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8. International war crimes & Crimes against humanity­­Definitions, trial process, and authorities Questions: ➢ What international war crimes were committed in the Holocaust? ➢ How were the Nazi officials tried? ➢ What were the different degrees of punishments? ➢ Who was in charge of conducting the trials? ➢ Were the trials conducted fairly? ➢ Why were the trials in Nuremberg, Germany? ➢ What was the total number of sentences, and what were they? ➢ How were the people who committed less major crimes punished? ➢ What were some of the different Nuremberg Trials? Notes: 1. ➢ 4 Allied Powers occupying Germany ○ US ○ Britain ○ France ○ Soviet Union ➢ Began in 1942 when Allies decided to put Axis war criminals on trial ➢ December 17, 1942 the US, Britain, and Soviet Union made declaration noting the mass murder of European Jews and stating the people responsible will be prosecuted ➢ 1943 Moscow Declaration­ people who committed crimes would be sent back to country where the crimes were committed and put on trial according to that country ➢ Those who committed major criminal acts would be tried by the Allied Powers ➢ International Military Tribunal­ post war trials in Nuremberg, Germany ➢ October 18, 1945­ October 1, 1946 IMT tried 22 major criminals ➢ Charges ○ Crimes against peace ○ War crimes ○ Crimes against humanity­ “murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation...or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds.” ○ Conspiracy to commit these ➢ Sentences ○ 12 death ○ 3 life imprisonment ○ 4 prison 10­20 years ○ 3 acquitted ➢ Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings­ 12 more trials conducted by US military ➢ The 4 Allied Powers had trials in the areas they occupied ➢ Most of the zone trials were about the death of Allied military ➢ Eventually concentration camp guards and others who committed crimes against religion were tried as well ➢ Evidence from eyewitness testimony ➢ Allied Powers reconstructed German law system and had them sentence crimes committed during war by German citizens against other Germans or stateless people 2. ➢ Nuremberg Trials purpose was bringing Nazi war criminals to justice ➢ 13 trials between 1945­1949 ➢ Defendants ○ Nazi Party officials ○ Military officers ○ Industrialists ○ Lawyers ○ Doctors ➢ Hitler committed suicide in 1945, so he was not brought to trial ➢ 2 of Hilters top associates also killed themselves in the spring of 1945 ➢ Trials were “milestone toward the establishment of a permanent international court” ➢ Nazi crime: systematic, state­sponsored murder of around 6 million European Jews and 4­6 million non­Jews ➢ 1942 Allies officially noted the mass murder of European Jews ➢ Difficulty: First international trial of war criminals ➢ Established procedure August 8, 1945 ➢ Crimes: ○ “crimes against peace (including planning, preparing, starting or waging wars of aggression or wars in violation of international agreements)” ○ “war crimes (including violations of customs or laws of war, including improper treatment of civilians and prisoners of war)” ○ “crimes against humanity (including murder, enslavement or deportation of civilians or persecution on political, religious or racial grounds)” ➢ Nuremberg chosen because Palace of Justice undamaged, had large prison, location of Nazi rallies ➢ Trial of Major War Criminals ○ November 20, 1945­ October 1, 1946 ○ Prosecutors and defense attorneys like British and the US ○ Sentences from a tribunal ○ Each of 4 Allies had two judges (main and alternate) ○ 24 men ■ 12 sentenced to death ■ 3 acquitted ■ Rest prison ■ 1 medically unfit, another killed himself ○ Defendants got to chose lawyers ○ Defense: ■ The laws criminalized actions committed before the laws were existing ■ Allies were being harsh to Germans but not to their own soldiers ➢ 12 more trials held 1946­1949 ➢ Doctors Trial ○ December 1946­ August 1947 ○ 23 defendants for crimes against humanity (primarily medical experiments) ➢ Judges Trial ○ March­ December 1947 ○ 16 lawyers and judges for implementing the eugenics laws helping with “racial purity” ➢ Sentences Total ○ 12 killed ○ 8 life sentence ○ 77 prison 3. ➢ Pro: first recognition of world law and large scale punishment of war criminals ➢ Con: “negation of principles which they regard as the heart of any system of justice under law” ➢ Crimes ○ First 24 charged with four counts of: ○ Conspiracy ○ Crimes against peace ○ War crimes ○ Crimes against humanity ➢ Question: “Is it a defense to a soldier or civilian defendant that he acted under the order of a superior?” Not recognized as a defense ➢ The defendants after being presented with evidence against them get to make statements without torture ➢ Defense has less time to present evidence ➢ Innocent until proven guilty followed??? Sources: ➢ https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005140 ➢ ​
http://www.history.com/topics/world­war­ii/nuremberg­trials ➢ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1946/04/nuremberg­a­fair­trial­a­dangerou
s­precedent/306492/ Extra Sources: ➢ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/war_crimes_trials_01.shtml ➢ http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h­nurem.htm ➢ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nuremberg/peopleevents/e_warcrimes.html ➢ https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/holocaust­genocide­and­crimes­against­humani
ty ➢ http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/EM/partners%20materials/EWG_Holocaus
t_and_Other_Genocides.pdf ➢ http://www.lawteacher.net/free­law­essays/international­law/a­study­of­the­nuremberg­m
ain­trial­international­law­essay.php