“Twelve death sentences by hanging – this is the Nuremberg verdict” – issue of the Belgian newspaper Le Quotidien – ...

“Twelve death sentences by hanging – this is the Nuremberg verdict” – issue of the Belgian newspaper Le Quotidien – the sentencing of the Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg

Issue of the Belgian newspaper Le Quotidien from Wednesday, October 2, 1946. Published the day after the verdicts were handed down in the Nuremberg Trials – extensive coverage of the main sentence imposed on the senior officials of the Nazi regime. In French.

Its main headline announces: 12 condamnations à mort par pendaison – tel est le verdict de Nuremberg – Twelve death sentences by hanging – this is the Nuremberg verdict. Beneath the headline appears the list of those sentenced to hang: Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Wilhelm Frick, Hans Frank, Julius Streicher, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Martin Bormann (in absentia). It is also stated that Franz von Papen, Hjalmar Schacht, and Werner von Fritsch were acquitted. In the central photograph, Hermann Göring is seen covering his face as the sentence is read.

The newspaper also reports at length, through the Belgian correspondent who was present in the courtroom at the climax of the trial, on the reaction of each of the defendants upon hearing their sentence: “Shortly before the beginning of this day, which would be the last in this vast historic trial and would end with the reading of the sentence imposed on each of the great war criminals, the defendants were speaking among themselves with their usual composure, yet one could sense their anxiety and their full awareness of the gravity and seriousness of this hour... Exactly at 9:30 in the morning, the eight Allied judges entered the vast courtroom. They took their seats, and President Lawrence announced that, by virtue of the constitution of the Supreme Court in Nuremberg, the court would immediately rule on the guilt or innocence of the accused... Göring, while listening to the verdict which found him guilty on all counts, betrayed no emotion in his face or body not even the slightest reflex. One could even say he barely flinched. Ribbentrop remained completely indifferent as he listened to the pronouncement of his guilt, delivered by a senior judge of the Soviet Union. As for Field Marshal Keitel, it was the French judge, Professor Donnedieu de Vabres, who read his admission of guilt. Not a muscle moved in the flushed and tense face of the German officer; his unshakable resolve to walk the path he had chosen from the beginning of the trial was palpable. Rosenberg lowered his head; he appeared stunned, and when the Soviet officer finished with him, the executioner of the Soviet-occupied territories could no longer lift his head again... Julius Streicher, the antisemitic Gauleiter of Franconia, folded his arms and leaned back comfortably in his chair. For the first time, he stopped chewing the gum that had always been present in his mouth. He appeared attentive, and his expression remained indifferent... Schacht, the moment he was declared innocent of all charges, was overcome by a powerful emotion—an emotion he could not contain, immediately visible on his face. On the defendants' bench, his twenty co-defendants suddenly turned toward him, as if overcome by speechlessness. For a few moments, a noticeable commotion prevailed on the defendants’ bench...” The reactions of each of the other defendants are also described in detail. The issue further elaborates on the inner pages about the role of each defendant within the Nazi apparatus and the charges brought against him. It also notes that Judge Lawrence announced that the defendants had been given four days to submit appeals for clemency.

Le Quotidien was a French-language Belgian daily newspaper published in Brussels in the period following World War II. The newspaper was known for its in-depth coverage of major international events, issues related to the occupation, processes of denazification, and the reconstruction of Europe. Like many newspapers of that time, Le Quotidien sought to shape public opinion based on facts, and its reports often relied on international news agencies such as AFP. The paper helped the Belgian readership closely follow the global reckoning with the war crimes of the Third Reich.

Complete issue. 4 pages. Fold marks. Good condition.