Rudolf Lehmann (military judge)
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German Empire (to 1918)
Nazi GermanyRudolf Lehmann | |
|---|---|
 Lehmann at the Nuremberg Trials, 1947 | |
| Born | 11 December 1890 |
| Died | 26 July 1955 (aged 64) |
| Allegiance | German Empire (to 1918) Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1918, 1938–1945 |
| Rank | Generaloberstabsrichter (highest general rank for a Judge Advocate, like a General of the branch, today OF-8) |
| Commands | Judge Advocate General of the German Armed Forces |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
Rudolf Lehmann (11 December 1890 – 26 July 1955) was a German jurist and military judge who was the Judge Advocate General of the Wehrmacht in World War II. Lehmann was found guilty of war crimes at the High Command Trial at Nuremberg in 1948. He had close ties with Nazi Germany, but was not a member of the Nazi Party.[1]
Lehmann's father was a professor of law. He grew up in Breslau and Hanau, studied law in Munich, Freiburg, Leipzig and Marburg and qualified as a lawyer before service as a reserve officer in the Imperial Army in World War I, during which he was awarded the Iron Cross. After the war he returned to Marburg University where he was awarded a doctorate in jurisprudence. He then entered government service as a prosecutor and worked at the Reich Justice Ministry.
Lehmann entered the Army Legal Service in October 1937 and from July 1938 to May 1945 was head of the Legal Department. In this role he assessed the charges against Generaloberst Werner von Fritsch between February and March 1938 and his judgement was for an acquittal. On 1 May 1944 he was given the unique rank of Generaloberstabsrichter which was equivalent to General of the branch but outside the normal chain of command. He was taken into captivity in May 1945 and held in a US Army Prisoner of War Camp.
