Original Items: One-of-a-kind. Few artifacts can claim such a direct connection to one of the most important judicial proceedings in world history. This is an original autograph from the remarkable Daniel Roman Nuremberg Collection, an archive of 118 signatures assembled during the immediate aftermath of World War II by an American soldier who served as a guard at the Nuremberg Prison while many of the Third Reich's most notorious figures awaited trial, testimony, sentencing, or execution.

This is a signed portrait photograph of Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946), the German political official and diplomat who served as Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs (Reichsminister des Auswärtigen) from February 1938 until the collapse of the Third Reich in May 1945. The photograph measures approximately 5” x 7” (12.7 x 17.8 cm) and bears his signature along the bottom.

This very signed photograph was featured in the IMA series The Cache with Alex Cranmer, giving it an additional modern history alongside its considerable German WWII and Nuremberg Trials collector appeal.

Joachim von Ribbentrop was one of the principal figures responsible for conducting German foreign policy during the years preceding and throughout WWII. Born in Wesel, Germany, in 1893, he initially pursued a career in international commerce before becoming involved in politics. He joined the NSDAP in 1932 and developed a close relationship with AH, who increasingly relied upon him for diplomatic negotiations outside the traditional German Foreign Office.

During the mid-1930s, Ribbentrop participated in several important diplomatic agreements, including the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 1935, which permitted Germany to expand its navy within specified limits relative to British naval strength. He was also instrumental in negotiating the Anti-Comintern Pact of November 1936 between Germany and Japan, directed against the Communist International. From 1936 to 1938, he served as German Ambassador to Great Britain before replacing Konstantin von Neurath as Foreign Minister in February 1938.

As Foreign Minister, Ribbentrop participated in the diplomatic developments accompanying German territorial expansion, including the annexation of Austria and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. His most consequential diplomatic achievement came in August 1939, when he traveled to Moscow to negotiate and sign the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, commonly known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. Signed on August 23, 1939, the agreement contained a secret protocol dividing portions of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Its conclusion removed the immediate threat of Soviet intervention against Germany and helped prepare the diplomatic conditions for the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, which began WWII in Europe.

Throughout the war, Ribbentrop remained the head of the German Foreign Office, overseeing relations with Axis partners, allied governments, and occupied territories. He participated in the negotiations surrounding the Tripartite Pact of September 1940, which formalized the alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Foreign Office also became involved in the regime's persecution of European Jews, particularly through diplomatic pressure on allied and satellite governments to cooperate with German deportation policies. Ribbentrop personally supported these efforts, and his involvement subsequently formed part of the evidence examined during the postwar proceedings.

Following Germany's defeat in May 1945, Ribbentrop was arrested by British forces in Hamburg on June 14, 1945. He was subsequently transferred into Allied custody and brought before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, where he stood trial alongside other leading political and military officials of the Third Reich. The proceedings, held between November 1945 and October 1946, examined the responsibility of senior German leaders for aggressive warfare and crimes committed during the conflict.

Ribbentrop was indicted on all four counts presented by the prosecution: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The prosecution placed particular emphasis on his participation in the diplomatic preparations for German aggression, including the agreements preceding the invasions of Poland and other European countries. The Tribunal also examined his knowledge of and participation in German occupation policies, the treatment of prisoners of war, and diplomatic efforts connected with the deportation of Jewish populations.

During his defense, Ribbentrop maintained that he had acted under AH's direction and had exercised limited independent authority over German foreign policy. The Tribunal rejected these arguments, determining that he had knowingly participated in the planning and execution of aggressive warfare and had contributed to criminal policies carried out under German occupation.

On October 1, 1946, the International Military Tribunal found Ribbentrop guilty on all four counts and sentenced him to death by hanging. He was executed at Nuremberg on October 16, 1946, at the age of 53. Ribbentrop was the first of the ten condemned defendants executed that morning.

The collection was assembled by Daniel Roman, a member of Company D, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, who was stationed in Nuremberg during the historic trials. According to a recently notarized affidavit signed by his daughter, Roman frequently spoke of his experiences guarding detained Third Reich officials and other individuals connected to the proceedings. He described how identification photographs were posted outside prisoners' cells so guards could verify identities. Over time, some guards began removing the photographs and obtaining autographs directly from the prisoners, often in exchange for cigarettes or small favors. Roman carefully preserved these signed photographs and documents for decades, creating what is today one of the most extraordinary surviving groups of Nuremberg-related autographs ever assembled.

This collection contains signatures from individuals connected not only to the International Military Tribunal, but also to the subsequent Nuremberg Military Tribunals, including the Doctors Trial, Industrialists Trial, Ministries Trial, and other proceedings that sought to bring accountability to those responsible for the crimes of the Third Reich.

Among the most notable names represented within the collection are senior Third Reich leaders, military commanders, industrialists, physicians, and key participants in the trials, including figures such as Hermann Göring, Albert Speer, Karl Dönitz, Baldur von Schirach, Hans Frank, Julius Streicher, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Walther Funk, Hjalmar Schacht, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and numerous defendants from the Doctors and Industrialists Trials. Many of these men stood accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, while others appeared as witnesses, defendants in subsequent proceedings, or individuals interrogated by Allied authorities.

The provenance accompanying these signatures is exceptional. The notarized family affidavit is supported by original wartime documentation confirming Daniel Roman's service in Nuremberg, including:

● Provost Marshal Identification Card identifying Roman as serving with the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.
● Class B Pass dated April 15, 1946.
● Army Ration Card dated October 20, 1945.
● Permanent Pass dated May 18, 1946.
● Nuremberg transportation pass dated September 8, 1946.

Historical records further confirm that the 26th Infantry Regiment assumed responsibility for the Nuremberg Trial prisoners in April 1946, directly corresponding with Roman's documented service at the prison facility.

Many of the original photographs in the collection retain small thumbtack holes near the upper edge. While such marks would normally be considered condition issues, in this case they provide compelling physical evidence supporting the family's account that these photographs were once displayed outside prison cells within the Nuremberg detention complex itself.

Each autograph in the collection has been carefully examined under magnification and exhibits the characteristics of a genuine period live-ink signature, rather than a printed facsimile or reproduction. The signatures remain exactly as obtained and preserved by Daniel Roman over seventy years ago.

Interest in the Nuremberg Trials remains as strong as ever, recently renewed by the Hollywood motion picture Nuremberg, which has introduced a new audience to the dramatic events, personalities, and moral questions surrounding these historic proceedings. Original artifacts with direct prison provenance have become increasingly difficult to locate, making this collection a rare opportunity for collectors, museums, researchers, and historians alike.

Included with Every Signature
To preserve the extraordinary provenance of this collection, every purchaser will receive:

● A printed copy of the notarized affidavit from Daniel Roman's daughter detailing the history of the collection.
● Printed copies of Daniel Roman's wartime identification cards, passes, and supporting Nuremberg service documents.
● A printed copy of a 1946 photograph showing Roman and fellow American Military Police personnel marching outside the Nuremberg courthouse complex.

A Direct Connection to History
Whether the individual represented was a principal defendant, witness, military leader, physician, industrialist, or other participant in the trials, each autograph from the Daniel Roman Collection offers a tangible connection to the historic effort to hold the leadership of Third Reich Germany accountable before the world. More than a simple signature, it is a surviving artifact from the very prison and courtroom complex where the foundations of modern international criminal law were established.

The signature offered in this listing is the exact example shown and comes from the documented Daniel Roman Nuremberg Collection, acquired directly from the family of the U.S. Army guard who assembled it during the trials themselves.