Ch.250War Crimes Trial

# The War Crimes Trial Begins

The war crimes trial had begun.

The venue was Nuremberg, just as in the original history.

Several candidate locations had been considered, including London in England, Moscow in Russia, and Vienna in the Danube Federation. But in the end, it was decided to hold it in Nuremberg, just as in the original timeline.

Now, this place would host the trial for war criminals from Communist Germany, Communist Italy, and the French Commune.

As mentioned before, the judges would come from countries that had suffered under communism.

Denmark, the Kingdom of Poland, the Low Countries, Britain, the Danube Federation, Ethiopia, and others. They had appointed judges from particularly aggrieved nations, and Russia had also sent a judge.

Trial preparations proceeded smoothly, and an International Military Tribunal was established in Nuremberg.

There was admittedly a sense of rushing things.

They needed to quickly declare the end of communism and promote the message that Europe had regained peace.

Above all, there was no reason to drag out the trial when preparations needed to be made to deal with Japan.

The military police guarding the courtroom were mainly from the German Empire and the Danube Federation.

Those from the German Empire were soldiers loyal to the Kaiser who had followed him all the way to East Prussia, while those from the Danube Federation were soldiers who had experienced the Battle of Sudetenland.

Their glares at the war criminals looked as if they could tear them apart at any moment.

There were also British military police who had been imprisoned in Dachau and nearly died there. The war criminals were now in a position where they had to beg for mercy to avoid being beaten by soldiers from the imperialist nations they considered reactionary.

If the communist criminals tried anything foolish, these guards would beat them mercilessly.

“If it were up to other countries, they would have executed them all by firing squad. Tsk.”

Being in this position, I couldn’t help but grumble.

Why should I have to watch the trial of these communist bastards?

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Well, I’m a man who understands loyalty. Such trials are necessary, if only to help other nations settle their grudges.

Anyway, the communist criminals had to tremble under the cold stares of the vengeful military police.

Among the communist war criminals, regardless of nationality, the representative figures included Thorez and Goebbels, along with Keitel, Jodl, Rundstedt, Gamelin, Mussolini, Graziani, Italo Balbo, and other notable names, followed by soldiers whose names I’d never even heard.

If Manstein hadn’t surrendered to the Anti-Comintern Pact forces at the right time, he might have been here too, with Churchill strongly demanding his trial.

The news of the war crimes trial delighted the citizens of the victorious nations, who truly felt they had won the war.

“Beer is free today!”

“Damn communists! Churchill, hurry up and avenge my brother who died at Dunkirk!”

“Ah, this is Russia.”

“During World War I, England and France must have felt like this.”

And finally, the trial began.

Although they were planning to execute them anyway, the judges from each country swallowed their anger with effort and began the trial in earnest, listing the criminals’ charges until their mouths hurt.

And of course, the communists had no intention of admitting their crimes.

“I am innocent!”

Goebbels, given the opportunity to defend himself, claimed innocence with a deranged expression.

Honestly, apart from devouring Denmark, the Allies did strike first in starting the war. From that perspective alone, he could be considered innocent.

“I won’t deny that I intended to fight you imperialists someday for world revolution. But you imperialists started the war first! It was you colonial empires who invaded us, fearing revolution from within!”

“So the defendant claims innocence even for invading Denmark?”

“The war in Denmark ended in mere hours and barely counts as a war. Besides, Denmark is a monarchist state like the colonial empires, and I must say clearly, if there had been no revolution in Denmark, we would have had to defend against your invasion there too! It was a justified preventive war and done for the revolution of Danish workers!”

Oh, that’s Goebbels for you. That mouth of his just keeps flapping.

“As for attacking the Danube Federation, they were part of the Anti-Comintern Pact and could have stabbed us in the back at any time, so we attacked first! You invaded first, lost pathetically, and now you act like victims? How absurd! The hypocrisy of imperialists is utterly disgusting!”

“Comrade Goebbels is right! Vile imperialists! I too overthrew a republic that acted as an aggressor and established a communist state!”

Goebbels and Thorez were particularly belligerent.

The other war criminals seemed to lack the strength to shout, merely nodding quietly.

They were probably also intimidated by the atmosphere.

One wrong word and they would be beaten right here.

“If you feel wronged and resentful, you should have won. The excuses of losers have no value, regardless of any justification. From the moment you chose communism, your very existence became a crime.”

All eyes in the courtroom suddenly turned to me after I blurted that out.

Churchill and several leaders and soldiers from allied nations laughed at my comment.

I think Nazi German war criminals said something similar—how ironic that it’s exactly the same.

Goebbels and Thorez glared at me with faces flushed red, but what could they do?

“My actions represented all workers. For the freedom of workers worldwide! It was for true revolution! Our revolution for workers is innocent!”

His words were eloquent, but he soon seemed too exhausted to even maintain his anger, just panting heavily.

I was planning to watch and listen to their ramblings because it looked entertaining, but they seemed quite worn out from being confined in underground bunkers.

“Listen, defendant. We are not conducting barbaric people’s trials like the communists. It would be better for you to remain quiet before we deprive you of the opportunity for trial.”

“Hah! Now you’re conducting even trials in a filthy manner!”

Goebbels jumped up at the judge’s threat, but the military police immediately restrained him.

“Does the defendant admit to inciting revolutions in the colonies of Anti-Comintern Pact nations including Britain and France to provoke their attack, and to mercilessly massacring innocent people simply because of their different ideology?”

“I cannot admit it! What’s wrong with capturing the remnants of colonial empires!”

“Very well then.”

Apart from Goebbels and Thorez, the others didn’t particularly make hostile defenses, but they freely claimed their innocence.

True to their people’s trial mentality, many of them disregarded the law and claimed that the people they killed deserved to die for obstructing the workers’ revolution. However, the French People’s Army generals, perhaps due to their time with the British forces, mostly admitted their guilt, showing some conscience.

“I admit my guilt.”

While the Commune and German Communist Party leadership claimed innocence, the others, even those who weren’t notable figures, had to admit their guilt.

Communists are not humans but vermin.

They must know they’re called this, so rather than putting up resistance and being treated like vermin before dying meaninglessly, they probably judged it better to die as humans.

The peculiar case was Mussolini.

“For me, communism was merely an ideal ideology for rebuilding Rome.”

“Hmph, are you making excuses to save your life?”

“Excuses? If I were the type of man to make excuses for this petty life, I wouldn’t have started the war in the first place. I’m simply disappointed that I lost the competition with the Empress of Byzantium over who is Rome’s true successor. As the loser, I’ll admit my guilt and accept the verdict. If you think I’m lying, just look at my plans for Red Rome in my desk drawer, and you’ll understand my sincerity.”

This one is the most unusual case.

Honestly, it’s true that after seeing Germany’s fate, he might have believed Rome needed communism. With his ambitions for spazio vitale, Italy’s right to survival, and rebuilding Rome, his words didn’t sound like excuses to me.

He probably genuinely viewed the Second World War as a conflict to determine who was the true successor of Rome between himself and Russia.

“So the defendant doesn’t mind receiving a death sentence?”

“That’s right. Even if I die and Italy fragments, if Russia continues to claim to be Rome’s successor as the victor, I have no regrets.”

When he admitted it so openly, it was almost pitiful.

It would have been more entertaining if he had begged for his life, but instead he seemed intoxicated by the atmosphere, acting like a sage. The Ethiopian chief judge, whose country had nearly been destroyed by the Italian army, was so angry that his dark skin turned red, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Have you ever seen such a traitor! So you embraced communism to rebuild Rome! Claim innocence instead! Get angry!”

“Rome is a ghost of the past. Did you expand the front so widely to resurrect Rome!”

Mussolini’s statements essentially denied the communist legitimacy of the Red Front perpetrators, causing Goebbels and Thorez to become angry, but for us, it was merely entertaining.

In fact, he almost seemed like an honorary anti-communist.

“Well, this is awkward.”

“Indeed it is.”

Although we came to witness this historic moment with allied leaders, it’s quite something.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the Ethiopia incident, I might even feel sympathetic enough to want to spare him.

After all, he did make the war easier for us in some ways.

If Mussolini’s attack had broken through the Danube mountain division and advanced to Vienna, the Danube Federation would have fragmented again. And if he hadn’t attacked Greece, Communist Germany wouldn’t have withdrawn troops despite their shortage.

Personally, I consider him Italy’s Renya Mutaguchi.

But unlike us who were watching with amusement, Haile Selassie seemed determined to capture and kill him somehow.

And because Britain’s war against Japan remained, the trial gained momentum to end quickly.

After all, it was just a formality, and there was no need to drag it out for these vermin.

The communist leadership could claim innocence all they wanted, saying it was for workers and revolution, but the outcome was already decided.

The rest were sent to Dachau, Siberian camps, or to countries that requested them, supposedly for labor reeducation.

Most received life sentences or 25-year terms, as I understand.

I also got to witness the execution site for the Communist Party leadership scheduled for execution.

Free French figures poured out their resentment toward Thorez, the source of their country’s division, and had him hanged by Free French Army hands. Thorez shouted for world revolution until the end.

Goebbels tried to commit suicide but was forcibly restrained and similarly hanged, as were most who survived in the bunker.

Mussolini and other Italian figures, except for a few, were taken by Haile Selassie himself, who stated he would execute them in Ethiopia.

With this, communism in Europe came to a complete end.

Now I need to return to Moscow.

I’ve done a lot on the European front, so I need some time to relax.

I’ve planted the seeds regarding colonial and Rome Treaty Organization issues. After playing around a bit, as soon as the war against Japan ends, I plan to grant independence to Japan’s Asian colonies along with British and French colonies.

Churchill’s Britain will likely whitewash its image as in the original history, but honestly, France is the concerning one.

Their mainland has shrunk considerably.

After losing the north to Nazi Germany, and then Burgundy breaking away as a republic, their pride must be completely crushed.

Moreover, Burgundy is openly forming a government with pro-Russian figures, which might make Pétain faint from shock.

They can’t afford to let go of Algeria or French Indochina.

I suspect that once they properly establish a government on the mainland, they’ll bring up French Indochina.

Even though they’ll only be allowed to have a self-defense force, clinging to colonies won’t mean much.

We’ll see when the time comes. If they try to use their self-defense force to oppress colonies, we can deal with them again then.

So that will be resolved later.

Vladimir has also made significant contributions, so he’ll be recognized as my successor.

By the way.

“By order of His Imperial Majesty! Hang these men at the gas station!”

“Kuk. The Lion King shows the victor’s mercy by not shooting us but humiliating us instead!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Mussolini and his partner Clara Petacci were hung alive at a gas station and had to endure the full wrath of the Ethiopian people for days.

After experiencing Ethiopia’s anger for some time, Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci were hanged.

The ropes were deliberately made short to prolong their suffering for tens of minutes until death. Shortly after, their bodies, like those of other war criminals, were cremated and their ashes thrown into the Red Sea.