7118 - Rudolf Hess Letter Signed at Nuremberg, Demanding to Represent Himself at Trial

Rudolf Hess Letter Signed at Nuremberg, Demanding to Represent Himself at Trial LS in German,, one page, 8 x 12.75, January 23, 1946. Letter to the president of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, in full (translated): "The accident suffered by the attorney, Dr. von Rohrscheidt, who, up to the present, was my defense counsel, causes me to declare that I am availing myself of my right, provided by the Charter, to undertake my own defense for the remainder of the trial." Backed by lightweight cardstock and in fine condition, with a band to toning across the top. Accompanied by a contemporary English translation. Hess's original counsel, Dr. Gunther von Rohrscheidt, had represented him through the November 1945 sanity hearings, where Rohrscheidt argued Hess's amnesia made him unfit to properly participate in his own defense, only for Hess to interrupt and insist he was fit to plead. Rohrscheidt's disabling accident in January 1946 forced a sudden gap in Hess's representation; this document is Hess's own response, asserting his right to speak for himself rather than wait. His turn at self-representation was brief: by February 5, 1946, Dr. Alfred Seidl had formally taken over as his defense counsel for the remainder of the trial, through the verdict.