A Peculiar Crusade: Willis M. Everett and the Malmedy Massacre

In the wake of World War II, 74 members of the Nazi SS were accused of a war crime--soon to be known as the Malmedy Massacre--in which a large number of American prisoners of war were murdered during the Battle of the Bulge. All of the German defendants were found guilty and more than half were sentenced to death.

Yet none was executed and, a decade later, all had been released from prison. This outcome resulted primarily from the dogged efforts of Willis M. Everett, Jr., a prominent Atlanta attorney who jeopardized his status as a member of the social elite to defend with great zeal and commitment the accused Germans.

James Weingartner offers fresh insights into one of the most controversial episodes of World War II and in the process casts new light on the often convoluted politics of war crimes justice.