Manstein: His Campaigns and His Trial

FOREWORD by Lord Hankey the proud story of British justice is occasionally marred by shabby episodes where the national character falls below its accustomed standards of chivalry, honour and common sense. Examples are the burning of Joan of Arc in the market place of Rouen in May, 1431; the trial of King Charles I and his execution in Whitehall on January 30th, 1649; the court-martial and execution of Admiral Byng in 1756, " pour enjourager les autres," as Voltaire remarked at the time; and the six-years' long impeachment of Warren Hastings before his acquittal in 1791 ; all of which have been condemned by modern historians. To that list, I doubt not will be added in due course the War Crimes Trials that began with the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal on 20 November, 1945, and ended, so far as Great Britain was concerned, with the trial which is so well described in this volume. The trial of von Manstein, however, although as unsatisfactory as the others in the verdict and sentence, was attended by certain features which may go some way towards mitigating the political and moral damage inflicted on our national reputation by the trials as a whole. Firstly there were the protests in both Houses of Parliament against holding a trial so long after the war. Secondly came the raising of a fund for the defence by Lord Bridgeman and Lord De L'Isle and Dudley, V.C. (supported in The Times by Viscount Simon and myself), one of the first subscribers to which, as Mr. Paget records, was Mr. Winston Churchill, who has more than once denounced " the belated trials of aged German generals." And thirdly and most important Mr. Reginald Paget, K.C. disregarding the earlier decision of members of the British bar not to take part in the defence of enemy subjects accused of war crimes, was impelled by a sense of affronted justice, to place his invaluable services gratuitously at the disposal of the defence. When the fund, its founders and subscribers and the details of the trial are forgotten his name will be remembered as a shining example of British chivalry and honour, and Mr. Sam Silkin, his legal English junior, will not be forgotten. They were successful in obtaining von Manstein's acquittal on all charges affecting his personal conduct. It was not their fault, nor, so far as I can judge, that of the^ Court, that they were unable to free him from a liability for orders by Hitler and the German High Command and executed by subordinates. Most of these orders for which Manstein was held vicariously responsible had been in full operation long before his arrival on the scene. The truth is that the whole party, the President, :the Members, the Prosecutors, the Defending Counsel and above all the unfortunate prisoner were the victims of ex-post facto laws and procedure, which made a defence almost 'impossible.