Editing Franz Halder (section)

=== Criminal investigation ===

On 5 May 1945, Halder was arrested by the advancing American troops and was interned awaiting trial or release.{{sfn|Smelser|Davies|2008|p=63}} He was relieved not to be part of the [[Nuremberg trials]]; instead, he was tried in a German court on charges of aiding the Nazi regime. Halder denied any knowledge of the regime's atrocities and claimed to be outside the decision-making process; he was found not guilty.{{sfn|Smelser|Davies|2008|p=64–65}}

During the trial the prosecuting attorney gained access to Halder's personal diary which detailed his formulation of the Barbarossa Decree and Commissar Order so he was subsequently sent for retrial.{{sfn|Smelser|Davies|2008|p=64–65}} Halder was working for the American Historical Division providing information on the Soviet Union, and the Americans refused to allow the retrial. It was dropped in September 1950.{{sfn|Smelser|Davies|2008|p=65}}