Papers (1887-1952) of Edenton, NC Judge including World War I, political, and Judicial correspondence; speeches, clippings; Nuremberg war crimes files; and Nuremberg war crimes transcripts.
Richard Dillard Dixon, Sr., was born in Edenton, NC, on October 5, 1888, to Minton and Sally Dixon. Dixon studied at Edenton Academy until 1904 and at Trinity Military School in Chocowinity, NC, until 1906. He then went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In July of 1917, Dixon volunteered to serve in World War I, enlisting as a private. He was commissioned second lieutenant in August of that year and later to first lieutenant in February of 1918. He was deployed to France in May of 1918 and was a part of several offensives, including the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. He was later promoted to captain in February of 1919 and served until his honorable discharge in April of that year.
As a civilian, Dixon began law studies under Senator Charles S. Vann of Edenton. In November of 1922, he was elected as clerk of the superior court of Chowan County and was admitted to the bar in December. In 1923, Dixon married his wife, Louise Manning Badham, and had one son, Richard Dillard Dixon, Jr. He served as clerk until 1941 when he was appointed as special superior court judge. He worked in this position until 1945. In 1946, Dixon left to assist in war crime trials held in Nuremberg, Germany. He returned to the US in 1948 and served as an attorney in Edenton until his death in July of 1952.
This collection contains materials related to Richard Dillard Dixon, Sr., court judge from Edenton, NC, including various correspondence (1878-1952) related to North Carolina; political documents (1940) related to J. Melville Broughton's North Carolina Gubernational Campaign; various written material (1940) related to Lindsay C. Warren Day, a day celebrating the 1945 retirement of Lindsay C. Warren, third Comptroller General of the United States; and a few miscellaneous items (undated) related to Richard D. Dixon, Sr, or published in Edenton, NC. Also included are typewritten charges (undated, some possibly early 1940s) delivered to juries, possibly while Dixon was a Superior Court Judge; and typewritten (undated) explanations of legal terms and references to relevant cases, alphabetically sorted from A to W.
A large section of the collection includes documents related to the 1945-1946 war crime trials held against the leaders of Nazi Germany in Nuremberg, Germany. (Note: Materials written in German refer to the city as Nürnberg, its German name, or as Nurnberg, due to printing limitations). Material related to the city of Nuremberg and Richard D. Dixon, Sr.'s time there include various correspondence (1946-1948) to and from Richard D. Dixon, Sr., involving his stay in Nuremberg, Germany, and his work in the trials; documents (1946-1948) related to Dixon's stay in Nuremberg during the trials, including memorandums, receipts, and licenses; concert programs and brochures (1946-1947), including programs for the "Nurnberg Opera House"; publications (1947) related to the military occupation of Germany; a publication (1945) about Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp, published by the 7th U.S. Army; a German Bilddokkumente (1945), a collection of documented images, entitled "Nürnberg" which includes photos of the city following the Battle of Nuremberg in 1945.
Documents related to the Nuremberg trials themselves include typewritten documents (1945-1946) of applications and objects to witnesses and documents used in the trial; pamphlets and a press release (1946-1948) about the trials; various trial related documents (1945-1948) including rules of procedure; a portion of a document (undated) for Count Five, which charged the Nazi leaders with war crimes and crimes against humanity; documents (1943-1945) from various Ally conferences, including the 1943 Moscow Conference and 1945 Crimea Conference; documents (1945) including German High Command's written surrender and the resulting Declaration of Allied Representatives; various documents (1945-1947) related to the holding of the trials, including agreements between Allied forces and legal basis for the trials. Also included are documents and transcripts (1947-1948, undated) related to cases against Nazi Leaders: Friedrich Flick, Carl Krauch, Otto Ohlendorf. A majority of the court documents are transcripts (1949) of the case against Ernst von Weizsäcker (written as Weizsaecker in documents due to printing limitations), with transcripts for his four day trial, including a partial transcript from the April 11 morning session, and full transcripts for all remaining sessions from April 11-14, as well as a dissenting opinion by Judge Leon W. Powers.
Also included are various materials related to Richard D. Dixon, Sr., including papers (1917-1919) involving his service as an officer in the 113th Field Artillery during World War I; various financial records (1860-1938); wills and deeds (1860-1938) related to Edenton, NC, and/or Dixon; documents (1940-1941) related to NC presidential, gubernatorial, and First Congressional District campaigns; typewritten speeches (1940-1952) by Richard D. Dixon, Sr., J. Melville Broughton, and Josiah W. Bailey; pamphlets, programs, and articles (1924-1945) related to the US Army, North Carolina, or the US Court; a manuscript (undated) and historical articles (undated) related to Eastern NC, including a handbill (1885) titled "A Card" published in Edenton by J. H. Garnett; photograph negatives (1917-1945); newspaper clippings (1862-1952, undated) and other miscellaneous materials (undated).
Loaned by Mr. Richard Dillard Dixon, Jr.
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.