Colonel John Harlan Amen (September 15, 1898 – March 10, 1960) was a lawyer and United States Army Intelligence officer, who served as Nuremberg Prison Chief Interrogator during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

Early life and education

John Harlan Amen was born on September 15, 1898, to Harlan Page Amen and Mary Rawson in Exeter, New Hampshire. He graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in 1915, where his father had previously been appointed as a principal, and from Princeton University in 1919. He attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

from 1919 to 1923.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 9

Legal and political career

He was admitted to the New York bar in 1923. He served as an associate with

Shearman & Sterling Shearman & Sterling LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City, United States. The firm's lawyers come from some 80 countries, speak more than 60 languages and practice US, English, EU, French, Spanish, German, Hong Kong, OHAD ...

in New York from 1923 to 1928. From 1928 to 1938, he was a partner in the firm of Duryee, Zunino, & Amen. In 1938, he was a partner in the firm Parker & Duryee. He served as a special assistant to the United States Attorney General on cases involving anti-trust laws from 1928 to 1938. On October 26, 1938, he was appointed as the special prosecutor to supersede the district attorney of Kings County in connection with investigation of official corruption in Brooklyn. Amen served on the prosecution for the Murder Inc. killers. His investigation eventually led to the dismissal of nearly a dozen police officers for accepting fraudulent bonds.

Military career

He served as a

2nd lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the United States Marine Corps Reserve Flying Corps. By 1942, he was a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

with the United States Army. He was promoted to colonel in 1944. John Amen interrogating Rudolf Hess

During the Nuremberg trials, he served as the Associate trial counsel, chief interrogations division office for the United States Chief of Counsel in war criminal trials at Nuremberg from 1945 to 1946.

Personal life

He married Marion Cleveland Dell, the daughter of former President Grover Cleveland, on July 25, 1926. John and Marion Amen had one son, Grover Cleveland.

Awards and honors

He received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with Oak Leaf Cluster, the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

with rank of Commander from Norway, and the Order of the White Lion from Czechoslovakia.

Death

Amen died on March 10, 1960.

Portrayal in popular culture

John Amen has been portrayed by the following actors in film, television and theater productions; *

David McIlwraith David McIlwraith is a Canadian actor who has appeared in numerous television series and in several films since the 1970s. He co-starred in the 1993 television series ''White Fang'' and also had a prominent role as Dr. Reginald Murdoch in the 2001 ...

in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Canadian/American television production '' Nuremberg'' * Michael Fitzpatrick in the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

British television production ''Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand'' * Tim Woodward in the 2006 BBC television docudrama '' Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amen, John 1898 births 1960 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Harvard Law School alumni Nuremberg trials Princeton University alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of the White Lion United States Army colonels Phillips Exeter Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers