The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials that were held in Nuremberg, Germany. The purpose of these trials was to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. A judge would try each of the most prominent Nazi officials that were a part of the Holocaust or committed other war crimes during World War II. They took place in the birthplace of the Nazi powers and lasted from 1945 to 1949.
After World War II there were roughly six million less Jewish people in Europe due to the Nazi party and it's malicious attempt to purge Europe of the Jewish minority all together. There needed to be justice for innocent people murdered by the Nazi regime, and the United States, Soviet Union, France, and Britain planned to serve it.
The reason that there was a need for this type of trial to conclude World War II was because it was a single party that rose to power. For example, in World War I, Germany as a country, began the war and received all of it's repercussions. Because this was a dictatorship and there were many officials involved, it evolved into a larger issue that had to be resolved on a more singular basis.
The most interesting thing about the Nuremberg trials was that they made history. Prior to these trials, there was no international law, so it made it difficult to convict officials of breaking international law when there was no precedent. United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union had to determine the international law, and when it was done they could try the criminals and serve justice.
The Nazi criminals were accused of breaking international law which consisted of the crime of waging aggressive war, ordinary war crimes, crimes against humanity committed during the war, and conspiracy of committing these crimes. All together they can be named crimes against peace, because if none of these crimes were committed there would be peace.
After World War II there were roughly six million less Jewish people in Europe due to the Nazi party and it's malicious attempt to purge Europe of the Jewish minority all together. There needed to be justice for innocent people murdered by the Nazi regime, and the United States, Soviet Union, France, and Britain planned to serve it.
The reason that there was a need for this type of trial to conclude World War II was because it was a single party that rose to power. For example, in World War I, Germany as a country, began the war and received all of it's repercussions. Because this was a dictatorship and there were many officials involved, it evolved into a larger issue that had to be resolved on a more singular basis.
The most interesting thing about the Nuremberg trials was that they made history. Prior to these trials, there was no international law, so it made it difficult to convict officials of breaking international law when there was no precedent. United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union had to determine the international law, and when it was done they could try the criminals and serve justice.
The Nazi criminals were accused of breaking international law which consisted of the crime of waging aggressive war, ordinary war crimes, crimes against humanity committed during the war, and conspiracy of committing these crimes. All together they can be named crimes against peace, because if none of these crimes were committed there would be peace.
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Resources:
Defendants in the Major War Figures Trial: Produced by the University of Kansas City, an accurate account of the Nazi Officials tried in the Nuremberg Trials. Robert H. Jackson: Created by the Robert H. Jackson Center, dedicated to educating about Robert H. Jackson, is a detailed timeline of the Nuremberg trials according to Jackson's participation. History Channel: An eyewitness account of the executions of Nazi criminals at Nuremberg (video). |
This documentary over the Nuremberg trials accurately displays what lead up to
the Nuremberg trials and how the Nazi officials were intricately intertwined into
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
the Nuremberg trials and how the Nazi officials were intricately intertwined into
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
There were 22 officials tried during the 13 trials at Nuremberg, and among the 22 that were tried at the Nuremberg trials, the most important (referring to the highest ranking Nazi officials) was Hermann Goering. Hermann Goering was the second in command to Hitler. Many of the highest ranking criminals committed suicide, including Hitler, to avoid the harsh punishment from the victors of World War II, Goering did not run from the justification but wanted to fight his side. Hermann was the leader of the defense at the Nuremberg trials, although he was still sentenced to death for his war crimes. 12 men were sentenced to death by hang in the Nuremberg Trials. All of the 12, except for Goering, were hung on October 16, 1946 at the Palace of Justice. Goering killed himself a day before his scheduled hang, by a cyanide pill, because he thought he was too great of a guy to die like that.
There is more about Hermann Goering and the other 21 officials and their verdicts in the slideshow, accessible by clicking on the slideshow button above.
There is more about Hermann Goering and the other 21 officials and their verdicts in the slideshow, accessible by clicking on the slideshow button above.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION
United States Involvement: The United States while fighting WWII in battles such as the Battle of the Bulge or D-Day, took prisoners of the Nazi Party whom they would keep until the trials. We had the largest percentage of prisoners that would be heading to the Nuremberg trials, so we had the most influence on the international law, and how the system was going to work. This is why the international system of law (International Military Tribunal) models a system that is very similar to the judicial policies of the United States at this time.
At the beginning of the trials, there needed to be a judge or justice appointed to represent the United States. This man would be Robert H. Jackson, who was appointed by President Harry Truman. Robert H. Jackson effectively put a team together who would attend the Nuremberg trials and give justice for the war crimes. Although Harry Truman was the president at this time, he had little involvement in the Nuremberg Trials other than appointing Robert Jackson to take care of it. This was because he was still fighting the war against Japan, and had little time to deal with the trials, and he trusted Robert Jackson to be the effective United States representative in the trials. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had already laid out the foundation for international law and the involvement of the United States, so Harry Truman used this model, and Robert Jackson to push for the justice of the Nazi war criminals.
There was a judge appointed from each of the countries: Soviet Union, United States, Britain, and France. Each of the judges spoke a different language, which doesn't sound like a huge deal, but it made communicating less effective. Have you ever heard of the saying "lost in translation" well in the trials it very well could have been. All the countries spoke four different languages, and had to administer justice onto German-speaking defendants, so there was a ton of translating throughout the trials. This ultimately slowed down the process of the trials.
At the beginning of the trials, there needed to be a judge or justice appointed to represent the United States. This man would be Robert H. Jackson, who was appointed by President Harry Truman. Robert H. Jackson effectively put a team together who would attend the Nuremberg trials and give justice for the war crimes. Although Harry Truman was the president at this time, he had little involvement in the Nuremberg Trials other than appointing Robert Jackson to take care of it. This was because he was still fighting the war against Japan, and had little time to deal with the trials, and he trusted Robert Jackson to be the effective United States representative in the trials. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had already laid out the foundation for international law and the involvement of the United States, so Harry Truman used this model, and Robert Jackson to push for the justice of the Nazi war criminals.
There was a judge appointed from each of the countries: Soviet Union, United States, Britain, and France. Each of the judges spoke a different language, which doesn't sound like a huge deal, but it made communicating less effective. Have you ever heard of the saying "lost in translation" well in the trials it very well could have been. All the countries spoke four different languages, and had to administer justice onto German-speaking defendants, so there was a ton of translating throughout the trials. This ultimately slowed down the process of the trials.
Evidence was not difficult to find for the Nuremberg Trials because they kept record of most everything; there were 47 crates of binders, 3,000 pounds of Nazi Party records, tons of diplomatic papers, 12 volumes of secret foreign policy conference records, and miles of film worth of evidence to help them convict the defendants. The hardest part of finding evidence was that eye witness accounts could not be used, because there was so much going on in the war that they might not necessarily be reliable, so they needed proof such as documents.
For the trials, there needed to be hard evidence against the officials to convict them of any of the crimes they committed. There were many prosecuting teams that searched for hard evidence, and one man was Benjamin Ferencz. He was a prosecutor during the trials, and he was in charge of collecting evidence for himself to use at Nuremberg. In the video to the right, Ferencz looks back 70 years and talks about finding the evidence in the concentration camps. To watch the full documentary over Benajmin Ferencz click this link. |
Benjamin Ferencz, the only surviving prosecutor talking about finding evidence (some graphic images)
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