Alfred Steer, who took over from Leon Dostert as Head of the US Language Division in April 1946, described the lot of an interpreter at Nuremberg, his own resignation and how and why so many interpreters had left during the trials:[4] ‘I shall never forget the words of one translator, working on the death-record book of one minor Nazi concentration camp. His voice shook as he realised with horror the full implications of what he was saying: “Those people died in alphabetical order!”.’[5]
‘There are other more pleasant places I could go, other more useful jobs I could do, without being forced all day every day to come face to face with such horrors. I give up! I quit! I’m going home!’[6]
Francesca Gaiba in her excellent book The Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation[7] makes similar points. Recording discussions and quoting exchanges of correspondence she had had with Alfred Steer, and speaking specifically about the interpreters at the IMT, she writes of: ‘The psychological torture of being exposed every day to an unparalleled degradation of human beings and of witnessing the atrocities and depravation in the Nazi camps… The horror did not stop once interpreters left the courtroom. They were living in a city of intense misery and suffering, in houses whose owners had been thrown out, where Germans were hungry and indolent because of their poor diet… The whole atmosphere of degradation made people want to leave as soon as they had a chance, and the turnover rate for language personnel during the year of the trial [the IMT] exceeded 100 per cent.’
Given the level and intensity of Wolfe Frank’s contributions over his twenty-eight-month involvement with the Nuremburg Trials the wonder is how this unique and remarkable man was ever able to continue for as long as he did – and to the standards that led Judge Michael Musmanno, the presiding judge during Wolfe’s final performance, to send him a photograph of the two of them interrogating a senior Nazi officer, inscribed in the most glowing terms.[8]
40. FAREWELL TO NUREMBERG
I AM PROUDLY AWARE OF MY MINOR CLAIM TO FAME as the Voice of Doom, which Goering et al. heard when they learned their sentences.[1] I am a total believer in the Nuremberg Trials. I do not believe that any alternative solution existed. The fact that other similar crimes were committed, sometimes on the Allied side, does not mean that Nuremberg was morally, legally, ethically or historically wrong. No murderer would enjoy the mitigating argument that another murderer remains unpunished because the arm of the law does not reach him.
What other venue was there? German courts? – ludicrous. Neutral judges? – they were sought in Switzerland, Sweden and other countries, and refused on the basis that Germany might recover, therefore no copy-book must be blotted.
The Four-Power International Military Tribunal, which tried the twenty-one top men of the Third Reich, rendered an impeccable performance, in spite of the Soviet presence, and because of the total integrity of the British, American and French jurists. There were times when the French sided with the Russians over some issue that was in doubt. However, the tie-breaking vote was that of the President, Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, and he stood for judicially unassailable decisions. One case in point was Hjalmar Schacht, the former President of the Reich’s Bank and known as Hitler’s economic wizard. I later learned that the Russians and the French wanted Schacht hanged. Lawrence and Biddle (Britain and the US) however took the view that the prosecution had not adequately established his guilt. That was so. Certainly, Schacht deserved to hang, but under the Tribunal’s rules of evidence – so the experts agreed – the IMT could not find him guilty. He was therefore acquitted against what seemed to have been extremely forceful protestations made by the Russians and the French.
Of course, the Russians only knew one verdict at the IMT – guilty. They also only knew one punishment – death by hanging. The Subsequent Proceedings, with Telford Taylor in charge is a different story, into which I will not go, as I was not there at the end. Suffice to say I was glad when the time came for me to leave Nuremberg.
Editor: So concludes the extraordinary story of the first half of the life, times and involvements of Wolfe Frank, as he recorded them. He was surely one of the most charismatic characters of the twentieth century and he was still only thirty-four years of age when he left Nuremberg. Less than two years later he would embark upon another great adventure, details of which I will outline in the following chapter.
As has been mentioned earlier, the International Military Tribunal was described by Mr Justice Birkett, Britain’s Alternate member at the Tribunal, as having been the ‘The greatest trial in history.’ Those who took part as translators and interpreters revolutionised the way trial and conference interpreting is conducted, and they made it what it is today. They were pioneers who introduced a system that is now used to great effect around the world at every level, but most notably at the world’s great institutions such as the UN and the EU. Not only was the work of those interpreters carried out to the highest possible standards it is said they shortened the IMT by over three years.
The published trial records extend to over forty volumes and it is estimated that six million words were spoken and recorded. Yet, as Francesca Gaiba has pointed out, ‘Not one word is said in this official, published record about the system of simultaneous interpretation that was created in order to permit the multi-lingual conduct of the trial.’ (Ms Gaiba more than adequately sets the record straight in her book: The Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation).
So high a standard did the interpreters set that their work was entirely satisfactory to everyone involved. In Wolfe’s own words, ‘At no time during the entire trial was there a complaint, or even a challenge, directed at the interpreters.’
Without question the simultaneous interpretation system proved to be more successful than anyone had ever hoped. Those who made it possible were a credit to their countries, the justice system, their profession and themselves. Quite simply they were a major contributing factor to the success of that ‘greatest trial in history,’ and from amongst all those capable linguists from the four great nations running the IMT, one name stands out as being the ‘Ace Interpreter at the Nuremberg International War Crimes Trials’. That man was Wolfe Frank and it is fitting that I should leave the concluding words praising his performances to those who, at every level and from every angle, witnessed him in action and/or those historians who have spent years studying the Nuremberg Trials:
‘Wolfe Frank’s performance was most excellent and, indeed, may be described as brilliant… he is an outstanding expert in not only simultaneous interpretation, but in the selection and training of interpreters for this very difficult work.’
‘Wolfe Frank, Ace Interpreter at the Nuremberg International War Crimes Trials, and so far as I am concerned the whole world round.’
6
It is thought Steer was referring to a report that noted that on one day in March 1945: ‘203 people had died at regular intervals of heart attacks and in alphabetical order.’ Ann and John Tusa
7
Francesca Gaiba
1
Wolf Frank, as the Voice of Doom, can be heard delivering those sentences to Goering et al. by going to YouTube and clicking on the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9C2JhKdxlU