WVHA Trial Was NOT About the Holocaust

Not specifically about the Holocaust; although it (inevitably) dealt with “Holocaust by Gas” – serial mass murder of Jews in six killing centers (death factories): Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Sobibor, Treblinka and Majdanek.

WVHA Trial (also known as Pohl Trial and officially as The United States of America vs. Oswald Pohl, et al.) was the fourth of the thirteen trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. It was held in 1947-48 – just as all other such trials.

WVHA (SS-WVHA, to be more precise) stands for SS-Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt (SS Main Economic and Administrative Office). Contrary to the common misconception, the actual serial mass murder of Jews was committed by personnel of WVHA, not RSHA. Who were working for Oswald Pohl (hence the name of the trial), not Reinhard Heydrich – or Ernst Kaltenbrunner.

WVHA built and operated all killing centers – including both actual killing and using slave labor of prisoners deemed useful for war effort (including Extermination through Labor – an important part of the “Holocaust Project”).

WVHA worked with Walther Funk, Reich Minister of Economics, to oversee financial aspects of the Final Solution. Valuables such as gold watches, rings, even tooth fillings, glasses, and currency were taken from the inmates on arrival at the death camps. These items were then sent back to Berlin in WVHA-marked crates for processing at the Reichsbank.

There were three key charges: (1) participating in a common plan or conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity; (2) war crimes through the administration of concentration camps and extermination camps, and (3) mass murders and atrocities committed there and crimes against humanity on the same grounds, including slave labor charges. There was no separate charge of committing the genocide of Jews (no surprise here).

All defendants were charged on all counts of the indictment and all plead not guilty. Charge 1 (conspiracy) was largely disregarded by the tribunal and no judgments on this count were passed. Which was probably correct – the defendants were not conspiring – they just followed the criminal orders of their superiors who did.

Out of 18 defendants three were acquitted; four people (including Oswald Pohl), were sentenced to death by hanging. The others received sentences of imprisonment between 10 years and lifetime. However, only Pohl was executed; all others served 20 years at most (mostly 6 to 10 years).