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Records for U. S. Army Guard at Nurnberg war trials

MichaelHusman

My wife's uncle PFC William H. Mitchell, Jr. served in the 26th Infantry Regiment during WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge (possibly as part of the 79th Infantry) and was shot one inch below the heart, yet survived. After the war, he re-enlisted so he could stay in Germany as he wanted to marry a German girl. He was assigned to serve as a guard at the Nurnberg war Trials. He guarded many of the war criminals including Rudolph Hess and escorted him to the trial daily. Are there records which could reveal insight into his life as a guard? Have seen numerous websites about the Nurnberg war trials, but have not found anything about him nor do we see a picture of him (We have a picture of him in his WWII uniform to compare faces to.)

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    There is an entry for a Private Mitchell, but no first or last name as having escorted Speer from the prison to meet with interrogators or his defense counsel.  What you describe is too different roles:  prison guard and escort guard.  There are nearly no records of the soldiers who served as guards at Nuremberg.  There are hardly any photos of either prison or escort guards.  If you have information about his service, such as letters, would you please email me for a project i'm working on?  My uncle was a prison guard, and I'm trying to piece together from personal letters what life was like for these men.  I have some of his stories but they're all about his own experience

  • 0 in reply to Dalton

    Dalton,

    Sorry to bother you but do you have record of a Laurence F.X. Hooper?  He is my father and has told us that he was one of the escorts.

    Doug Hooper

  • 0 in reply to Dhooper

    Doug, I have a record of him having escorted Alfred Rosenberg, one of the principal defendants but no date.  Is it possible he was also a prison guard?  

  • 0 in reply to Dalton

    Yes, I spoke with my brother and we believe that prisoner guard was his main role.  He once told me a story of confiscating a sword cane that someone tried to bring into the cell area.

  • 0 in reply to Dhooper

    Doug I found that guys with limited records tend to be the prison guards.  I feel pretty good in saying it would have been super hard for anyone to get anywhere close with a sword.  But it’s a great story!  I managed to find some stories and am working through this. The interesting thing I found is if you put the stories out there as they are, they’re interesting. But if you put the official records and the rules first - it’s all dry - then they make the stories pop. You can see what the rules were for guest inspections. And then read the story of smuggling in something. It couldn’t have happened if the guards were on the ball.   It’s interesting to me because I’m so hungry for details.  I’ve got months and months of work left. By the way did your dad ever mention the name Nathan Hilu?  He was my uncle.  Thanks

  • 0 in reply to Dalton

    No, sorry no mention of Nathan.  My dad rarely spoke of his military service.  Do you know if the guards/escorts were pulled from the same outfit or were they pulled from various groups?  My father was army artillery for most of his tour and I do have pictures of him and some of the men he served with. 

  • 0 in reply to Dhooper

    Doug hang in on the answer of origins. I will have a bunch on that. Short answe, the guards at ASHCAN all came from the 391st AAA.  The others came from different units with no exact unit being a particular source 

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