Curtis Grover Shake (July 14, 1887 – September 11, 1978), a noted
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, author, and a member of the
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
, is best known for his service as the 72nd justice of the
Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
from January 4, 1938, to January 7, 1945, and as the presiding civilian judge over the
IG Farben trial
''The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al.'', also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany (Nuremberg) after the end of World War ...
, one of the
Nurember trials the United States convened at
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, in 1947–48, following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Shake, a native of
Knox County, Indiana
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana in the United States. The oldest county in Indiana, it was one of two original counties created in the Northwest Territory in 1790, alongside, St. Clair County, Illinois. Knox County was gradu ...
, attended
Vincennes University
Vincennes University (VU) is a public college with its main campus in Vincennes, Indiana. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. VU was chartered in 1806 as the Indiana Territo ...
for two years and earned a law degree from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
in 1910. He initially established a law practice in
Bicknell, Indiana
Bicknell is a city in Knox County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,915 at the 2010 census.
History
Bicknell was laid out in 1869 by John Bicknell, and named for him.
Geography
Bicknell is located at (38.773512, −87.307967). It ...
, but relocated his family and law practice to the county seat at
Vincennes
Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...
, in 1916. Shake was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to represent Knox and
Daviess Counties in the
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
in 1926, but lost his bid to become
Indiana Attorney General
The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...
in 1928. Shake presided as chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court three times (1939, 1941, and 1944), but he did not run for re-election in 1945. Between 1938 and 1946 Shake was also involved at the national level in mediating labor disputes, including service on six presidential emergency boards charged with settling railroad strikes.
In 1947 Shake was appointed presiding judge over the Farben trial at Nuremberg. News reporters harshly criticized the relatively light sentences imposed on those found guilty of war crimes. Years later Shake remarked that although he accepted the legitimacy of the tribunals, he thought an impartial trial from neutral countries using neutral judges would have been preferable. After his return to the United States in 1948, Shake continued to practice law in Vincennes, where he was also a longtime member of Vincennes University’s board of trustees (1923–66). Shake was elected to the
Indiana Academy
Indiana Academy also known as IA is a Seventh-day Adventist secondary school located in Cicero, Indiana, United States. Indiana Academy is owned and operated by the Indiana Conference of Seventh day Adventists and is one of many other Adventis ...
in 1975 for his contributions to Indiana and the nation.
Early life and education
Curtis Grover Shake, the son of Arminda and Daniel Shake, was born in
Monroe City,
Harrison Township,
Knox County, Indiana
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana in the United States. The oldest county in Indiana, it was one of two original counties created in the Northwest Territory in 1790, alongside, St. Clair County, Illinois. Knox County was gradu ...
, on July 14, 1887. Daniel was a farmer and music teacher; Arminda worked as a
midwife
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
.
Shake completed eighth grade in Knox County's public schools. In 1903, because there were no public high schools in the area, Shake began studies at
Vincennes University
Vincennes University (VU) is a public college with its main campus in Vincennes, Indiana. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. VU was chartered in 1806 as the Indiana Territo ...
, where he attended classes for two years to earn a teacher's license.
[ At Vincennes he was a member of ]Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fraternity ...
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
.
Shake taught in a one-room schoolhouse for two years before deciding to pursue a law career. He moved to Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...
, in the spring of 1907 and began law school at Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
in Bloomington that fall. Shake, an avid storyteller, later recalled that while he was living in Vincennes, Jacob Gimbel, owner of a Vincennes department store that later became Gimbels
Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the compa ...
in New York, offered to pay for his law studies at IU as long as he agreed to help another student in a similar manner in the future. Shake agreed to Gimbel's proposal.[
Shake earned a law degree from ]Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
in 1910. Among his classmates were Paul V. McNutt
Paul Vories McNutt (July 19, 1891 – March 24, 1955) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 34th governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the ...
, a future governor of Indiana
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government ...
; Sherman Minton
Sherman "Shay" Minton (October 20, 1890 – April 9, 1965) was an American politician and jurist who served as a U.S. senator from Indiana and later became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; he was a member of the ...
, a future Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
; and Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...
, the Republican Party's nominee in the 1940 presidential election. Shake also met his first wife, Anna Selesky, a Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
immigrant and a fellow law student, while attending IU. Shake and Anna married in June 1911; their son, Gilbert, was born the following year.[
]
Career
Early years
Shake established a law practice in Bicknell, Indiana
Bicknell is a city in Knox County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,915 at the 2010 census.
History
Bicknell was laid out in 1869 by John Bicknell, and named for him.
Geography
Bicknell is located at (38.773512, −87.307967). It ...
, following his graduation from law school in 1910. After six years in Bicknell, where Shake served as city attorney and as Knox County's deputy prosecuting attorney, he moved his family and law practice to Vincennes in 1916 and formed a law partnership with Joseph W. Kimmel.[Suzanne S. Bellamy, "Curtis G. Shake" in ] While living in Vincennes, Shake also held positions as city attorney, U.S. commissioner for the southern Indiana judicial district, and Knox County attorney.[
In 1926 Shake was elected as a ]Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to represent Knox and Daviess Counties in the Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
. Shake was an active state senator who coauthored the Lindley-Shake-Johnson law that reduced tax assessments on Indiana farmland.[Bellamy, "Hoosier Justice and Nuremberg," pp. 23–24.]
In 1928 Shake became the Democratic Party's nominee for Indiana Attorney General
The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...
, but lost the race. A week before the election, John Rabb Emison, a Vincennes lawyer, announced at a Republican Party gathering in Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
that Shake was a former member of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Emison asserted that Shake had joined Knox County Klan Number 75 on September 30, 1924, and produced a membership book to support the claim. Emison also proclaimed that the Klan had provided Shake with support during his campaign for the Indiana Senate in 1926, but Shake had discontinued paying his membership dues when the Klan organization became unpopular.[
It is not known with certainty whether or not Shake was a Klan member. Shake never fully denied Klan membership in his speeches,][ but he did label the claims "insinuations and false charges."][ Newspapers of the time did not report that he refuted Emison's claims. Shake blamed his loss on ]New York governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a ...
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928.
The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...
's nomination in the U.S. presidential election of 1928. Nearly the entire Indiana Democratic slate of candidates, including Shake, were defeated in the elections that year.[
After his defeat in the race for Indiana attorney general, Shake continued to practice law in Vincennes for the next ten years. His primary client was the ]Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
. Shake represented the railroad in litigation within a four-county area of southern Indiana. Known as an skilled orator, Shake also delivered speeches in support of Democratic causes and wrote books about Vincennes.[
]
Indiana Supreme Court justice
In December 1937 Indiana governor
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government ...
M. Clifford Townsend
Maurice Clifford Townsend (August 11, 1884 – November 11, 1954) was an American politician and the 35th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1937 to 1941. During his term, he led relief efforts during and after the Great Flood of 1937.
...
appointed Shake to the Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
to fill a vacancy that was created when U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
appointed Indiana Supreme Court Justice Walter E. Treanor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of Ill ...
in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.[ Shake completed the remaining year of Justice Treanor's term on the Indiana Supreme Court and was elected in his own right to a six-year term in 1938. Shake served on the Court from January 4, 1938, to January 7, 1945,][Bellamy, “Curtis G. Shake”, p. 287.] and presided as chief justice three times (1939, 1941, and 1944).[Bellamy, "Hoosier Justice and Nuremberg," p. 25.] In the ''Warren v Indiana Telephone Company'' case, Shake's opinion resolved a longstanding debate about the Indiana Court of Appeals
The Indiana Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Indiana. It is the successor to the Indiana Appellate Court.
History
The Indiana Appellate Court was created by the Indiana General Assembly by statute in 18 ...
. Shake rejected the Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...
's authority to limit the Court's powers, made the state's Court of Appeals an intermediate court, and brought Indiana's court system into alignment with court systems of the majority of other states.[Bellamy, "Curtis G. Shake," pp. 288–89.]
Shake decided not to run for re-election because he believed that the state's voters would choose Republican candidates in the upcoming election and he wanted to avoid a defeat. At the end of his term on the bench in 1945, Shake returned to Vincennes to practice law with his son, Gilbert.[ Shake's first wife, Anna, died on November 2, 1946.][Bellamy, "Hoosier Justice and Nuremberg," p. 27.]
Between 1938 and 1946 Shake became involved at the national level in mediating labor disputes. He mediated an estimated 400 labor disputes as a National Mediation Board referee. Shake gained a national reputation when he served on six presidential emergency boards charged with settling railroad strikes, chairing three of these boards from 1944 to 1949.[
]
War crime trials in Nuremberg, Germany
In early 1947, Shake was appointed presiding judge over the IG Farben trial
''The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al.'', also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany (Nuremberg) after the end of World War ...
, one of the war crimes
that U.S. authorities held in Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, after the end of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Shake, a widower at the time, went to Nuremberg alone. The Farben trial began on August 27, 1947, and concluded in mid-June 1948. The case was primarily based on the Farben defendants' "knowing participation" in "Nazi plans for conquest,"[ even before the war began, and for the Farben firm's use of slave labor in manufacturing synthetic rubber during the war. The company’s production site used laborers from the adjacent German concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland. Shake presided over the tribunal, which rendered its verdicts on July 29–30, 1948, more than a year after the trial began. Ten of the defendants were acquitted on all counts; the remaining thirteen received prison sentences that ranged from two to eight years, considered mild punishments compared to the gravity of the indictments.][
News reporters harshly criticized Shake for the relatively light sentences in the Farben case and made allegations that he had been partial to the German defendants, which he denied. Shake countered the criticisms by arguing that the tribunal "had worked hard to apply international law" in the trial.][ Shake returned to the United States in 1948.][Bellamy, "Hoosier Justice and Nuremberg," p. 29.] Many years later Shake remarked that he accepted the legitimacy of the tribunals, but thought an impartial tribunal from neutral countries using neutral judges would have been "preferable" in avoiding a case where "the victor" tried "the vanquished."[Bellamy, "Curtis G. Shake," p. 289.]
Later years
After Shake returned to the United States from Germany in 1948, he continued to practiced law in Vincennes, Indiana, until his retirement at age eighty-eight.[
Shake married Alice Killion Hubbard on January 2, 1952. They had one child, Susan. Shake's son, Gilbert, died in 1968; Alice died in 1970.][
]
Death and legacy
Shake died on September 11, 1978, at the age of ninety-one.[ His funeral and burial took place at Vincennes.][
Shake is known for his service as an Indiana Supreme Court judge (1938–45)][ and as the presiding judge of the tribunal that heard the Farban case in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1947–48. Shake was also remembered for his "wisdom, wit, and warmth" and as a "masterful" orator.][ In addition, Shake was dedicated to serving Vincennes University, where he was once a student, as a member of the university's board of trustees from 1923 to 1966. He was also actively involved in ]Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fraternity ...
fraternity throughout his lifetime. He served on the fraternity's grand council four times between 1908 and 1964, including the fraternity's first grand council in 1908. Shake, a devotee of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
helped to establish a memorial to Lincoln along the Illinois banks of the Wabash River near Vincennes.
Honors and tributes
* The 14,000 square-foot Shake Learning Resources Center, located on the Vincennes University campus, was dedicated in 1960 and named in Shake’s honor. A 5,000-square-foot addition was dedicated in 1967, and a 20,000-square-foot expansion was dedicated on November 16, 1986., with another expansion in 1999 (including the addition of a second floor) and a complete renovation in 2018.
* In 1975 Shake was elected to the Indiana Academy
Indiana Academy also known as IA is a Seventh-day Adventist secondary school located in Cicero, Indiana, United States. Indiana Academy is owned and operated by the Indiana Conference of Seventh day Adventists and is one of many other Adventis ...
, an organization honoring people with a Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem "T ...
background who have won national recognition for their contributions to the state and the nation.[
* ]Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fraternity ...
fraternity's Curtis G. Shake Scholarship, named in his honor, is awarded to members of his fraternity who excel in legal studies. He was awarded the fraternity's Founders' Award in 1962 and is one of only six men who have been named as an Honorary Grand Sage (President).[
* Shake wrote that he had spent several evenings discussing the Nuremberg trials with ]Abby Mann
Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer.
Life and career
The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
D ...
, writer of the film ''Judgment at Nuremberg
''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic courtroom drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietr ...
'' (1961), a fictionalized version of the Nuremberg trial of German judges. The film did not cover the Farben case. At the end of the film an aide to the presiding judge, who is portrayed by Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
, asks if he had heard that the verdict in the Farben case had been announced.[
]
Selected published works
* ''A History of Vincennes University'' (1928)[
* ''The Old Cathedral and Its Environs'' (1934)][
* ''A Naval History of Vincennes'' (1936)][
* ''Historic Vincennes'' (1961)
* ''Vincennes University: A Brief History 1801–1951'' (1951)
* ''Vincennes, The Old Post on the Wabash: Its Place in American History (1965)]
Notes
References
* Bellamy, Suzanne S., "Curtis G. Shake" in
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shake, Curtis Grover
1887 births
1978 deaths
Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court
Indiana state senators
Judges of the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals
Vincennes University alumni
Indiana University alumni
20th-century American judges
Chief Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court
20th-century American politicians