Nuremberg executions of Nazi leaders occur in 1946

In the early hours of October 16, 1946, ten high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging in the prison gymnasium in Nuremberg. These individuals were convicted by the International Military Tribunal for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The executed leaders included Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart.

Hermann Goering, the highest-ranking surviving Nazi leader among the defendants, avoided execution by committing suicide with a cyanide capsule in his cell on the night of October 15, just hours before his scheduled hanging. Martin Bormann was sentenced in absentia, as he was not located by Allied forces during the proceedings.