Why the Nuremberg Trials controversial? Were they fair? Edward Le Brocque
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.
It didn’t go how it was supposed to
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As some trials only resulted in a 10 or 20 year imprisonment, and 3 of the defendants were eventually acquitted of all punishment. The families of people that were killed by the Nazi Party believed that “they should not be allowed to escape with the plea Macbeth offered for Banquo’s murder”, meaning that the Nazi leaders should all suffer for the pain that they have
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.
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
Post World War II, many Nazi leaders were put on trial by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. At the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials Speer was charged with, conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Twelve out of twenty-one accused Nazi leaders were sentenced to death. Speer was found guilty but he was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment, thus escaping the hangman’s noose. Historian Van der Vat
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 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
This article provides information on the trials for the accused war criminals during WW2. There are few pictures, and the author is unknown. They give some detail about how the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union helped play part in the persecution of the war criminals. It talks about the reasons many were prosecuted and what happened to most of the war criminals after liberation. This article also gives the outcome of the trials. The article is great for someone who is writing a paper on the holocaust, and the initial website where the article is located is a creditable source.
The trial and conviction of Hermann Goering, Hitler’s chosen successor, was arguably one of the most significant cases due to the tremendous amount of influence that Goering had over the German people (Taylor, 78). Overy asserted that, the success of the entire trial depended upon Goering’s cross-examinations, as its outcome had the power to either reignite Nazi pride or put a stop to it once and for all (Walker, 68). This makes the cross-examinations some of the most decisive pieces of evidence for these trials, much more than any of the psychological factors that may have led to the outcome (Overy-Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial). The cross-examinations were led by two individuals, Justice Robert Jackson and Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe. According to
The two remaining leaders of the Nazi party, tried at Nuremberg, were Hermann Goering and Rudolf Hess. Since Hitler, Himmler and Gobbels were dead, these two men were considered the symbol of the evils of Nazism. Although prosecutors sought to cross-examining both men to tell all they knew about the Nazi's policies, Goering tried from the beginning, to discredit the International Military Tribunal and the trials. Hess, on the other hand, feigned amnesia and avoided being cross-examined. Other defendants tried at Nuremberg were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Field Marshall Wihelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenburg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick. These men were considered "Nazi thugs" and their trials did not last as long and were not seen as
Back in the times of the Holocaust, after the war took place, some of those who were responsible for the crimes committed, were taken to trial. Those trials took place on 1945 and 1946 in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nuremberg trials conveyed to open consideration the most noticeably bad of the Nazi abominations. “Judgment at Nuremberg” breathes life into those trials. Right up until today, the Nuremberg trials remain as a model for universal criminal tribunals, due in huge measure to the spotlight tossed at them by Mann's emotional translation of the notable occasions. Mann's staggering sympathy strikes at the heart of human, enduring his accomplishment has been to reaffirm humankind and equity in the wake of unspeakable malice; as the world remembers
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
“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.
The Nuremberg Trials was a series of 13 trials that lasted from 1945-1946. Twenty-four individuals were held responsible for the holocaust. Three committed suicide before they could be put on trial. These three individuals were named, Adolf hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels. Also, Hitler’s wife committed suicide with him. This all took place in the year of 1945.
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
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 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