Malmedy Massacre Investigation

On March 29, 1949, a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, consisting of Senators Raymond E. Baldwin (chairman) Estes Kefauver, and Lester 0.Hunt, was appointed to consider Senate Resolution 42. This resolution was introduced for the purpose of securing consideration of certain charges which had been made concerning the conduct of the prosecution in the Malmedy atrocity case and to effectuate a thorough study of the court procedures and post- trial reviews of the case. It must be clearly understood that the function of this subcommittee is a legislative one only. It is not the function of this subcommittee, therefore, to retry the cases, to act as a board of appeals or reviewing authority, or to make any recommendations concerning the sentences. The subcommittee has, however, found it necessary to fully review the investigative and trial procedure in order to make its recommendations. The investigation automatically divided itself into specific phases; the first dealing with the charges of physical mistreatment and duress on the part of the War Crimes Investigation personnel, and the second covering those matters of law and legal procedure which should be examined in an effort to determine their propriety and the degree to which they might be improved to meet future requirements. As the investigation proceeded, a third phase evolved which has caused considerable concern and which deals with the motivation behind the current efforts to discredit American military government in general, and using the war crimes procedures in particular, as a part of that plan.