Nuremberg Trials Essays - War Crimes, International Criminal Law

Nuremberg Trials After World War II, numerous war-crimes trials tried and convicted many Axis leaders. Judges from Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States tried twenty-two Nazi leaders for: crimes against humanity (mostly about the Holocaust), violating long-established rules of war, and waging aggressive war. This was known as the ?Nuremberg Trials.? Late in 1946, the German defendants were indicted and charged before a war crimes tribunal at Nuremberg(Shairo, 4). Twenty of the defendants were physicians who stood at or near the top of the medical authority of the Third Reich, as governmental, military, or SS officials. The others had executive positions, which brought them close to connections with medical affairs. It all started when people heard about the Nazi's in human acts, just about four months after World War II started. No one would believe that such a thing would happen. While the people were thinking like that the Jews were being shipped out of the country, some Jews were being put in working camps or farms. This was the beginning of the Final Solution of the Holocaust. On August 8 the London Agreement was signed. They later named it the International Military Tribunal (IMT), having 8 judges. This was made so that they would try to stop the Nazi crimes. They had additional Nuremberg hearings that were broken down into twelve trials. In connection with these trials, the U.S. military tribunals had thirty-five defendants and released nineteen of them because they could find anything to get them on. They made Nuremberg Laws because of Hitler's concentration camps and his other inhuman acts(Gutman, 142_). He didn't go by the lead system, he made himself the Supreme Judge. Hitler could imprison or execute anyone he wanted to. He made laws keeping Jews out of certain public places or jobs. He wouldn't let Jews have German citizenship. The Nuremberg Laws stated that there would be no more inhumane acts or segregation of Jews. One of the positive sides of the Nuremberg incident was the trials documented Nazi crimes for future generations. Many citizens of the world remember hearing about the Nazi's brutalities and inhuman acts. Hundreds of official Nazi documents entered into evidence at Nuremberg telling the horrible tale of the Third Reich in the Nazi's own words. Six million Jews, and others not liked by the Nazis were killed. Not one convicted Nazi denied that the mass killing had occurred. Each denied only personal knowledge and responsibility. The negative things that happened at Nuremberg were the establishment of the International Military Tribunal to lead to a permanent counterpart before which crimes against humanity can be tried. Within Twenty-four wars between nations and ninety-three civil wars between 1945 and 1992, no international body had been gathered to try aggressor nations or individuals accused of war crimes(Conot). Despite the reluctance of nations to unite in common cause and move swiftly toward a lasting road to aggression, hope yes abides for the best of Nuremberg's brightest promise. The world had a problem of what to do about the Nazi regime that had presided over the extermination of some six million Jews and deaths of millions of others with no basis in military necessity. Never before in history had the victors tried the vanquished for crimes committed during a war. Though, never in history had they commit crimes of such inhumanity. The International Military Tribunal held to the principle that persons committing a criminal violation of international law are responsible for violation, on the grounds that crimes of this nature are the result of their own acts. The tribunal thought for crimes carried out on orders from above, since many of the crimes had been committed in one with the Reich policy. The International Military Tribunal found it appropriate to single out the persecution of the Jews. The testimony given at the Nuremberg Trial, the document presented by the prosecution, and the entire record of its proceedings establish an exceptional source for the study of the Holocaust. The Nuremberg debates may continue for decades due to the tribunal's rulings at Nuremberg(West, 93). The Nuremberg Trials have been put down as acts of vengence(Conot). Some observers considered a number of sentence as being too harsh. Others have pointed