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 an exceptionally significant original ink signature of SS-Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, one of the 24 principal defendants indicted before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Kaltenbrunner has signed his full name in black ink above the typed identification: KALTENBRUNNER ERNST.

The signature appears on an approximately 4" x 5.5" piece of period paper and remains dark, bold, and fully legible. The sheet exhibits expected age toning, scattered light marks, a small area of surface disturbance below the typed name, and four old brown mounting tabs at the corners. These tabs are consistent with the manner in which numerous pieces from the Daniel Roman Collection were historically mounted and preserved. The exact item offered is shown in the photographs.

Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946) was one of the most powerful and feared officials in the Third Reich’s security apparatus. An Austrian attorney and early member of both the NSDAP and SS, he became a senior SS and police leader in Austria following the Anschluss. On January 30, 1943, he succeeded Reinhard Heydrich as head of the Reich Security Main Office, or RSHA, and Chief of the Security Police and SD. In that position, Kaltenbrunner exercised authority over the Gestapo, the Criminal Police, and the Security Service, placing him at the head of the vast police and intelligence organization responsible for political persecution, concentration-camp commitments, mass deportations, and extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Military Tribunal concluded that he exercised control over the RSHA, knew of the crimes being committed under its authority, and actively participated in many of them.

With Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich both dead by the time of the trials, Kaltenbrunner became the highest-ranking surviving representative of the SS security and police system placed before the International Military Tribunal. Prosecutors presented him as the defendant who embodied the combined criminal activities of the SS, SD, Gestapo, and RSHA. He was formally indicted alongside the other principal defendants and entered a plea of not guilty on December 10, 1945, after illness delayed his initial appearance in court.

Kaltenbrunner was charged under Counts One, Three, and Four of the indictment. The Tribunal acquitted him of conspiracy under Count One but convicted him of war crimes and crimes against humanity under Counts Three and Four. He was sentenced to death by hanging and executed in the Nuremberg Prison on October 16, 1946. His status as one of the principal IMT defendants, combined with his command of the RSHA and execution immediately following the trial, makes his signature one of the most historically important and desirable autographs within the Daniel Roman Collection.

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.