Phillips Nuremberg Trials Collection: Trial 5 - Flick Case

It was the first of three trials of leading industrialists of Nazi Germany; the two others were the IG Farben Case and the Krupp Case.

The defendants in this case were Friedrich Flick and five other high-ranking directors of Flick's group of companies, officially called Flick Kommanditgesellschaft, or Flick KG. The charges centered on slave labor and plundering, but Flick and the most senior director, Otto Steinbrinck, were also charged for their membership in the "Circle of Friends of Himmler." The circle was a group of influential German industrialists and bankers—founded originally in 1932 by Wilhelm Keppler and taken over by Himmler in 1935—for the purpose of giving financial support to the Nazis. Its members "donated" annually about 1 million Reichsmark to a "Special Account S" in favor of Himmler.

Counts: 1) Slave Labor; 2) Spoliation; 3) Aryanization; and 4) Membership in the SS

1. War crimes and crimes against humanity by participating in the deportation and enslavement of the civilian populations of countries and territories under the belligerent occupation of or otherwise controlled by Germany, and of concentration camp inmates, for use in slave labor in Flick mines and factories.
2. War crimes and crimes against humanity through the plundering and spoliation of occupied territories, and the seizure of plants both in the west (France) and the east (Poland, Russia).
3. Crimes against humanity through participation in the persecution of Jews and the "aryanization" of their properties. [The court dismissed count 3, stating that the evidence presented (which was all for cases prior to September 1939) fell outside its jurisdiction as the tribunal had a mandate only for acts committed during World War II, i.e. from September 1939 to May 1945.]
4. Membership in the NSDAP and the "Circle of Friends of Himmler".
5. Membership in a criminal organization, the SS.

Original Indictment

Style of the case: United States of America v. Friedrich Flick, et al.

Indictment filed: 8 February 1947; amended 18 March 1947

Trial dates: 21 April 1947 - 24 November 1947

NMT 4 Judges:  Charles B. Sears (New York) (presiding judge); William C. Christianson (Minnesota); Frank N. Richman (Indiana); and Richard D. Dixon (North Carolina) (alternate judge)

Chief Prosecutor: Joseph M. Stone

Judgment: 22 December 1947

Sentencing: 22 December 1947

 * Wehrwirtschaftsfuehrer - During the Nazi regime (1933–1945), a designation for executives of companies or big factories. Generally the companies were important for the production of war materials.

AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

• Indictment
• Opening Statement for the United States of America
• Closing Statement for the United States of America
• Judgment of Tribunal IV

Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10

The 15-volume series, also known as “The Green Series,” focuses on the 12 trials of almost 200 defendants. This publication by the United States Government Printing Office is the official abridged record of the individual indictments and judgments, as well as the administrative materials that were common to all the trials.

• Volume 6, "The Flick Case"