Nuremberg Trials

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The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals that took place from November 20, 1954 to October 1, 1946. They were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany was responsible for the Holocaust, a program of genocide that consisted of “the deliberate annihilation of approximately 6 million European Jews before and during WWII” (Seltzer 512). As Telford Taylor, the Chief Counsel for War Crimes, wrote in 1949, “Nuremberg has been both hailed as a milestone in the evolution of international law and morality, and condemned as a wreaking of vengeance by the perversion of justice.” The legacy these trials leave behind is complex, and begs us to question our humanity and the laws that define our society. What was discovered in Nuremberg proves to be a chilling reminder of what the human mind is capable of and the weakness of the human psyche. Even the most seemingly normal person can be corrupted and manipulated by their thirst for power or their obedience to the status quo.
Though the Trials showed the world that the establishment of a permanent international court with common laws was necessary, they are sometimes criticized because they accused people of war crimes and crimes against humanity before this legal commonality between nations was established. Since the crimes were only considered “crimes” after they were committed, are the charges against the leaders of Nazi Germany fair? As Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was sentenced to death at Nuremberg, said, “A few years from now the lawyers of the world will condemn this trial. You can’t have a trial without law.” Conceptually, persecuting men who were not breaking any existing laws i...

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...Trial: Was It the Jewish Nuremberg?" Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 34 (2012): 301-13. Digital Commons at LMU and LLS. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Kirsch, Stefan. "The Two Notions of Genocide: Distinguishing Macro Phenomena and Individual Misconduct." Creighton Law Review (2008): 347-60. Web.
Bloxham, Donald. "From the International Military Tribunal to the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings: The American Confrontation with Nazi Criminality Revisited." The Journal of the Historical Association (2013): 568-91. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Taylor, Telford. "Nuremberg Trials- Synthesis and Projection." Information Bulletin 31 May 1949: 3-6. Print.
Fournet, Caroline, and Clotilde Pégorier. "'Only One Step Away From Genocide': The Crime of Persecution in International Criminal Law." International Criminal Law Review 10 (2010): 713-38. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

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