 They claimed they were compelled to do so by the "Führerprinzip" (leader principle) that governed the Nazi regime, as well as their own oath of allegiance to Hitler.In most cases, the tribunal found that the defendants' offenses were so egregious that obedience to superior orders could not be considered a mitigating factor.The German military law since 1872 said  that while the superior is ("solely") responsible for his order, the subordinate "is" to be punished for his participation in it if he either transgressed the order on his own account, or if he knew the order to be criminal.