Mug shot of former Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, a defendant in the High Command Case.
— USHMM, courtesy of Vivien Putty Spitz
Fourteen high-ranking officers of the German Armed Forces were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Their litany of atrocities and offenses included mass murder, torture, denial of POWs' rights, deportation to slave labor, persecution on religious, political, and racial grounds, and destruction of cities, towns, and villages. In addition, they were accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace. One defendant, Johannes Blaskowitz, committed suicide on the first day of the trial. The tribunal acquitted the remaining defendants of crimes against peace, but found all but two guilty on the other counts. Two of the guilty were sent to prison for life, and the other nine received prison terms ranging from 3 to 20 years.
