80th anniversary of Minsk's "Nuremberg" trial

On January 15, 1946, the first trial in the Byelorussian SSR against Nazi criminals began in Minsk. The prosecution charged 18 former leaders of occupation authorities, police, SS, SD, and Wehrmacht units. The investigation gathered irrefutable evidence of mass executions, torture, and deportation of civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, into German slavery. According to the court, all 18 defendants were found guilty. Fourteen were sentenced to death by hanging, while the remaining four received 15 and 20 years of hard labor. The Minsk trial became a symbol of justice triumphing, the collapse of Nazi ideology, and the idea of the 'superiority' of one nation over others.

Context

In 1946, the Minsk trial became the first judicial proceeding in the Byelorussian SSR against Nazi criminals and one of the most significant legal events after World War II.