Witness to Nuremberg : The Many Lives of the Man Who Translated at the Nazi War Trials

The chief translator and only American to speak with all Nazi defendants at Nuremberg shares his personal encounters with evil in this stirring memoir. At age twenty-two, Richard Sonnenfeldt was appointed the chief interpreter for the American prosecution of Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials. Sonnenfeldt dealt directly with top Nazi leaders like Hermann Goering, von Ribbentrop, Rudolph Hoss, and the editor of the anti-Semitic Der Sturmer , Julius Streicher. As the only American to talk with all the defendants, Sonnenfeldt offers his unique insight into the minds of Nazi leadership, including Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, and other high-ranking officials. In Witness to Nuremberg , Richard Sonnenfeldt recounts his experiences during the post-World War II trials, and also his life before and after Nuremberg. From fleeing Germany for England at eighteen years old, to being deported to Australia as a "German enemy alien," to arriving in the United States and joining the US Army, to fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and helping liberate the Dachau concentration camp. This memoir is a detailed reflection that offers a firsthand account of World War II and the Nuremberg trials. "It is unlikely anyone alive has as many firsthand memories of the Nazi leaders. What those memories say about today's world is no simple thing." — The New York Times The chief interpreter for the American prosecution at the Nuremberg trials after World War II tells his insightful story of dealing directly with Goering as well as his colorful, eventful life before and after the trials. Richard Sonnenfeldt had at least three lives prior to the Nuremberg trials of high-ranking Nazis. A childhood in Germany. Escape to England in 1938, where he was wrongly interned as a "German enemy alien" and shipped to Australia. Arrival in the U.S. at age 17, where he joined the army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp. A defining moment came when at age 22 he was appointed chief interpreter for the American prosecution of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. His pretrial time spent with Hermann Goering reveals much about not only Goering himself but Hitler, Goebbels, and Himmler, and Sonnenfeldt was the only American who talked with all the defendants. Several more lives followed postwar: an engineer, he was a principal developer of color TV and computer technology and at NASA was key in the preparation of the first moon shot. Here is his inimitable life in wonderful detail!

In Witness to Nuremberg, the chief interpreter for the American prosecution at the Nuremberg trials after World War II offers his insights into dealing directly with Hermann Goering, a leading member of the Nazi Party, as well as the story of his own colorful, eventful life before and after the trials. At age twenty-two, Richard Sonnenfeldt was appointed chief interpreter for the American prosecution of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. His pretrial time spent with Hermann Goering reveals much about not only Goering, but Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, and other high-ranking Nazis. Sonnenfeldt was the only American who talked with all the defendants. Here is his inimitable life in wonderful detail.

Chronicles the author's escape from Germany in 1938, his role as chief interpreter during the Nuremberg war crimes trial, his insights into Hermann Goering and other Nazi leaders, and his postwar work in the development of color TV