Bab 302: 302
Episode 302 War Crimes Trial (4)
Although the actual authority granted was not that much, the existence of the emperor in Japan could be said to be unrivaled.
The fact that the Emperor, who was no different from the only living god in Japan, stood before the trial as a defendant was a shock to the Japanese people.
There was considerable disagreement within the Allied Powers over whether or not to punish the Emperor.
Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Douglas MacArthur argued that in order to rule Japan easily, the emperor should be kept alive and presented as a scarecrow. However, he also had many opposing opinions.
"The condition Japan offered before surrender was the maintenance of the emperor system, not the life of the current emperor."
"Wouldn't it be okay to keep the emperor system as is, but take down the current emperor and install another emperor?"
Emperor Hirohito had a son. However, it was impossible to appoint a child as young as 11 years old as the king of a country.
The chosen replacement is Hirohito's younger brother, Yasuhito.
If Yasuhito is appointed as the new emperor, wouldn't there be no problem since the maintenance of the emperor system itself, as requested by Japan, will be established?
Thus, Japan's one god, Hirohito, appeared before the court as a war criminal.
The heads of conglomerates who had cooperated in the war, secretly supported the military, and amassed wealth were also rounded up and brought to the trial.
In the Japanese military, regardless of rank, all those suspected of war crimes were sent directly from the POW camps to the trial court.
Whether they are colonels, second lieutenants, or privates, all those who commit war crimes must be severely judged by the law. That was the creed brought by the Allied Powers.
Although he lost the election and was ridiculed as a virtually vegetative president, Wallace still did his best to complete the task given to him to the best of his ability.
"All those who started a war of aggression, killed people, and destroyed peace should be judged by the law. "The Emperor is no exception."
Although he did not directly give orders for war, Hirohito cannot be free from responsibility for the war as he is the supreme head of the country.
Does it make sense that the supreme leader of the country wanted to stop the war, but was unable to do so?
The emperor was so unique in Japan that Japan's condition for surrender was the maintenance of the emperor system, so if he really had the will to stop the war, he would have been able to put a brake on the military's rampage.
But Hirohito didn't do that.
"Edmund Burke said: Ignoring good causes evil to blossom. Hirohito ignored the war, and tens of millions of people lost their lives as a result. "You must take responsibility for that."
"That's right. "A person who tolerates war cannot be free from responsibility."
The Japanese military was officially disbanded, and the large conglomerates that dominated Japanese politics and business were also disbanded.
The Chinese family system was abolished, and collateral imperial family members who were not in the direct lineage of the emperor were demoted to status as commoners.
Of course, since they could not receive a pension, they had to fend for themselves from now on. The House of Nobles, made up of ethnic Chinese people, also disappeared into the backwaters of history.
Wallace planned to reorganize Japan within the remaining years.
"Japan can no longer have an army forever. "There are no countries nearby that could threaten Japan's safety anyway, so do we need an army?"
Wallace was worried that Japan might start another war if he left troops in Japan.
The only way to prevent the outbreak of the Second Pacific War is to completely uproot any sprouts that might lead to war.
All that would be necessary is for the U.S. military to be stationed in Japan semi-permanently to prevent Japan from revolting, and to leave security issues to the police.
And among the countries surrounding Japan, there is no country capable of invading Japan.
China, which has accumulated resentment toward Japan, is busy recovering from the damage caused by the war, and the Soviet Union is busy being wary of Germany and cannot even dream of war with Japan.
And would their water holder, the United States, do such a crazy thing as invade Japan when it is effectively under its control?
The situation in the Far East, which had stabilized to the point where it was impossible to find fault, gave considerable strength to the American argument that Japan should not have an army.
Japan could not object to this American decision. They lost the war, America won the war. When the winner decides, the loser must shut up and follow.
What Japan feared most was that the Allies would commit in Japan the same things Japan had committed during the war. In this case, Japan's population would be reduced by more than half.
Japan, with its allied forces equipped with guns, cannons, fighter planes, and battleships, was disbanded and its leadership was arrested.
If these two fought again, it was obvious who would be the winner.
Because of that, Japan could not raise any objections and just bowed its head.
***
December 9, 1944
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
As 1944 was slowly approaching its conclusion, I ordered the trials to be speeded up.
It doesn't matter if the trials of minor criminals last longer, but I wanted to finish the trials of big names like Churchill and Stalin within this year as much as possible.
As we begin a new year, I wondered if there was any need to keep war criminals alive until then, and I wondered if there was any point in further trials for them since their criminal actions were clear and the verdict had already been decided. This trial is purely for show and is not intended to determine the severity of the crime.
"Churchill, Stalin, Harris and Vyshinsky should be put to death."
"What will you do, Yeryomenko?"
In the case of Yeryomenko, it is said that he has acknowledged his mistakes and is actively repenting.
I don't know if it was a heartfelt act or a pretense to save his life, but in any case, the crime was not enough to warrant the death penalty.
However, we cannot avoid being held guilty for abusing and massacring German prisoners of war... … .
"From what I heard, most criminals arrested during the Great Purge in the Soviet Union were sentenced to death or 25 years in prison."
"That's right."
"25 years in prison. "I think that would be most appropriate."
Yeryomenko was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor. It may be a bit of a struggle, but there's something about not dying.
There is also a promise made to Pavelic that Tito will be transferred to Croatia as soon as the trial is over.
Tito's advisor Milovan Djilas testified about the various atrocities committed by the partisans and showed reflection on them, so he thought about leaving him alive and rotting in bread like in the case of Yeryomenko, but Pavelic insisted that he hand over Djilas as well. Since they asked for it, I decided to hand it over as a set with Tito.
I feel a little sorry for Zillas, but what can I do? You should blame yourself for doing this communist thing.
Cenotaphs were erected at places where people who starved to death during the Great Ukrainian Famine, a representative atrocity committed by the Stalinist regime, were buried en masse.
He also ordered that the gulag be left as is, except for those that had been remodeled for use as military barracks.
To teach future generations what Stalin's dictatorship did to people.
"Future Europeans will tour these places and learn in detail about the criminal acts committed by communists. Of course, we will teach through textbooks at school, but seeing it in person is not as good as seeing it in person."
"That is a very wise statement."
"There is a big difference between reading text in a textbook and seeing the real thing in person."
Expectedly, the Gulag here will play the same role as the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi Germany.
As vivid evidence of the terrible human rights violations committed by Stalin's dictatorship. In the same sense, I also wanted to use the NKVD headquarters in Lubyanka as a history museum, but Free Russia expressed its intention to use it as the headquarters of its newly created intelligence agency, so I told them to do so.
For reference, the name of the intelligence agency of the Free Russian Republic is the State Security Committee (Комитет Государственной Безопасности, KGB)... … .
They say they rebuilt it to distance themselves as much as possible from the NKVD, which was the name from the Bolshevik era and is still exclusive to the Soviet Union, but as someone who knows the future, I couldn't help but find it a very strange thing.
Now that I think about it, I wonder what the evaluation of Churchill and Stalin will be in this world.
In original history, Churchill resisted Hitler to the end despite making all sorts of mistakes, including Gallipoli, and as a result prevented Germany from winning World War II - in fact, this was not usually a credit - and was respected as the greatest British politician and great man.
There have been several great man exhibitions and movies.
Stalin receives a bit of criticism compared to Churchill, but he still boasts a huge fan base not only in Russia but around the world for winning World War II and turning the Soviet Union into a superpower comparable to the United States.
But in this world, Britain and the Soviet Union lost the war. Britain was reduced to a puppet state of Germany, and the Soviet Union was disbanded in name only, barely containing the territory of Siberia.
What kind of evaluation do people here have on Churchill and Stalin? It may not be a very good evaluation to be sure.
Still, you might be surprised to see that despite the numerous atrocities committed by Hitler and the Nazis, there are still friends like neo-Nazis.
The League of Nations, which had a grandiose name but could do nothing in reality, eventually disbanded on its own.
The future of the League of Nations was practically predicted, as the United States insisted on creating it but failed to join.
What is the use of an organization that did nothing but send souls when its member countries invaded its own members?
Of course, this is not something we should say, having contributed greatly to the dissolution of the League of Nations by annexing Austria and the Czech Republic and invading Poland.
For reference, it is said that the National Socialist craze is spreading in Switzerland, where the League of Nations headquarters is located. What does this mean?
This literally means that the number of Nazi Party followers within Switzerland is rapidly increasing.
The Swiss National Movement (Nationale Bewegungs der Schweiz, NBS), founded in 1940, has had a very close relationship with the SS from the time of its establishment to the present, and they daily insist that the government conclude a military alliance with Germany.
In fact, the whole of Europe, excluding Switzerland, is now under German control. This was because it was better politically, economically, and security-wise for Switzerland to come under Germany's umbrella and receive various benefits than to remain alone as a neutral country.
The Swiss government seemed to be worried as the number of citizens who agreed with NBS's claims was rapidly increasing.
For us, it would be good if Switzerland became an Axis country, and there would be no loss if it remained a neutral country, so we were in a position to watch quietly without touching Switzerland. However, Switzerland seemed to be anxious about this, so they tried to contact us secretly.
We ask Germany to sign a non-aggression pact as it will provide various economic benefits.
Even though the German-Swiss non-aggression pact was signed, Switzerland was still strengthening its defense alert every day, fearing that I might order the Wehrmacht to advance into Switzerland.
Even now, the Swiss army is said to be making a fuss along the Swiss border, building bunkers and digging trenches.
The funny thing is that many of the weapons used by the Swiss army are imported from Germany.
The Swiss Air Force's main force is the German-made Bf109 and Fw190, while the Army's main force is the Panzer IV, Panther, and Hatcher.
Recently, he even expressed his intention to purchase the Tiger II.
Switzerland is buying German-made weapons to prepare for a German invasion, and Germany is actually not interested in invading Switzerland. It's so ironic.
***
The trial in Moscow was speeding up according to the Fuhrer's wishes.
Churchill, Stalin, and others consistently claimed their innocence, but the judges sentenced them to death without any doubt.
Yeryomenko, who acknowledged his mistakes and showed remorse, was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor.
Although he avoided the death penalty and life imprisonment, Yeryomenko lowered his head in despair when he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
However, the 25 years of hard labor he received was also an object of envy for some.
"I just followed orders from my superiors. As a bomber pilot, my job was to bomb enemy cities. "How can a soldier not follow orders?"
"There is a loophole in the defendant's logic. "How can it be a soldier's duty to drop a bomb not on a military facility but on a city where civilians live?"
"The author still has not acknowledged his mistake. "He doesn't feel any guilt toward the civilians who were sacrificed as a result of his crimes."
"I think the death penalty is necessary."
"I agree."
According to the judges' agreement, the bomber pilot, who had received a medal from Harris for faithfully performing his mission, was sentenced to death.
"This can't be happening! "I just did my duty!"
When he was sentenced to death, the despairing pilot protested the verdict, but was caught by guards and removed from the trial.
Bomber pilots were usually sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
Those who honestly admitted that their actions were war crimes were given leniency and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, but even this was only a minority.
Most of those accused of mistreating and massacring prisoners were sentenced to death.
Special forces members who disguised themselves as Axis forces and carried out various operations during the war were also put on trial on charges of espionage and sentenced to heavy sentences.
Most officer-level officers were sentenced to death, while soldiers and non-commissioned officers received lighter sentences unless they were specifically accused of war crimes.
To show that the trials were not simply revenge of the victors on the losers, survivors of various crimes committed by Stalin before the war were also called as witnesses.
"So, what happened next?"
"My father was arrested by soldiers while stealing potatoes for our family and was summarily executed on the spot. Her mother died from the shock and my two younger sisters ended up starving to death. I wanted to live, get together with people and cross the border to Romania. "If I had stayed in Uman, I would have starved to death before long."
Survivors of the Great Famine came forward and gave testimonies about the horrors of the Great Famine.
The streets were littered with people dying of starvation, murders committed for a single potato, people going crazy from not being able to endure hunger, and people making soup out of the flesh and bones of their dead children... … .
Kaminsky, the head of the Lokot Autonomous State and leader of the Kaminsky Corps of the Free Russian Army, also attended the trial as a witness.
Kaminsky, who had previously been arrested by the NKVD and imprisoned in the Gulag for criticizing Stalin's policy of collectivization, glared scornfully at Stalin, who was sitting in the defendant's chair, while talking about his experience in the Gulag.
"Imagine! If this vicious communist regime had not collapsed and remained intact, the crimes committed by communists would not have surfaced. Even now, the world would be stained with blood as countless victims live their lives unable to die!"
NKVD agents and Smersh agents, who had arrested and executed millions of political prisoners at the hands and feet of Stalin, were also brought to the trial one after another.
They consistently claimed innocence or appealed for leniency, saying they were just following orders, but the judges, who had listened to these arguments ad nauseam, only responded to the defendants' pleas with ridicule.
"There is a witness here who said he was tortured and unjustly imprisoned by you! Even though 10 years have passed, the witness clearly remembers your face and name! "Where are you lying?"
"Trash that does not admit or repent for their sins cannot be treated as human beings! "All these unscrupulous criminals need are lead bullets!"
Death penalty, capital punishment, death penalty, life imprisonment, death penalty.
Among those who went to trial, the cases in which they were acquitted were rare enough to be counted on one hand.
Those who were released were sentenced to freedom in exchange for betraying their former superiors and colleagues.
Unlike those who could at least make a deal, great figures such as Churchill and Stalin did not even have such an opportunity.
The value at stake was so great that the Nazis refused to give them any room for trade.
While the death row prisoners locked in solitary confinement were spending meaningless time, time was passing steadily.
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