Process Essay: Effects Of The Nuremberg Trials On The Holocaust

Effects of The Nuremberg Trials

There’s a lot to know about the holocaust. The biggest DISCREPENCY was what happened to the Nazi soldiers who were involved in the holocaust? “It was entitled the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, which tried the most important leaders of Nazi Germany,” ("Nuremberg Trials Project -- Introduction"). The Nuremberg Trials had a huge effect on the aftermath of World War II. This was the solution to punish the war criminals for what they’ve done. While it didn't get everyone tried, it got a very large portion of the higher ups of the Nazi regime. The Nuremberg Trials was a great precedent to be looked at and has created a bond between the Great Nations of the United States, the British, Soviet Union and the French.

The Nuremberg Trials took place in Nuremberg, Germany. Trials began in 1945 and continued into 1946; they lasted roughly two years, trying war criminals and give them varying punishments. At the beginning of the trial, 24 Nazi officials lined up for their trial. But even after this time period, they went on as they collected more criminals from hiding. Shortly after the war, people

known as Nazi Hunters came about. The goal of these individuals is to search for supposed Nazi’s. Once they are found, the hunters will begin to gather information to charge you against in trial. These people often traveled to places such as Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina and many were even found living in popular cities in the U.S. such as new york where many were found.

The Nuremberg Trials CASTIGATED the Nazi’s for their crimes and decimated them for what they have done. “In all, 142 of the 185 defendants were found guilty,” ("Nuremberg Trials Project -- Introduction"); even though “Many more criminals were never tried,” (“The Nuremberg Trials”). After the fall of the Nazi’s in germany, many of them tried to escape their fate by traveling to other countries, do you blame them for trying to escape? When the trials came about, the man to blame most could not be found and we now know that he committed suicide (“The Nuremberg Trials”). A bulk of the leaders behind the Nazi’s commited suicide as a scapgoat to their trial and what they had coming to them (Austin).

The trials would have been a more known part of history if the leader of the nazi party, Adolf Hitler, hadn’t committed suicide. Taking place in a bunker below the Berlin sewer system, two days before Jackson's appointment, Adolf Hitler shot himself (Austin). At the time we did not know about this so the trials of Nuremberg didn’t last one day but it went on for over two years, gathering and convicting the criminals (Doug Linder). The trials were an idea thought about “Near the end of the war, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the War Department to devise a plan for bringing war criminals to justice,” ("Nuremberg Trials Project -- Introduction").

The group of judges leading the trial were from different locations, which make up the great nations now. ”Raphael Lemkin, the youngest of the three, was born in 1900 in the village of Bezwodene, some 250 kilometers northeast of Warsaw in what was then the Russian Empire, later became eastern Poland, and is now in the state of Belarus,” (Murrus); The middle age judge “Lauterpacht, certainly the most famous of our three at the time, is considered by many to have been the founder of the modern discipline of international law,” (Murrus); “Robinson, the eldest of the three, was born in 1889 in the Lithuanian village of Seirijay (pronounced Saray) and studied law at the University of Warsaw,” (Murrus).

Under the judges stood many chief prosecutors were I NSTRUMENTAL in the process of The Nuremberg Trials but who were these people?

“The four chief prosecutors of the International Military Tribunal (IMT)—Robert H. Jackson (United States), Francois de Menthon (France), Roman A. Rudenko (Soviet Union), and Sir Hartley Shawcross (Great Britain)—hand down indictments against 24 leading Nazi officials,” (“The Nuremberg Trials”). Alongside the judges stood A prosecutorial staff of over 600 Americans plus additional hundreds from the other three powers assembled and began interviewing potential witnesses and identifying documents from among the 100,000 captured for the prosecution case,” (Doug Linder). This was a time in history that really brought together the great nations and made them what they are

today.

Some people would disagree that the trial was completely irrelevant and should not have happened in the first place; these people believed that instead of giving them a trial, they should have been killed immediately when found. Other people such as rights activist would say that it is inhuman to kill an individual because it will make you just like them. Lastly, the people that would rather have someone rot in prison or have done to them what they did to others rather than be sent to immediate death as a punishment. Under the sixth amendment, everyone deserves a right to a fair trial which was believed by the Great Nations because they are formed around a democracy, so why be against it?

Through the PUTRID of the trials, a strong bond between the four nations of the United States, England, France and the Soviet Union was created. In conclusion, it just amazes me that the trials that took place in Nuremberg, Germany aren't more known to the general population. Everyone at this point should know about the tragedy of the holocaust, and everyone should also know the punishment of their wrong doing. If the leader of the Nazi party was present during the trials, it would be a less overlooked topic. Within the diversity of the judges they made a decision on how to go about resolving and penalizing the Nazi criminals. To sum everything up, If the devastation of World War II hadn’t of happened it’s hard to say if the great nations would have even occurred.