preview

Nuremberg Trials In Criminal History

Decent Essays

“Laws control the lesser man… Right conduct controls the greater one (Plato).” World War II was the deadliest conflict in world history, on and off the battlefield. The genocide performed by Nazi Germany was something that had never been seen before, and shocked mankind across the world. This atrocious behavior punished those for what they believed in, in the most inhumane ways possible. The trials that followed, which made those who participated in this behavior answer for their actions, were some of the most historic trials in legal history, not just because of what was being judged, but also because of the viewpoints that came about because of them. The Nuremberg Trials, which occurred in Germany, were viewed across the world with opposing …show more content…

These trials were taken into account with the formation of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions, as well as influencing documents written by NATO. These are all major organizations focused on enforcing international law today. They also showed that humans have rights under international laws that cannot be violated by any state. This means that if a country has a law in place that goes against international law, leaders of that country can be prosecuted because of it. Society also took into consideration the mistakes made during these trials, and used them as a building block on how to approach future trials.The Nuremberg Trials also helped defined crimes against humanity. While genocide had occurred before the trials occurred, it was never to the extent Nazi Germany took this horror too. Now, international law defines crimes against humanity as “Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime” (Rosen). And these trials come into consideration in how we approach prosecute those accused of war crimes

Get Access