Landmark war trial case

“German Generals Acquitted By The Supreme Court,” read the headline. LieutenantGeneral Hans von Schack and Major-General Benno Kruska were accused of having, through negligence, caused an epidemic of typhus which killed 8,000 French prisoners during the First World War.

While they were acquitted, the trial was the first step in establishing international war crime tribunals which are not held at the Hague.