Denson, William D. (William Dowdell)

William Dowdell Denson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 31, 1913. He was educated at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he graduated in 1934. Instead of entering the military immediately, Denson worked towards his law degree, which he received from Harvard Law School in 1937. In 1942, he was called up for active duty to teach law at West Point. In 1945, he became a chief prosecutor for the Judge Advocate General's Department in Europe. In this capacity, Denson was in charge of prosecuting Nazis and collaborators from the concentration camps of Mauthausen in Austria and Dachau, Flossenbürg (Concentration camp), and Buchenwald in Germany. All of the defendants save four were convicted. While in Europe, Denson met Countess Constance von Francken-Sierstorpff (Huschi), whom he married in 1949. Denson returned to the United States in 1947 to be a lawyer for the Atomic Energy Commission and later entered private practice on Long Island, New York. William Denson died on December 13, 1998. Constance Denson died on December 5, 2006.

From the description of William Dowdell Denson papers, 1918-2004 (inclusive), 1945-1948 (bulk). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702172272

William Dowdell Denson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 31, 1913. He was educated at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he graduated in 1934. Instead of entering the military immediately, Denson worked towards his law degree, which he received from Harvard Law School in 1937. In 1942, he was called up for active duty to teach law at West Point. In 1945, he became a chief prosecutor for the Judge Advocate General's Department in Europe. In this capacity, Denson was in charge of prosecuting Nazis and collaborators from the concentration camps of Mauthausen in Austria and Dachau, Flossenbürg, and Buchenwald in Germany. All of the defendants save four were convicted. While in Europe, Denson met Countess Constance von Francken-Sierstorpff (Huschi), whom he married in 1949. Denson returned to the United States in 1947 to be a lawyer for the Atomic Energy Commission and later entered private practice on Long Island, New York. William Denson died on December 13, 1998.

William Dowdell Denson was born into an old Southern family on May 31, 1913. His father was an established lawyer and politician in Birmingham, Alabama, where William Dowdell was born. His maternal grandfather had been on the Alabama Supreme Court and his great-grandfather was a colonel in the Confederate Army.

At his father's encouragement, Denson attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated cum laude in 1934 with the degree of B.S. and was given a commission as second lieutenant in the Field Artillery of the United States Army. Denson resigned his commission in order to enter Harvard Law School and received the degree of LL.B. in 1937.

After law school, Denson returned to Birmingham, Alabama, to practice law with his father. He passed the bar examination for the state of Alabama in August 1937 and was admitted to that bar in October. He was admitted to practice in all of the Federal District Courts of Alabama in January 1938, and in October 1939, to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Between 1937 and 1942, he tried over three hundred cases.

In 1942, he was called to be captain in the United States Army. His assignment was to be an instructor in the department of law at West Point, where he taught a course in military justice. Denson was sent overseas in March 1945 to the Judge Advocate General's Department, Third United States Army. In September 1945, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

In October 1945, Denson became chief prosecutor of the war crimes trials to be held at the former concentration camp of Dachau in Germany. The first trial opened on November 13, 1945. Forty Nazis and collaborators were charged with participating in the atrocities committed at Dachau concentration camp. All defendants were convicted, thirty-six sentenced to death. In March 1946, Denson served in a similar capacity at the trial of sixty-one Nazis and collaborators from the Mauthausen concentration camp. Convicting all, with fifty-eight sentenced to death, Denson next took over the proceedings of Flossenbürg war crimes trial. Forty-one of the forty-five accused were convicted, with eighteen death sentences. Despite being exhausted from his trial work, Denson served as chief prosecutor against the thirty-one Nazis and collaborators from the Buchenwald concentration camp. The defendants included Ilse Koch, the wife of the commandant of the camp, infamous for her brutality to prisoners, and her alleged use of human skin in lampshades and photo albums. All were convicted, and twenty-two were sentenced to death.

Returning to the United States, Denson became head of litigation for the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1948, he read that the life imprisonment of Ilse Koch had been reduced to a mere four years, three of which had already been served. Outraged, Denson wrote to newspapers across the country and was invited to speaking engagements and interviews. A congressional committee eventually took the matter up and though her sentence could not be legally reinstated, she was tried by a German court and re-sentenced to life imprisonment. Denson began seeing Countess Constance von Francken-Sierstorpff (Huschi) again, whom he had met while in Europe. On December 31, 1949, the two were married. They raised three children: Yvonne, from Huschi's previous marriage, Olivia, and William, Jr.

For the next forty years, Denson remained quiet about his war crimes trial experiences. He worked as a lawyer at different firms, dealing especially with patents, trademarks, and copyright law. In the late 1980s, Denson became active in educating the public about Nazi atrocities and his role in bringing Nazis to justice. He continued to do so until his death on December 13, 1998.

From the guide to the William Dowdell Denson papers, 1918-2004, 1945-1948, (Manuscripts and Archives)