The Nuremberg Trials

Nuremberg Trials Trials to prosecute members of the Nazi Party for War Crimes.

1st Nuremberg Trial It was entitled the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, which tried the 21 most important leaders of Nazi Germany. began on November 20, 1945. Hitler and two of his top associates, Heinrich Himmler (1900-45) and Joseph Goebbels (1897-45), had each committed suicide in the spring of 1945 before they could be brought to trial. 

Hermann Goring

These were the charges… 1. Count One: “conspiracy to wage aggressive war,” addressed crimes committed before the war officially began. 2. Count Two: “waging an aggressive war,” addressed the undertaking of war in violation of international treaties. 3. Count Three: “war crimes,” addressed more traditional violations of the laws of war, including the killing or mistreatment of prisoners of war and the use of outlawed weapons. 4. Count Four: “crimes against humanity,” addressed the crimes committed against Jews, ethnic minorities, physically and mentally disabled persons, civilians in occupied countries, and others.

2nd Nuremberg Trial 2nd: for lesser war criminals, was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10, at the U.S. Nuremberg Military Tribunals.

“I was just following orders”

“That was the tragedy. Not that one man had the courage to be evil “That was the tragedy. Not that one man had the courage to be evil. But that millions had not the courage to be good.” John Fowles

Results: 18 defendants were convicted on one or more counts and three were found not guilty. 12 defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. 3 were sentenced to life imprisonment 3 were acquitted And 4 others were given prison sentences of 10 to 15 years. After 216 court sessions, on October 1, 1946, the verdict on 22 of the original 24 defendants was handed down. (Robert Ley committed suicide while in prison, and Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach’s mental and physical condition prevented his being tried.) Three of the defendants were acquitted: Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen, and Hans Fritzsche. Four were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years: Karl Dönitz, Baldur von Schirach, Albert Speer, and Konstantin von Neurath. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment: Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk, and Erich Raeder. Twelve of the defendants were sentenced to death by hanging. Ten of them—Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Alfred Rosenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart—were hanged on October 16, 1946. Martin Bormann was tried and condemned to death in absentia(missing), and Hermann Göring committed suicide before he could be executed.

Ten men were hanged in November 1946 Ten men were hanged in November 1946. One of those sentenced to death committed suicide just hours before his scheduled execution.

Legacy International Law Human Rights & Genocide Conventions Code of Medical Ethics Enforcement Mechanisms & Tribunals Models of Bringing Individual Perpetrators to Justice Deportations to Home Countries for Justice Vocabulary: War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Models: International Criminal Court, War Crimes Trials, Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Nuremberg Charges The Common Plan or Conspiracy Crimes Against Peace War Crimes Crimes Against Humanity Peace: Planning, preparation, initiation or waging a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances. War Crimes: Violations of the laws or customs of war – murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, villages or towns, or devastation not justified by military necessity. Humanity: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war; or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated. Begin to see principles whereby other war crimes, war reparations and reconciliation commissions have operated. No mention of genocide.

(from his opening statement) The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated. … Justice Jackson (from his opening statement)

Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, President, Opening Remarks Why Trials? The Trial which is now about to begin is unique in the history of the jurisprudence of the world and it is of supreme importance to millions of people all over the globe. Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, President, Opening Remarks Create precedents in international law Create moral precedents Collate historical record Precedent: Always look to the past to make decisions for the future. Also wanted to send a message to future Hitlers. Plain: We will not descend to their level – a political solution as advocated by Churchill and Stalin. Wanted to have them found guilty through due process. Milosovec and Hussein trials are and will be an example. Collate: Nazi paper trail massive – becomes a record for historians, teachers and future generations. Foresaw era of Hol. Denial – same reason Eisenhower filmed camp liberations. Important lesson for future generations – everything was planned – Wannsee Conference, Mein Kampf, etc. Wanted to send a signal that if people are planning and talking, it will happen. Goring also understood this – wanted to give Nazi perspective. Hence his memoirs in prison and his active defense of the “least bloody revolution in history.” Milosevic is also doing this – has media and technology tools – playing to a hometown crowd, trial is live in Serbia.

Procedural Innovations International Tribunal Individuals Tried States do not commit crimes; individuals do No Immunity for Heads of State, etc. First time an international tribunal convened to prosecute perpetrators in international law. Prior to this: domestic. Until then, international law did not recognize individuals, only countries. This meant that individuals did not have human rights – no inherent dignity and worth by virtue of being human. Human rights until then did not exist. In individual countries, immunities are respected – sovereign and independent. No state can subjugate another state or its reps. to its laws. But an international tribunal has no reciprocity rules.

Substantive Innovations Established Crimes Against Humanity as a charge: mass crimes – murder, torture, (rape) Established Crime of Genocide A new order of magnitude Was not a charge but was being articulated by a man named Raphael Lemkin

Shortcomings First time Ad hoc – for a particular purpose Need a permanent tribunal to be effective, not subject to political whims and current politics ICC 6/98 Not all sides were investigated Victors’ justice E.g. Malmedy Massacre – POW’s shot during the Battle of the Bulge

Defense Retrospective Law-making Superior Orders Crimes Against Humanity didn’t exist until 1946 Cannot legislate retrospectively – unfair and wrong. A person is entitled to act if it is not illegal – there should be no surprises. However, Tribunal unearthed rationale behind this – Nazis should not be surprised. Looked at internal legal systems and state practices which set precedents for international laws. Without exception, every single state outlawed murder, even Germany, throughout WWII. So defendants could not have been taken by surprise. Superior Orders: Anticipated this defense – SO could not be invoked as an exculaptry defense – the major 22 defendayst GAVE the orders. Tribunal developed spectrum based on moral choice – the greater the choice, the less SO counted. There were gradations, and a spectrum was recognized – sensible way to deal with human behavior.

So … Nuremberg Trials closed the circle … International Law prevailed Message sent International Law prevailed against a regime that held international law in contempt A loud and strong message that there is a higher law above national legal systems that could hold leaders to account AND the people who took their orders

Never Again?

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