Cameron DR. D. EWEN CAMERON Professor of Psychiatrie, McGill University (s) Paul L. Schroeder COL. PAUL L. SCHROEDER A.U.S. Neuropsychiatric Consultant (s) Jean Delay DR. JEAN DELAY Professor of Psychiatrie at the Faculty of
Hess is not insane at the present time in the strict sense of the word. (s) D. Ewen Cameron DR. D. EWEN CAMERON Professor of Psychiatrie, McGill University (s) Paul L. Schroeder COL. PAUL L. SCHROEDER A.U.S. Neuropsychiatric Consultant (s) Jean Delay DR. JEAN DELAY Professor of Psychiatrie at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (s) Nolan D. C. Lewis DR. NOLAN D. C. LEWIS Professor Psychiatry, Columbia University (3) Soviet Medical Report TO THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL In pursuance of the assignment by the Tribunal, we, the medical experts of the Soviet Delegation, together with the physicians of the English Delegation and in the presence of one representative of the American Medical Delegation, have examined Rudolf Hess and made a report on our examination of Mr. Hess together with our conclusions and interpretation of the behavior of Mr. Hess. The statement of the general conclusions has been signed only by the physicians of the Soviet Delegation and by Professor Delay, the medical expert of the French Delegation. Appendix: 1 Conclusions and 2 the Report on the examination of Mr. Hess. (signed) Professor Krasnushkin, Doctor of Medicine (signed) Professor Sepp, Honorary Scientist, Regular Member of the Academy of Medicine (signed) Professor Kushakov, Doctor of Medicine, Chief Therapeutist of the Commissariat of Health of the U.S.S.R. November 17, 1945 (a) Conclusions After observation and an examination of Rudolf Hess the undersigned have reached the following conclusions: 1. No essential physical deviations from normality were observed. 2. His mental conditions are of a mixed type. He is an unstable person, which in technical terms is called a psychopathic personality. The data concerning his illness during the period of the last four years submitted by one of us who had him under observation in England, show that he had a delusion of being poisoned and other similar paranoic notions. Partly as a reaction to the failure of his mission there, the abnormal manifestations increased and led to attempts at suicide. In addition to the above mentioned he has noticeable hysterical tendencies which caused a development of various symptoms, primarily, of amnesia that lasted from November 1943 to June
as a reaction to the failure of his mission there, the abnormal manifestations increased and led to attempts at suicide. In addition to the above mentioned he has noticeable hysterical tendencies which caused a development of various symptoms, primarily, of amnesia that lasted from November 1943 to June of 1944 and resisted all attempts to be cured. The amnesia symptom may disappear with changing circumstances. The second period of amnesia started in February of 1945 and has lasted up through the present. 3. At present he is not insane in the strict sense of the word. His amnesia does not prevent him completely from understanding what is going on around him but it will interfere with his ability to conduct his defense and to understand details of the past which would appear as factual data. 4. To clarify the situation we recommend that a narco-analysis be performed on him and, if the Court decides to submit him to trial, the problem should be subsequently reexamined again from a psychiatric point of view. The conclusion reached on November 14 by the physicians of the British Delegation, Lord Moran, Dr. T. Rees and Dr. G. Riddoch, and the physicians of the Soviet Delegation, Professors Krasnushkin, Sepp, and Kurshakov, was also arrived at on November 15 by the representative of the French Delegation, Professor Jean Delay. After an examination of Mr. Hess which took place on November 15, 1945, the undersigned Professors and experts of the Soviet Delegation, Krasnushkin, Sepp and Kurshakov, and Professor Jean Delay, the expert from the French Delegation, have agreed on the following statement: Mr. Hess categorically refused to be submitted to narco-analysis and resisted all other procedures intended to effect a cure of his amnesia, and stated that he would agree to undergo treatment only after the trial. The behavior of Mr. Hess makes it impossible to apply the methods suggested in Paragraph 4 of the report of November 14 and to follow the suggestion of that Paragraph in present from. (signed) Professor Krasnushkin, Doctor of Medicine (signed) Professor Sepp, Honorary Scientist, Regular Member of the Academy of Medicine (signed) Professor Kurshakov, Doctor of Medicine, Chief Theraputist of the Commissariat of Health of the
14 and to follow the suggestion of that Paragraph in present from. (signed) Professor Krasnushkin, Doctor of Medicine (signed) Professor Sepp, Honorary Scientist, Regular Member of the Academy of Medicine (signed) Professor Kurshakov, Doctor of Medicine, Chief Theraputist of the Commissariat of Health of the U.S.S.R. (signed) Professor Jean Delay of the School of Medicine in Paris November 16, 1945 (b) Record of Examination of Rudolf Hess According to the information obtained on Nov. 16, 1945, during the interrogation of Rosenberg who had seen Hess immediately before the latter's flight to England, Hess gave no evidence of any abnormality either in appearance or conversation. He was, as usual, quiet and composed. Nor was it apparent that he might have been nervous. Prior to this, he was a calm person, habitually suffering pains in the region of the stomach. As can be judged on the basis of the report of the English psychiatrist, Doctor Rees, who had Hess under observation from the first days of his flight to England, Hess, after the airplane crash, disclosed No evidence of a brain injury, but, upon arrest and incarceration, he began to give expression to ideas of persecution. He feared that he would be poisoned, or killed and his death represented as a suicide, and that all this would be done by the English under the hypnotic influence of the Jews. Furthermore, these delusions of persecution were maintained up to the news of the catastrophe suffered by the German Army at Stalingrad when the manifestations were replaced by amnesia. According to Doctor Rees, the delusions of persecution and the amnesia were observed not to take place simultaneously. Furthermore, there were two attempts at suicide. A knife wound, inflicted during the second attempt, in the skin near the heart gave evidence of a clearly hysterico-demonstrative character. After this there was again observed a change from amnesia to delusions of persecution, and during this period he wrote that he was simulating his amnesia, and, finally, again entered into a state of amnesia which has been prolonged up to the present. According to the examination of Rudolf Hess on Nov. 14, 1945, the following was disclosed. Hess complains of frequent cramping pains in the region of the
period he wrote that he was simulating his amnesia, and, finally, again entered into a state of amnesia which has been prolonged up to the present. According to the examination of Rudolf Hess on Nov. 14, 1945, the following was disclosed. Hess complains of frequent cramping pains in the region of the stomach which appear independent of the taking of food, and headaches in the frontal lobes during mental strain, and, finally, of loss of memory. In general his condition is marked by a pallor of the skin and a noticeable reduction in food intake. Regarding the internal organs of Hess, the pulse is 92, and a shakening of the heart tone is noticeable. There has been no change in the condition of the other internal organs. Concerning the neurological aspect, there are no symptoms of organic impairment of the nervous system. Psychologically, Hess is in a state of clear consciousness; knows that he is in prison at Nurnberg under indictment as a war criminal; has read, and, according to his own words, is acquainted with the charges against him. He answers questions rapidly and to the point. His speech is coherent, his thoughts formed with precision and correctness and they are accompanied by sufficient emotionally expressive movements. Also, there is no kind of evidence of paralogism. It should also be noted here, that the present Psychological examination, which was conducted by Lieut. Gilbert, M.D., bears out the testimony that the intelligence of Hess is normal and in some instances above the average. His movements are natural and not forced. He has expressed no delirous fancies nor does he give any delirious explanation for the painful sensation in his stomach or the loss of memory, as was previously attested to by Doctor Rees, namely, when Hess ascribed them to poisoning. At the present time, to the question about the reason for his painful sensations and the loss of memory, Hess answers that this is for the doctors to know. According to his own assertions, he can remember almost nothing of his former life. The gaps in Hess' memory are ascertained only on the basis of the subjective changing of his testimony about his inability to remember this or that person or event given at different times. What he knows
the doctors to know. According to his own assertions, he can remember almost nothing of his former life. The gaps in Hess' memory are ascertained only on the basis of the subjective changing of his testimony about his inability to remember this or that person or event given at different times. What he knows at the present time is, in his own words, what he allegedly learned only recently from the information of those around him and the films which have been shown him. On Nov. 14 Hess refused the injection of narcotics which were offered for the purpose of making an analysis of his Psychological condition. On Nov. 15, in answer to Prof. Delay's offer, he definitely and firmly refused narcosis and explained to him that, in general, he would take all measures to cure his amnesia only upon completion of the trial. All that has been exposed above, we are convinced, permits, of the interpretation that the deviation from the norm in the behavior of Hess takes the following forms: I. In the psychological personality of Hess there are no changes typical of the progressive schizophrenic disease, and therefore the delusions, from which he suffered periodically while in England, cannot be considered as manifestations of a schizophrenic paranoia, and must be recognized as the expression of a psychogenic paranoic reaction, that is, the psychologically comprehensible reaction of an unstable (psychologically) personality to the situation (the failure of his mission, arrest and incarceration). Such an interpretation of the delirious statements of Hess in England is bespoken by their disappearance, appearance and repeated disappearance depending on external circumstances which affected the mental state of Hess. II. The loss of memory of Hess is not the result of some kind of mental disease but represents hysterical amnesia, the basis of which is a subconscious inclination toward self-defense as well as a deliberate and conscious tendency toward it. Such behavior often terminates when the hysterical person is faced with an unavoidable necessity of conducting himself correctly. Therefore, the amnesia of Hess may end upon his being brought to trial. III. Rudolf Hess, prior to his flight to England, did not suffer from any kind of insanity, nor is he
toward it. Such behavior often terminates when the hysterical person is faced with an unavoidable necessity of conducting himself correctly. Therefore, the amnesia of Hess may end upon his being brought to trial. III. Rudolf Hess, prior to his flight to England, did not suffer from any kind of insanity, nor is he now suffering from it. At the present time he exhibits hysterical behavior with signs of a conscious-intentional (simulated) character, which does not exonerate him from his responsibility under the indictment. (signed) Professor Krasnushkin, Doctor of Medicine (signed) Professor Sepp, Honorary Scientist, Regular Member of the Academy of Medicine (signed) Professor Kurshakov, Doctor of Medicine, Chief Theraputist of the Commissariat of Health of the U.S.S.R. 17 November 1945 B. MOTION BY DEFENSE COUNSEL FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HESS Attorney-at-law von Rohrscheidt Defense Counsel for Rudolf Hess Nurnberg, 29 November 1945 To the General Secretary of the International Military Tribunal, Nurnberg: Reference: Rudolf Hess-Session of 30 November 1945. I. Reply to the request of the Tribunal of 28 November 1945. II. Preparatory statement for the trial. I I, as Counsel for the Defendant Hess, answer the request of the Tribunal of 28 November 1945 as follows: 1. No formal objection is being raised by Defense against presentation and use of the expert opinions obtained by the Tribunal. 2. The Defense does not think the defendant Hess to be "verhandlungsfaehig" (in a state of health to be tried). 3. Material objections are being raised by the Defense, inasmuch as the expert opinion denies the competence of the defendant as a consequence of a mental disorder. II For the proceedings, I, as Counsel for the Defendant Hess, wish to make the following statement: 1. I move: a. That a decision be made to adjourn the proceedings against the defendant temporarily. b. That in case incapacity to be tried is asserted, proceedings in absentia against the defendant should not be carried on. c. That in case my motion ad a is rejected, a super expert opinion be obtained from additional eminent psychiatrists. 2. I argue these motions as follows: ad 1-a: The
b. That in case incapacity to be tried is asserted, proceedings in absentia against the defendant should not be carried on. c. That in case my motion ad a is rejected, a super expert opinion be obtained from additional eminent psychiatrists. 2. I argue these motions as follows: ad 1-a: The adjournment of the proceedings is necessary because of the unfitness of the defendant to follow them. In this respect the (medical) opinions state unanimously upon the questions asked by the Tribunal, that "the ability of the Defendant Hess is impaired to the extent that he cannot defend himself, nor oppose a witness, nor understand the details of evidence." Even if the amnesia does not keep him from understanding what happens about him or to understand the course of the trial, this amnesia nevertheless has a disturbing effect on his defense. The impairment of the defendant in his defense, through his amnesia, recognized by all opinions as a mental defect, has to be acknowledged as such, in view of the statements in the opinions of the Soviet, English and American Delegations of 14 November 1945, which designate the mental condition as one of a mixed kind, but more as one of a sort of mental abnormality. This will not make a pertinent defense possible for him (Hess). In this respect, it does not have to be considered that the defendant is not mentally ill "in the literal meaning of the word" and that he can follow the proceedings. The question whether the defendant is at present incapable, as a result of the diminution of his "mental powers," to understand all occurrences and to defend himself properly, has nothing to do with his mental derangement when committing the crime. In the opinion of counsel, the defendant is in no case in a position to make himself understood or to understand argument, because he is impaired in his mental clarity through the loss of his memory and because he has completely lost the knowledge of previous events and of people of former acquaintance. Since the expert establishment of his mental disorder which impairs the defendant in the full execution of his defense, makes proceedings against him inadmissible, the statement of the defendant that he thinks himself