The Nuremberg Trials Essay example

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 trials held soldiers, civilians, Nazi party leaders and anyone who committed a serious crime during war accountable for their actions. The Nuremburg trials were proposed by the Allies and soon after in Moscow of 1943 a declaration to bring the Nazis to trial was signed by British, U.S, and Soviet Representatives. Two years later after many discussions a method to bring the trials called the London agreement was agreed upon and brought into place. (Vile, John R. "Nuremberg Trials.") Twenty-four major leaders of Germany were tried for various crimes including aggressive wat, general war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This was along with more than 100 defendants that choose to represent Germany (Library of Congress). There were 12 total trials called the “Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings” this included the Doctor’s Trial, Milch Trial, Judges’ Trial, Pohl Trial, Flick Trial, IG-Farben Trial, Hostages Trial, RuSHA trial, the Einsatzgruppen Trial, Krupp Trial, Wilhelmstrasse Trial, and the High Command Trial. These trials were separated to organize the trials and because of the large amount of people being tried. (Memorium Nuremberg Trials). Out of the 24 major war criminals, 12 were sentence to death. Many plead guilty to the accusations held against them and many also claimed that they were just following orders of their high leaders. The

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.

At the time of the Nuremberg trials, “crimes against humanity” were new international crimes. The laws criminalized such acts as murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any

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,

The Nuremburg Trials were trials held by allied forces to accuse a system of government for war crimes after World War II. These crimes dealt with invading nations, violating the Treaty of Versailles, and primarily “crimes against humanity.” They were later known as the Holocaust, where many victims were deported, enslaved, and executed. The victims of the Holocaust were primarily Jewish, Polish, Gypsies, and handicapped elderly who were considered dangerous. The International Military Tribunal, called the prosecutors consisted of lawyers and judges from the United States, France, and Soviet Union. The purpose of the trial was to decide how to prosecute the judges that did not do their job of serving justice to a multitude of innocent individuals

In Nuremburg, Germany, 13 trials were held in order to bring justice to Nazi war criminals from 1945 to 1949. The United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union contributed to the persecution of 22 Nazi Criminals in which 12 were sentenced to death. Nazi Party officials, high-ranking military officers, German industrialists, lawyers, and doctor’s defendants were charged with crimes against peace and humanity for their treacherous persecution of German-Jewish people and other horrid things the Axis Powers took part of. The crimes started very shortly after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party created strategies to persecute the German-Jewish people along with others who were an alleged

Towards the end of World War II ally powers began to come across concentration camps which housed what the Nazi’s deemed the “undesirables” mainly people of the Jewish faith, gypsies, Russians, polish, the mentally disabled, and the physically impaired. What happened in these camps is one of the most appalling events in world history which would become to be known as the Holocaust. Approximately eleven million people died in the Holocaust due to malnourishment, slave labor, extermination, and medical experimentation (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). These were so heinous that allied powers took the Nazi members to international court for crimes against humanity, which became to be known as the Nuremburg Trials (Duhaime's Law Dictionary).

The trial attracted a lot of public recognition in Germany, but considered Fritz Bauer; who played a significant role as a Judge and prosecutor on the trails, was quoted to say that the trials in a macro-scale was a failure. Only 22 SS members were charged, with an estimate of 6,000 to 8,000 who were thought to have been involved in the administration and operation of the camp. Six officials received life sentences, and many others were given long sentences. However, several were given on average 3-7 years and it is documented that four were acquitted and released. It was the first time individuals responsible for the Nazi's methods of exterminating Jews and people of other minorities were brought before national courts in Germany. In my focus, I would also like to show emphasis on the 360 witnesses who were called to testify, of which 210 were survivors of the Holocaust and the Hitler

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.

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

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) consisted of a large variety of different persons representing different countries. The Tribunal's sheer size and complexity is an example of an un-needed redundancy that among today’s standards is unfathomable. When compared to its counterpart at Nuremberg, one can determine the seemingly comprehensive and complete proceedings as oddly overbearing. The Tokyo Trials "lasted three times longer than the Trial of the Major German War Criminals. It involved at least 230 translators and 237 Prosecution and Defense lawyers." The hypocritical aspects involve the methods and procedures in which the IMTFE operated. It was established in order to prosecute war criminals, allowing for the justice system to take on its role. Yet the IMTFE has set its own rules and standards, decided what evidence , however crucial, may or may not be entered as exhibits. The lack of a complete and fair trial existed not only in the admittance or the one sided

As can be seen, The Nuremberg Trials had many impacts on the world and also the future. They had bought Nazi’s to justice and the trials had saved many lives. The Nuremberg Trials impact had launched World War II but in this process, they had eliminated many Nazi’s. The trials had lasted 218 days in all. Some of the prison sentences they had were turned into death sentences while some death sentences were turned into a death