Malmedy Massacre Trial - Before The Trial

Before The Trial

The Malmedy massacre outraged the American military, and after the war the United States Army sought to bring those responsible to justice. During the early investigations, however, it was not possible to prevent the accused from communicating with one another, which compromised their testimony. Only in December 1945, when they were confined in Schwabisch Hall, a civil prison requisitioned by the military occupation, was it possible to stop concerted communication among the accused. Interrogations were held there between December 1945 and April 1946.

The U.S. Army investigators faced a shortage of German-speaking staff and were forced to rely on recent immigrants to the US who had little understanding of American criminal law. Furthermore, some of the investigators had been forced to flee Germany by the Nazi regime and were hardly unbiased. Two of the main investigators, a Lieutenant Perl and a civilian auxiliary, were German Jews who had emigrated to the United States before the war.

The preliminary investigations were not conducted in compliance with legal standards. It was proven that some defendants had been subjected to mock trials, including false death sentences, to extort confessions. An investigation led by a controversial United States Senate Subcommittee after the trial would conclude in 1949 that the defendants were not actually tortured or deliberately starved. The Senate Subcommittee did acknowledge that some may have been beaten by their guards.