Photograph from the Nuremberg Industrialists Trial, signed by Chief Prosecutor Telford Taylor

The photograph shows the Nazi industrialist defendants (from left to right) Friedrich Flick, Otto Steinbrinck, Konrad Kaletsch, Bernhard Weiss, and Hermann Terberger seated on the defendants’ bench during the proceedings before the Military Tribunal at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg on March 15, 1947.

The Flick Trial - officially The United States of America vs. Friedrich Flick et al. opened on March 15, 1947, and was one of the most significant of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. For the first time, the senior leadership of German industry was prosecuted for systematic collaboration with the Nazi regime. Friedrich Flick, one of the Third Reich’s wealthiest industrialists, was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, primarily for the extensive use of forced labor, the plunder of property in occupied territories, and for knowingly supporting the Nazi war machine. Flick and his top executive Otto Steinbrinck were also accused of belonging to Himmler’s Circle of Friends (Freundeskreis Reichsführer-SS).

Telford Taylor, who served as Chief Prosecutor in all twelve Subsequent Nuremberg Trials, played a decisive role in shaping the legal approach of the prosecution. He argued that criminal responsibility extended beyond political leaders and military commanders to include industrialists, who provided the economic infrastructure for the Nazi regime’s crimes. Taylor’s contribution to the Flick Trial was especially significant in laying down the precedent-setting principle of personal criminal liability for industrialists whose enterprises enabled war crimes and crimes against humanity. This principle expanded the scope of international law and placed economic complicity at the center of discussions on moral and legal accountability in the era of total war and genocide.

The trial continued until December 22, 1947. Friedrich Flick was sentenced to seven years in prison, two additional defendants received shorter sentences, and the remaining three were acquitted.

Telford Taylor [1908–1998] is renowned for his role as Chief Counsel in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals after WWII. He served as lead prosecutor in the twelve Subsequent Nuremberg Trials, following his work alongside Justice Robert H. Jackson in drafting the London Charter that established the legal foundation of the International Military Tribunal. Taylor notably worked to designate the German High Command and General Staff as criminal organizations and believed the Nuremberg process was a success, having set legal precedents for crimes against peace and humanity.

18×13 cm. Good condition.