The Nuremberg Trials: A Necessary Evil

These were the Nuremberg Trials, and they were specifically set up to prosecute the top level of members of the nazi party and military commanders that were responsible for the genocide and murder of the Jewish race or crimes against humanity and peace. The “Nuremberg Trials are now regarded as a milestone toward the establishment of a permanent international court.” (History) This was the first time that the international community set up a court for a specific event only. It did not hear other cases or issues. Its sole focus was on Germany behavior during WWII. We also set up similar courts in Tokyo after WWII, as well as a court for the mass killings in Rwanda in 1994 that judged those responsible for this

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 tribunal was begun by asking the four defendants whether they were guilty or not, and they replied no. The prosecutor, Colonel Lawson, accused that they were guilty as they were part of NAZI’s

A fair trial was supposed to be given to the men and women to rightly accuse them of crimes they could’ve potentially done. “The SS then condemned him to death, him and two other inmates who had been found to possess arms,” (Wiesel p.64) The Germans completely ignored the phrase “Innocent until proven guilty” because they really based their decisions off of their feelings and assumptions. No real investigations were carried out or performed. Many Jews died based off of German rule and opinion.

Most people know of Hitler being the leader of the nazis and “leading” the war on Jews, but in documents it states that he justedx signed off on it because it was brought up by one of his second in command and one of his most trusted people, but before he could be put on trial Hitler ended his life in his bunker so that he couldn't be captured. So the Nuremberg trials consisted of Rudolf Hess, Joachim Freiherr, Dr. Wilhelm Frick, Heinrich Himmler and many more these names are just some of the biggest because they were all his most trusted comrades. All together they were charged with the genocide of Jews, gypsies, gays, and many more. They were also charged with crimes against peace by invading other countries and taking total control of them, they were also charged with crimes against humanity because of the gruesome and awful ways they treated people and how they killed people and they were also charged with conspiracy to commit such crimes all of these charges are major charges mainly resulting in the death penalty due to the nature of the crimes the only one that wasn't worth the death penalty was the conspiracy to commit because they had planned on what they were doing and hadn't even started it yet. Making this one of the many ways that helped them figure there death toll for the Jews. All of these men were killed because of their crimes and for the role they had in the mass

According to Justice Lawrence, author, the purpose of the Nuremberg Trials, later known as the Doctor’s Trial, was to “not only the punishment of those who were guilty but the establishment of the supremacy of international law over national law and proof of the actual facts” (Lawrence, p. 153) of the atrocious mass genocide known now as the Holocaust. This means that point of these trials were not only to punish the murderous doctors but also to show the world that international law is the highest form of power. A separate form of trials initially took place in Germany, however, it was a “farce” according to Lawrence. “The majority got off and such sentences as were inflicted were derisory and were soon remitted” (Lawrence, p. Yo27153). Due to the growing tension between the German court of law and other countries the Doctor’s Trial was then moved to Nuremberg, and the evidence was eventually over-turned to the United States who would eventually indict 23 doctors on a number of crimes

The allied forces formed the Nuremberg Tribunal, these forces included the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and France. These nations had announced that they would began grueling the Nazi’s in the winter of 1945. The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union were the first to officially announced on december 17, 1942 that they wanted to litigate those who were responsible for the mass murders of the Jewish people. On October 1943 the Moscow Declaration was signed and this said that the criminal would be sent to their country and the country would take care of charging them accordingly to their laws. The Nuremberg trials officially began in Nuremberg, Germany on November 20, 1945 . Germany had surrendered just six months prior to the trials. Each one of the nations supplied a judge and a prosecution team in the trial (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). The Nazi’s could be charged with one or many of the four accounts: Conspiracy, Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes,

As World War II began to come to a close, one question remained on the minds of the Allies: What were they going to do with the Nazi leaders that had inflicted so much pain and suffering on the world? There were multiple stances taken by each country and their leaders. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviets, as well as the United States of America both proposed the idea of a fair trial for the war criminals. However, on the other hand, men like Winston Churchill believed summary justice, a system that punishes offenders quickly, excluding a court hearing or jury, was the correct way to deal with them.

I believe this is true and I find it amusing how the Nazis took the law and judgement upon themselves and punished the Jews with authority they didn’t have, and then all but 3 of the 21 who pleaded “not guilty” were convicted. In my opinion, it is crazy how some of the defendants could deny their unjust and atrocious actions when put on trial. In fact, I would want to be punished. Finally, in regards to the outcome, while I wish the 3 that were not convicted were somehow punished, I feel that because of their actions, their thoughts and memories would punish them. Also, while it seems the guilty party deserves the death penalty, is it really the place of man to decide when a person’s life is over? Perhaps life in prison or life in a work camp would be suitable, but, in my opinion, it isn’t the right of man to end the life of another. All in all, I believe the Nuremberg Trials were well handled by Robert Jackson and the other

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

On 8th August, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II in May of 1945, the Allied governments entered into a joint agreement establishing the International Military Tribunal for the purpose of trying those responsible for the war atrocities. Whereas some 5,000 Nazi’s were charged with war crimes, the Nuremberg trials were designed specifically to prosecute high ranking Nazi officials with whom the authority for the commission of heinous atrocities rested.

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

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.