Trial of Neumann and Sass
54°53′56″N 23°54′20″E / 54.89889°N 23.90556°E
| Trial of Neumann and Sass | |
|---|---|
Court hearing | |
| Court | Court of the Lithuanian Armed Forces |
| Decided | 24 December 1934 – 26 March 1935 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed to | Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania |
| Subsequent actions | Accused Nazis sentenced to death and imprisonment in a heavy labor prison |
| Related action | The Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania confirmed the sentences imposed by the Court of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Silvestras Leonas (chairman) |
| Case opinions | |
| |
The trial of Neumann and Sass (Lithuanian: Noimano-Zaso teismo procesas; German: Neumann-Sass-Kriegsgerichtsprozess), also known as the Kaunas Trials, was among the largest mass trials of Nazis in the early 1930s.: 32 The trial resulted in the convictions of the leaders of regional Nazi parties, Theodor von Sass, Ernst Neumann and other party members for their activity in the Klaipėda Region.
The trial process was held in the Palace of Justice and the Parliament. Some of the trial's 69 hearings were held as a public trial upon invitation, despite requests from Nazi Germany and urging from the states of the Entente to organise a secret trial, at the Lithuanian Palace of Justice and the Parliament, in Kaunas, in 1935. The trial drew attention across Europe and was attended by many international journalists. The convicted Nazis were sentenced to death or to penal labour by the Court of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Following an appeal, the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania left the court's judgment and verdict unchanged. Foreign pressure made Lithuania later grant amnesty to all convicts before they had completed their sentences, and none of the executions were carried out.