Military and War - Malmedy Massacre Trial Uncut
Description
On March 29, 1949, a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services
Committ,ee, consisting of Senators Raymond E. Baldwin (chairman)
Estes Kefauver, and Lester 0.Hunt, was appointed to consider Senate
Resolution 42. This resolution was introduced for the purpose of
securing consideration of certain charges which had been made con-
cerning the conduct of the prosecution in the Malmedy atrocity case
and to effectuate a thorough study of the court procedures and post-
trial reviews of the case. It must be clearly understood that the
function of this subcommittee is a legislative one only. It is not the
function of this subcommittee, therefore, to retry the cases, to act as
a board of appeals or reviewing authority, or to make any recommen-
dations concerning the sentences. The subcommittee has, however,
found it necessary to fully review the investigative and trial procedure
in order to make its recommendations.
The investigation automatically divided itself into specific phases
the &st dealing with the charges of physical mistreatment and duress
on the part of the War Crimes Investigation personnel, and the second
covering those matters of law and legal procedure which should be
examined in an effort to determine their propriety and the degree to
which they might be improved to meet future requirements. As the
investigation proceeded, a third phase evolved which has caused
considerable concern and which deals with the motivation behind the
current efforts to discredit American military government in general,
and using the war crimes procedures in particular, as a part of that
plan.