page_title: Ernst von Leyser
section_title: Trial and conviction
hierarchical_section_title: Ernst von Leyser / Life / Trial and conviction
caption_attribution_description: English: Defendants in the during the Hostages Trial in Nuremberg. From left to right: Wilhelm List, Walter Kuntze, Hermann Foertsch, Curt von Geitner, Maximilian von Weichs, Lothar Rendulic, Ernst Dehner, Ernst von Leyser, Hubert Lanz, Hellmuth Felmy, Wilhelm Speidel. (Accused Franz Böhme is not present in this picture as he committed suicide on May 29, 1947.) Compare with the official trial proceedings: Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10, Vol. XI: United States of America vs. Wilhelm List, et. al. (Case 7: „Hostages Case“). US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia 1950, pg. 764. This photograph was taken by US Army photographers on behalf of the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes (OCCWC) during the trial, which lasted from May 1947 until February 1948. The USHMM-Website wrongly claims copyright on this photograph, stating courtesy of John W. Mosenthal. Mosenthal was a research analyst working on the final compilation and editing of the proceedings manuscript (Vol. XI) in his official function for the War Crimes Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, and as such this photograph is PD-USGov-Military-Army.
context_page_description: Ernst Ulrich Hans von Leyser was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded several army corps.
  After the war, in 1947, Leyser was tried for war crimes committed in the Balkans and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment during the Hostages Trial; his sentence was commuted to time served and he was released in 1951.
context_section_description: Leyser was tried, as subordinate to General Lothar Rendulic, along with 12 other high-ranking German officers in the Hostages Trial, from 13 May 1947 to 19 February 1948. He was found guilty on two charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder and mistreatment of POWs and murder and mistreatment of civilians. Leyser was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in December 1947. On 31 January 1951, John J. McCloy, the US High Commissioner in Germany, revised his sentence to time served.
caption: Ernst von Leyser (fourth from right) during the Hostages Trial
exif: {}