Item: ONAC26NG062

Original Nuremberg Trials Signature of Dr. Hans Conrad Julius Reiter - President of the Reich Health Office - Acquired Directly from a U.S. Army Guard at Nuremberg Prison 1945–1947

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  • Original Item: 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 4 7/8"W x 4"H piece of paper signed by Dr. Hans Conrad Julius Reiter (1881–1969), he was a significant figure connected to the Nuremberg investigations, although he was neither a defendant at the International Military Tribunal nor at the Doctors' Trial. Instead, he was held and interrogated as a prisoner at Nuremberg from 1945 to 1947 while Allied investigators examined his role in NSDAP medical crimes.


    Dr. Hans Conrad Julius Reiter was a German physician, bacteriologist, and committed NSDAP member who served as President of the Reich Health Office (Reichsgesundheitsamt). During the Third Reich, he helped implement NSDAP racial hygiene policies, supported compulsory sterilization and mass execution programs, and was connected to human experimentation, including typhus vaccine experiments conducted at the camps that resulted in hundreds of prisoner deaths. After Germany's defeat, Reiter was arrested and detained at Nuremberg, where Allied investigators extensively questioned him regarding NSDAP medical crimes and public health programs. Although he admitted knowledge of forced sterilization, mass executions, and medical experiments, he was never prosecuted before an international tribunal and was eventually released. His notoriety later led the medical community to abandon the term "Reiter's syndrome" in favor of reactive arthritis, recognizing that he should not be honored with a medical eponym because of his involvement in NSDAP crimes.


    Collector significance
    - He was a senior NSDAP physician and public health official.
    - He was physically held and interrogated at Nuremberg for nearly two years.
    - He is directly associated with the development of what became the Nuremberg Code through the investigation of NSDAP medical crimes, even though he was not ultimately tried.


    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.


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