The Influence Of The Nuremberg Trial On International Criminal Law

One event that encouraged Anti-Semitism and increased tensions leading up to Kristallnacht and beyond was the announcement of the Nuremberg Laws in September of 1935. This set of laws created by the Nazi party made sharp distinctions between the rights and privileges of Germans and Jews (Sigward 291). This redefined citizenship in the Third Reich and laid the groundwork for a racial state. For example, the Reich of Citizenship Law stripped Jews of their citizenship, claiming they didn’t have “German blood” (Sigward 291). Those of Jewish descent were denied the right to vote and the ability to obtain a valid passport or visa to leave the country. This law completely dehumanized Jews living in Germany and made them stateless, which caused those of the Aryan race or pure German descent to feel superior. In the Nuremburg Laws, Article 5 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law defined a Jew as a descendant of three or more Jewish grandparents or two Jewish parents (Sigward 293). These laws lead to the Jews being persecuted for who they were, rather than the faith they believed during previous years. As a result of these laws being carried out, German nationalism and Anti-Semitism across the Reich increased drastically .

The Nuremberg Trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany from the 20th of November 1945 to the 1st of October 1946, 24 of the Nazi leaders were tried for their crimes against humanity, however only 22 trials were officially carried out due to Robert Ley committing suicide and Gustav Krupp von Bohlen deemed unfit for trial before their hearing. It was considered to be controversial as all Nazi officials at one time claimed that they were simply following orders from a higher power and that they weren’t to blame for their crimes because they were acting in self defence. Hermann Göring also committed suicide the day before his scheduled execution. Also a few of Hitler’s accomplices committed suicide before they had a chance to be trialled. These adjustments to the expected outcome of the Nuremberg Trials caused controversy amongst everyone who knew of the Nazi’s treatment of others, especially Jews. There was also some bias towards the Nazi party from the people conducting the trial as they were mostly from Allied descent and had personal reasons to persecute Nazis simply because they were Nazis without fairly considering their crimes against humanity.

The main goal of the Nazis pertaining to the European Jews was that of total extermination. At the yearly party rally held in Nuremberg in 1935, the Nazis announced new laws which regulated a large number of the racial speculations common in Nazi philosophy. Two distinct laws passed in Nazi Germany in September 1935 are referred to on a whole as the Nuremberg Laws: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Assurance of German Blood and German Honor. These laws epitomized large portions of the racial hypotheses supporting Nazi philosophy. They would give the legitimate structure to the orderly abuse of Jews in Germany. The laws rejected German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood." Ancillary ordinances to the laws disenfranchised Jews and denied them of most political rights.

Injustice can be found everywhere in the world. It is in every household, every school, and every workplace. Examples of beliefs changing during adversity are shown in, The Nuremberg Trials, Gang Rape by Stephanie Chen, Perils of obedience by Stanley Milgram, Pearl Harbor Echoes In Seattle by Monica Sone, and the book Night by Elie Wiesel. In all these articles, Most of the time, it is people who cause injustice on others. But some choose to take a stand while others choose to participate. Participating can be a product of pressure and fear from others. Injustice on people can easily be prevented or eliminated as long as society has the courage to stand up for what is right and that people do not rely on other people to act first.

Adolf Hitler organized the most inhumane killing operation that the world has ever seen. Adolf Hitler, the Final Solution, and eventually the Nuremberg Trials together make up three of the most important aspects of the Holocaust. Before Hitler became the dictator of Germany, he obtained his anti-semitism from his political teachers. Afterwards, he used his knowledge and hatred to attempt to exterminate all Jewry from Germany. This process was known as the Final Solution. The Final Solution was Hitler’s attempt at exterminating the Jewish population in Europe. He was so dedicated to this task that it surmounted winning the war itself. Finally, the main opposition of the legitimacy of the Holocaust comes from neo nazis who believe that

The Nuremberg Doctor’s trial of 1946 involves human experimentation performed by the Nazi doctors. These physicians were accused of conducting torturous “experiments” with concentration camp inmates. During these studies, physicians conducted treatments that were not permitted and caused severe injuries to the participants, and in some cases, participants died as a result of this. Prisoners were left to freeze to study more on hypothermia. Later, during December 9th, 1946 to August 20th, 1947 representatives establish a Nuremberg trial to prosecuted these doctors for the atrocities that they committed and 23 out 15 were found guilty. As a result, the Nuremberg code was created to

The Nuremberg Doctors Trial of 1946 is the preeminent case recognizing the importance of medical ethics and human rights specifically about human research subjects. The defendants in the trials include Nazi leadership, physicians, and investigators prosecuted for conducting unethical and inhumane medical experiments on civilians and prisoners of war resulting in extreme pain, suffering, permanent injury and often death. The Nuremberg Code, borne of these trials, establishes ethical guidelines for human experimentation to ensure the rights of subjects in medical research. Herein, this writer will first identify and discuss ethical dilemmas presented in the Nuremberg case followed by three

This paper seeks to canvass the legacy of the Nuremberg Trial; the legal justifications and procedural innovations that were once controversial and which through the turn of the century have now come to be regarded as a milestone towards the application of principles of international law, establishment of a permanent international criminal court enshrined under the Rome Statute and setting new precedents for the international community. Furthermore, the author seeks to juxtapose the legal and political justifications given for the

The conflict between the Allies and the Axis was a horrific and deadly one, which consisted of genocide and mass bombings. Innocent citizens were killed with the estimated sixty million casualties, which lead to the question as to the morality of the different actors—Germany, Japan, England and America— in WWII. In order to truly assess their guilt, meaning their moral innocence, each country will be measured upon the morality of their intent and execution of the different controversial mass killings that Germany (the Holocaust), Japan (Nanking), and the Allied forces (Dresden and Hiroshima) took part in. This hierarchy of evil can be judged upon how Japan’s tyranny and the Allies’ area bombing compare to the genocide performed by Germany. Similarly, these countries will be judged on the whether these different acts were premeditated versus in response to another act, as well as the proportionality to which these acts were carried out. This measurement of evil places each party on an overall scale, which depicts the total guilt that each country or countries deserve. WWII exemplifies that while war is an unavoidable aspect of human nature, there is no such thing as a just war. Similarly, while there is a definite hierarchy of morality between the different actors of WWII, each of the countries at play are immoral in their intent and execution of the attacks on opposing countries.

“The first German law was the Reich Citizenship Law, which meant that people who are German, or related blood, are the people that got to enjoy.” It was a law that gave Germans privileges that not everyone could have (“What were the Nuremberg Laws?”, 1). The law was only applied to true Germans, the ones who were 100% Germans by blood. German-Jews were not considered “true Germans,” when discrimination against Jews took off; “German- Jews had lost their status as a citizen” (“What were the Nuremberg Laws?”, 1). This law was to forbid Jews of being a Reich Citizen. All of the Jewish rights were gone, “Jews could not have a right in voting in Political matters, and they could no longer occupy a public office because of their religion” (“What were the Nuremberg Laws?”, 1).

More than half a century has passed since the end of World War Two and to this day it is still difficult to fully understand the severity of what was by far the most destructive war in human history. More than sixty million people were killed during World War Two and more than half of those were innocent town’s people. Among the dead were over six million Jews, which was two thirds of the total living race in Europe at the time. Beyond these general statistics were thousands of stories of crimes committed against soldiers and civilians. These crimes against humanity included cases of prisoners of war being murdered, sent to concentration camps and abuse as well as harmless civilians being rounded up and

. "The Triumph of Hitler: The Nuremberg Laws." The History Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2013.

Tens of thousands of people have been tortured, killed, or experimented on for unfair and unjust reasons. Some of the people didn’t sign up for what they thought it was and were manipulated into the situations. Others were forced upon the inhuman cruelties that no person should ever have to endeavor. Without the Nuremberg Code, tons of unethical experiments were being conducted. The Nuremberg Code is a very important document in regulating all scientific research for the better of humans now, and in the future.

The Nuremberg Trials were a critical point in the history of international law because it established the fact that humanity has the need of an international shield to shelter and protect. This event was responsible for contributing in the ongoing process of developing rules that are binding between states and nations also known as international laws. The judgment of the trials may be one of the most important events in the history of international law due to the fact that it assisted in establishing laws against war crimes. One of the biggest questions raised was whether causing a war was an international crime that would be punishable or not. Many believed there was no

“If we bear all this suffering and if there are still Jews left, when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, will be held up as an example.” Anne Frank, a holocaust survivor had once said that. The Nuremberg Trials had many Nazi’s killed during the process. The Jews had been suffering during the Holocaust and then it was the Nazi’s turn. The Nuremberg Trials had either left the Nazi’ alive but in prison or completely dead. The Nuremberg Trials had many impacts on the world and also the future. Firstly, the Nuremberg Trials were held during 1945 to 1946. Secondly, the trials had devastated their reputation. Lastly, there is Nazi’s still alive today but most of them are dead.