Young translators and concentration camp prisoners: who accused the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials

The testimony of women and civilians who survived the camps and the occupation has become one of the strongest evidence of Nazi crimes. Their voices, along with the efforts of hundreds of inconspicuous tribunal staff, gave the process human depth and documentary completeness. And Soviet translators played a very important role during the process, Arseniy Zamostyanov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Historian magazine, told Izvestia. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Female witnesses

The Nuremberg trials are widely known for the participation of prosecutors and defendants, but no less important were the women who gave key evidence about the crimes of the Nazi regime. Among them were former concentration camp prisoners, resistance members, medical workers, and secretaries of German departments who witnessed systemic brutality. Their testimony made it possible to supplement the documentary materials with personal stories describing their experiences in camps, during deportations, forced labor or in occupation zones.

For example, Frenchwoman Marie Claude Vaillant Couturier, a member of the French Resistance Movement, testified at the Nuremberg trials, telling about her stay in two concentration camps — Auschwitz and Ravensbruck. Her story, heard on January 28, 1946, became the most detailed testimony.

The witnesses spoke about mass killings, inhumane medical experiments, the fate of children, life in barracks and daily fear. Many of their speeches made a strong impression at the meetings, as they conveyed the human scale of the tragedy, which could not be seen only in paper documents. These testimonies strengthened the accusatory base, showing that the crimes were not statistical, but personal, deeply traumatic in nature.

Little-known participants in the process

In addition to famous prosecutors and lawyers, the Nuremberg Tribunal brought together hundreds of lesser-known participants: stenographers, translators, experts, archivists, analysts and technical staff. Their work ensured the work of the court for months, making the process organized, accessible and documentarily accurate.

Arseniy Zamostyanov, a historian and deputy editor—in-chief of the Historian magazine, said that a group of translators worked in Nuremberg, acting as consultants because they were experts on issues not purely legal, since the major professionals were mostly men, but in the cultural and civilizational context of a particular country.

— These questions constantly arose in the Nuremberg trials, because they dealt with the crimes that the Nazis committed in different countries. Soviet translators played a very important role and helped such "bison" of Soviet justice as Andrei Vyshinsky. At that time, he held the post of deputy People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, but before that he was the prosecutor of the USSR, therefore he was the greatest authority in this field and headed the Politburo commission on the Nuremberg trials, where he often traveled, where he appeared and was the primary figure of the Soviet delegation.

According to Arseniy Zamostyanov, it was Vyshinsky who attracted a number of female translators, including very young ones. One of them shared her memories of how she participated in the Nuremberg trials. It was Tatiana Stupnikova, who had just graduated from university, but played an important and fruitful role.

"Very young girls who know the language well, and are well educated in the humanities, gave a special touch to the work of Soviet lawyers at the Nuremberg trials," Zamostyanov emphasized.

There were many people among the representatives of the technical services whose biographies had previously had nothing to do with international law. Archivists sorted through thousands of captured documents, photographers recorded court sessions, and medics accompanied the accused and witnesses. Their participation became part of a huge organizational structure that allowed the court to function at a level that had no analogues at that time.

Personal stories and biographies

The history of the Nuremberg trials preserves many biographies of people who were not widely known, but left a deep mark on the work of the tribunal. Among them are civilians who witnessed the massacre of Soviet people in the occupied territories, and Red Army soldiers who liberated concentration camps. Many had no training for speaking, but their words became key episodes of the meetings, as they carried an emotional truth that had no place in dry documents.

Among the 18 prosecution witnesses and 70 witnesses were poets Pablo Tychina and Jakub Kolas, Director of the Hermitage and academician Joseph Orbeli, and clergyman Nikolai Lomakin. Samuel Roizman and Olga Shmagloevskaya talked about how people were bullied in Treblinka and Auschwitz.

Among the little-known participants, employees of archival groups stand out, who literally saved hundreds of thousands of documents from destruction, sorted and translated materials from the Gestapo, SS, and ministries of Nazi Germany. There were also forensic experts who analyzed reports, dates, signatures, and compared documents with each other, creating a complete picture of the criminal system.

The combination of personal stories of witnesses and the work of "invisible" participants allowed the Nuremberg trials to become a unique historical and legal phenomenon. The court has preserved the memory not only of the greatest crimes of the 20th century, but also of the people who helped the world hear and understand the depth of the tragedy.

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