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 signed autograph paper bearing the prominent ink signature of Dr. Karl Brandt (1904-1948), the German physician who served as one of AH's personal doctors and later became Reich Commissioner for Health and Sanitation. Brandt was subsequently the lead defendant in the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial of 1946-1947. The paper measures approximately 5 ¼” x 3 15/16” (13.3 x 10 cm) and displays his large handwritten signature above a stamped identification reading DR. BRANDT KARL.

This signature is part of the collection 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.

Karl Brandt was born on January 8, 1904, in Mühlhausen, Alsace, then part of the German Empire. After studying medicine at several German universities, he qualified as a physician in 1928 and pursued a career in surgery. He joined the NSDAP in January 1932 and became a member of the SS in July 1934. During the summer of that year, he was appointed one of AH's personal physicians, a position that brought him into the highest circles of the Third Reich. His medical and political career advanced considerably during the following decade, and he eventually attained the rank of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS.

In September 1939, Brandt and Philipp Bouhler, head of the Führer's Chancellery, were authorized to oversee the program of systematic killing of institutionalized patients with mental and physical disabilities. This program, subsequently known as Aktion T4, resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of patients in designated killing facilities. Brandt played an important role in its medical organization and administration, including the selection and authorization of physicians involved in the killings.

Brandt's authority expanded during WWII as the German government sought to centralize its medical services. In July 1942, he was appointed Plenipotentiary for Health and Medical Services, followed by his appointment as General Commissioner for Health and Sanitation in September 1943. On August 25, 1944, he became Reichskommissar für das Sanitäts- und Gesundheitswesen (Reich Commissioner for Health and Sanitation), receiving broad authority over medical organizations within the German state, armed forces, and Party administration. This appointment placed him among the highest-ranking medical officials of the Third Reich.

Following Germany's defeat in May 1945, Brandt was taken into Allied custody and subsequently brought before an American military tribunal at Nuremberg. He became the principal defendant in United States of America v. Karl Brandt et al., commonly known as the Doctors' Trial, the first of twelve Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings conducted by the United States following the International Military Tribunal's prosecution of Germany's principal wartime leaders.

The trial opened on December 9, 1946, and involved 23 German physicians and medical administrators accused of participating in war crimes and crimes against humanity. The prosecution examined the systematic killing of disabled patients and the medical experiments carried out on concentration camp prisoners, including experiments involving freezing, infectious diseases, chemical agents, and other procedures performed without the subjects' consent. Brandt's involvement in Aktion T4 and his senior responsibilities within the German medical establishment formed central elements of the case against him.

Brandt was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and membership in a criminal organization. On August 19, 1947, the tribunal found him guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and membership in the SS, which had been declared a criminal organization. He was sentenced to death on August 20, 1947. The tribunal's judgment also established the ten principles subsequently known as the Nuremberg Code, which addressed the ethical requirements for medical experimentation involving human subjects, particularly the necessity of voluntary consent.

Karl Brandt was executed by hanging at Landsberg Prison on June 2, 1948, at the age of 44.

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.