Six million Jews and four to six million non-Jews were murdered over the course of the Second World War. With the defeat of the Nazi party in 1945 the Allied powers gathered to discuss the trial of Germans responsible for this horrific genocide. On August 8, 1945 France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States met in London and established the Charter of International Military Tribunal (IMT).
Since this was going to be the first international trial, many legal and procedural difficulties occurred. However, after much debate the Allies came to a compromise on how the trials would be executed. They would follow British and American law practices of employing prosecutors and defense attorneys but a panel of judges (rather than juries) would make the final verdicts, in accordance with French and Soviet practices. Defendants would be allowed to choose their own attorneys. Each country provided one judge, an alternate judge, and a prosecutor. The chief prosecutors were Robert H. Jackson for the U.S., Francois de Menthon of France, Roman A. Rudenko for the Soviet Union, and Sir Hartley Shawcross of Great Britain. This International Military Tribunal and the ensuing trials would set important historical precedents for international criminal law.
Nuremberg, located in the American zone of Germany, was chosen as the location of the trials for a few reasons. Firstly, the Palace of Justice remained relatively unharmed by the war allowing for a speedy start of the tribunals. It also contained a large prison area perfect for the soon-to-be German convicts. The Allies found the location fitting considering it had been the site of the major Nazi propaganda rallies and represented the termination of the Third Reich. Although the city was 91% destroyed by Allied powers during the war, the nicest hotel in town (the Grand Hotel) remained standing. It was used as lodging for the world press and court officers throughout the duration of the trials. Nuremberg was convenient, practical, and held symbolic meaning.
The IMT had the power to try anyone who committed crimes against peace (i.e. planning wars in violation of international agreements), crimes against humanity (i.e. persecution of civilians on religious, racial or political grounds) or war crimes (i.e. improper treatment of prisoners of war). The Allies indicted twenty-four Nazis who fit these criteria and prosecuted them during the Trial of Major War Criminals that lasted from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. Three of which (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler) never made it to the stand, having committed suicide before the completion of the war. Although Churchill favored execution of captured Nazis, American leaders convinced other Allied leaders that criminal trials with thorough documentation were necessary so there could be no repercussions or accusations of convictions without evidence. Stalin approved saying they would never execute men without a trial. That left twenty-one defendants to be tried.
During the opening months of the trials “prosecutors argued the criminality of various segments of the Nazi regime and sought to establish the guilt of individual defendants.” For example, Marie Claude Vallant-Coururier, one of the concentration camp victims to testify, told the court of the night she woke up to horrific cries. The Nazis had run out of gas for the chambers and had shoved children into furnaces, burning them alive. Another valuable piece of evidence was a film introduced by Soviet prosecutors that displayed German footage of cruel Nazi behavior. In one clip a boy was shot for refusing to give his pet dove to a SS man. After thirty-three witnesses and hundreds of articles of written evidence were presented, no one could deny that heinous crimes against humanity had been committed.
In the months that followed, lawyers argued in an attempt to free their client’s from conviction. Many of the defendants took the stand contending that they knew nothing about the existence of concentration camps or brutal nighttime murders. The most common argument was that they were simply following orders of higher command. (Although the IMT did not recognize the defense of superior orders.) Few defendants apologized for their actions or accepted blame. Architect Albert Speer was the most willing to accept his responsibility and participation in the Nazi agenda. Speer was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Another layer of complication during the trials was the language barrier. Judges, lawyers, and the accused spoke four different languages. The task of the IMT was to have fair and speedy trials and this meant traditional interpreters would not be good enough. IBM provided the technology (microphones and headsets) and recruited men and women from international telephone exchanges to provide simultaneous interpretation. This new technology was another precedent set with the Nuremberg Trials.
Of the twenty-one men to go to trial all but three were found guilty. Hans Fritzsche a radio commentator, Franz von Papen a former Chancellor of Germany and Dr. Hjalmar Schacht a banker and economist, were all acquitted. Unfortunately for them their freedom was short-lived; as soon as they were released from the IMT’s courts, German police arrested them for violations of German law. Of the accused-twelve were sentenced to death and hung on October 16, 1946 (besides Hermann Goring who committed suicide the night before his execution). One was tried in absentia and the rest received prison sentences ranging from ten years to life-in-prison. In addition to the twenty-four people indicted, seven Nazi organizations were accused of being criminal organizations. Of those seven, three (the Leadership Corps of the Nazi party, the Reich security system-“SD” and the secret police-“Gestapo”) were found guilty.
After the completion of the IMT's Nuremberg Trials, the U.S. military tribunal carried out twelve subsequent trials between 1946-1949. The defendants in these trials were divided into groups, mainly dependent on their participation in crimes and included: Nazi party members, doctors and medical workers, lawyers and industrialists. The most famous of these trials was the Doctors Trial in which twenty-three doctors and medical workers were charged with hideous torture, sick experimentation, and the murders of thousands of concentration camp captives and prisoners of war. Of the twenty-three defendants, sixteen were found guilty, seven of them were sentenced to death, and nine were given prison terms. In total, the Americans prosecuted 185 people during the military tribunals- twelve of which were sentenced to death. Eight received life behind bars and seventy-seven were given prison sentences.
The world was devastated by the death and destruction of WWII but the Nuremberg trials provided some form of justice to the Allied forces and to the Jewish community. The trials showed the Nazi defendants to be criminals, willing participants who subjected Jews to hateful and inhumane treatment. The courtroom was played out in global media coverage, which legitimized the death and concentration camps that the Third Reich had worked so hard to hide. The trials led to many improvements such as the United Nations' "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" (CPPCG) in 1948 and the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (UDHR) also in 1948. In addition, the trials were a huge advancement for the establishment of international law. They set a precedent for the trials of Japanese war criminals that took place in Tokyo from May 1946 to November 1948.
Similar to the IMT-the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) was established in Tokyo, Japan in 1946 to try Japanese war criminals. Back in July of 1945 China, Great Britain, and United States signed the Potsdam Declaration demanding for Japan’s “unconditional surrender” and declared that justice would be served to all criminals of war. Japan’s failure to retreat resulted in the dropping of atomic bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Finally, Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. It wasn’t until January 1946 that General Macarthur (the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in charge of dealing with Japan) established the IMTFE.
Comparable to the Nuremberg Charter, the IMTFE “laid out the composition, jurisdiction, and functions of the tribunal.” Judges were appointed, prosecution teams were laid out and the defendants were charged based on the same jurisdiction used by the IMT-crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Twenty-eight men, both civilians and military men, were brought to trial and all of them were found guilty (although three of them never made it to trial due to death or psychiatric issues). Seven were hung, sixteen were sentenced to life in prison and the remaining two had lesser punishments. Critics were shocked when all members of the imperial family including Emperor Hirohito escaped prosecution. The allied powers even allowed Hirohito to keep his position on the throne-although he became a mere figurehead with no real political power.
In the words of Joseph Keenan (the United States’ chief prosecutor at the Japanese trials), "war and treaty-breakers should be stripped of the glamour of national heroes and exposed as what they really are- plain, ordinary murderers." Rightfully, there are no memorials or statues commemorating Nazi war heroes but there are countless memorials in honor of their victims. The Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials brought worldwide attention to the atrocities of WWII and sadistic leaders, educating the masses who can learn from history. While courtroom justice cannot bring back the dead it may help the living who mourn their loss. Further, the trials were precedent setting for international criminal law and human rights.
I was fortunate to visit Nuremberg, Germany this past summer. Touring the bustling city now makes it hard to believe it was nearly devastated during WWII. It was somber and surreal to sit in Courtroom 600, the very room where the Nuremberg Trials were held. It is still used for jurisdiction but luckily court was not in session on the day I visited so I was able to enter. It was eerie to witness where so many noteworthy Nazi criminals were tried, imprisoned and sentenced to death. I must admit, it was difficult to visit Nuremberg; I had a sense of foreboding all day. However, I'm glad that I made the trip. It's important that we all remember and learn from the dark periods of our shared history, that is the only way we can live as global citizens and make sure we never repeat past mistakes.
Bibliography
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007722
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/nurembergACCOUNT.html
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/nuremberg