Auschwitz trial nominated for UNESCO global memory register
Gaby Reucher / wngJune 11, 2016
The Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt in 1963 was a turning point for dealing with Nazi crimes. Now Germany's UNESCO Commission wants the trial's documentation preserved in a world heritage archive.
Image: picture alliance/Roland Witschel
Advertisement
About 8,000 Waffen SS and 200 SS overseers served at Auschwitz. Of them, 22 were defendants in the 1963 Frankfurt Auschwitz trial. They weren't accused only of individual murders, but first and foremost of having followed the "criminal orders of the German state leadership" and participating in a mass crime. The trial lasted 20 months and included 300 witnesses, 200 of them Auschwitz survivors. Six of the defendants were sentenced to life in prison; three were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
'It's impossible to forget' such a trial
This historic event produced 454 dossiers and 103 audio recordings, which the German UNESCO Commission has nominated to become part of the UNESCO "Memory of the world" register.
Defendants on trial in December 1963Image: imago/United Archives
Joachim-Felix Leonhard, chairman of the register's German nomination committee, was 16 when he attended the trial for a day. "It’s impossible to forget," he said. "I still have the witnesses' voices in my ears and their faces before my eyes." For him, getting the trial’s documentation into the global register is a personal priority.
"The Auschwitz trial was at the time the most important opportunity for witnesses from all involved countries to be heard, in their own languages, with the help of interpreters," Leonhard, a historian, said. That makes the documentation of particular interest on a worldwide scale.
'Memory of the world' register
The goal of the register is to "obtain documentation of extraordinary value from archives, libraries and museums to make digitally available worldwide." Increasingly, that means submitting items from different countries that complement one another, Leonhard said. Material from the trial would therefore be another part of dealing with the Holocaust, alongside the Diary of Anne Frank, which is already a part of the register.
The Diary of Anne Frank is also part of the "Memory of the world"Image: DW/H. Mund
Fritz Bauer: A first to struggle with the past
The trial would have never happened without then-state prosecutor Fritz Bauer. Germans wanted to forget World War II in the years following it. The Allies had already conducted a brief trial involving more senior Nazi criminals. Reconstruction took priority over dealing with the National Socialist past. Fritz Bauer, himself a Jewish survivor of a concentration camp in Denmark, became one of the most prominent early champions of criminal justice reform.
Fritz Bauer is singularly responsible for putting Nazi criminals on trial at a time when few others wanted to talk about the past.Image: picture alliance/Manfred Rehm
His perseverance led to the establishment of a Holocaust research and documentation center in his name, which features excerpts of the trial's audio recordings on its website.
Criminals without knowledge of wrongdoing
"What happened in Auschwitz no one would previously have thought possible," said Werner Konitzer, head of the Fritz Bauer Institute. The recordings reveal the defendants' attempt to justify their actions as having only followed orders. "You can tell they weren't just following orders," Konitzer said. "There's a cold hatred in their bureau speak."
He, like Leonhard, sees the meaning in having the trial documentation be part of the UNESCO register. "We don’t ask why we want nice things safeguarded as world heritage, but culture is also about dealing with difficult things and events."
There are currently 348 items in the UNESCO digital network, 22 of which come from Germany. A decision on the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial is to be made in Paris next year.
UNESCO's new World Heritage Sites
Unique natural landscapes and thousands-year-old ruins: out of 36 nominations, UNESCO has designated 24 new World Heritage Sites. And here they are.
Image: ICCHTO
Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district
The Speicherstadt is Hamburg's first World Heritage Site. The 15 warehouses on the Elbe River are a testimonial to the city's historical maritime, industrial architecture. The nearby Kontorhaus district is included in the site. In particular, its Chilehaus represents the most significant artistic and architectural achievement of German Brick Expressionism.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale
Italy already has 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and it just got one more: Arab-Norman Palermo (see picture) and the nearby Cathedral Churches of Cefalù und Monreale. They represent the 12th century Norman kingdom of Sicily. The rulers of the time combined architectural style elements of both eastern and western cultures.
Image: CRICD
French vineyards and cellars
In France, two famous wine-making regions have been declared World Heritage Sites. The various 'climats' in Burgundy have been cultivating grapes since the High Middle Ages. The second designation this year goes to the vineyards, production sites and underground cellars of Champagne (pictured).
Danish hunting landscape and a Moravian settlement
The Par Force hunting landscape (pictured) encompasses two sculpted hunting woodlands. They were designed for the Danish kings and their court for hunting with hounds and demonstrate the application of Baroque landscape principles in forested areas in the 17th and 18th centuries. Denmark's second site is Christiansfeld, a Moravian church settlement founded in 1773.
Image: Danish Museum of Hunting and Forestry
European industrial landscapes
Along with Norway's industrial complexes in the towns of Rjukan und Notodden, Britain's Forth Bridge (pictured) was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. The bridge spanning the estuary of the Forth River in Scotland is considered an important milestone in bridge design and construction.
Image: picture alliance/empics/A. Milligan
Diyarbakir Fortress and the ancient city of Ephesus
Two new World Heritage Sites have been declared in Turkey. The ancient city of Ephesus (pictured) includes what little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ephesus is considered an outstanding example of a Roman port city. Turkey's other site is the Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Ozturk
Religious history in Israel and Jordan
During the 2nd century AD, the necropolis of Bet She’arim in Israel (pictured) was the most important Jewish burial site outside of Jerusalem. Inscriptions in the underground tombs provide evidence of a revival period of Jewish religious culture. Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the home and workplace of John the Baptist, was also added to the list of World Heritage sites.
Image: Tsvika Tsuk
Blue and John Crown Mountains
Jamaica has been granted its first ever World Heritage listing. The Blue and John Crown mountain ranges are rich in wildlife, and have now been declared a World Heritage Natural Site and Cultural Site. They are home to numerous endangered species. The area also has cultural significance, as it's closely linked to the history of the Maroons and their fight against slavery.
Image: JCDT
Singapore: Botanic Gardens
Singapore also received its first World Heritage title. The Botanic Gardens have more than 3,000 tropical plant species, a rainforest and an orchid garden, and are now some of the most beautiful and scientifically significant botanic gardens in the world. The history dates back 150 years, and they now attract more than four million visitors a year.
Image: picture-alliance/ANN/The Straits Times
Archeology and industry in Asia
Also added to the World Heritage listings were the Tusi Sites in Asia (pictured) - the areas from which the former tribal leaders ruled in southern China. Other places to receive a World Heritage title include the holy Burkhan Mountain in Mongolia, the archaeological sites of the Baekje Dynasty in Korea and the Japanese industrial sites from the Meiji period.
Image: Management Office of Tangya Tusi Domain
Prehistoric evidence
Susa in Iran was once a resplendent city. Excavations in the ruins (pictured) have revealed a treasure trove of archeological finds dating back through the 5,000-year long settlement history. Iran was granted a second World Heritage listing for its historic cave village of Meymand, Kerman. The prehistoric rock drawings in Ha’il in Saudi Arabia also received a place on the UNESCO list.
Image: ICCHTO
American missionaries and bridge builders
The 18th century San Antonio Missions in Texas (pictured) provide a glimpse into the age of colonization and are an example of the intertwining of Spanish and Native American culture. The Aqueduct in Mexico’s Padre Tembleque was also declared a World Heritage site, as was the Cultural-Industrial Landscape of Fray Bentos in Uruguay.
