In the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, members of a Waffen SS division executed 84 American prisoners of war near the Belgian town of Malmedy - the deadliest incident of its kind involving American soldiers in the European theater. After a long investigation, the U.S. Army tried and convicted 74 accused perpetrators. What followed was a decade of controversy in the United States and Germany over accusations that American interrogators had tortured the defendants and forced them to sign false confessions. In Germany, the accusations fueled intense opposition to war crimes trials and tested the limits of the West German-American alliance. The Malmedy Massacre reveals the extent to which ex-Nazis and their sympathizers have shaped our understanding of one of the war's most infamous crimes. At a time when a historically informed debate about military courts and interrogation methods is necessary, the book provides an in-depth look at how a war crimes case was made and unmade at the dawn of the Cold War. -- Provided by publisher.

Introduction: an American courtroom in Dachau -- The commitments of a bad reputation: terror war in the Ardennes -- Now it comes home to us: creating the "Malmedy Massacre" -- Like a division reunion: launching the investigation -- The psychological approach: American interrogators -- Nazi method boys: the first torture allegations -- A monstrous slaughter machine: the prosecution's case -- Entirely a heat of battle case: the defense -- Other battlefields: Willis Everett and the amnesty campaign -- The sword of public opinion: the torture stories in the U.S. -- The daring fists of Lieutenant Perl: tales of torture in Schwaebisch Hall -- Avenging angels: German clergy and the massacre -- Lie detectors: interrogating American interrogators -- Red jackets: releasing the prisoners.