WWII+Research+and+Symposium+ARBE

1) The trials began on November 20th, 1945 and ended on October 15-16th that following year. The first trial is probably the most famous because a majority of the indicted were notorious for what they did. Some of them included Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, Wilhelm Keitel, and Alfred Jodl. 2) Nazi leaders who survived the war were later captured by the Allies and tried after their country was invaded. Those who were brought to trial included 26 military leaders and 56 SS members, along with 14 other officials. 3) Some of the men who stood trial were: Hermann Goering (Hitler's second in command, president of the //Reichstag//, and chief of the //Luftwaffe//, or German Air Force), Martin Bormann (Hitler's secretary) and Baldur von Schirach (person in charge of Hitler Youth).
 * Topic #2A -The Nuremberg Trials were necessary to try Nazis for their atrocities in WWII**

4) Adolf Hitler (Chancellor of Germany), Josef Goebbels (Minister of Propaganda), and Heinrich Himmler (Chief of the Gestapo), the biggest perpetrators, weren't on the list to be tried because they had killed themselves.

5) There were four counts the indicted could be charged for: conspiracy to wage aggressive war (to conspire and commit the other three crimes), crimes against peace (planning to start a war), war crimes (violating conventions of war), and crimes against humanity (genocide; extermination and deportation of civilians). All of the defendants were tried for Count 1, sixteen on Count 2, eighteen on Count 3, and eighteen on Count 4.

6) Out of the 19 men convicted, three were acquitted, six went to prison (three had life imprisonment and the remainder were sentenced to jail ranging from ten to twenty years), and the remaining twelve were sentenced to death by hanging (they met their fates on the nights of October 15th and 16th).

7) Two hundred and sixteen court sessions were held. There were, however, twelve other trials for German officials of lesser rank who were also accused of taking part in various war crimes. They focused particularly on Nazi doctors and industrialists who used slave labor.

8) France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States were part of the tribunal. Each country had a judge to and a team of prosecutors to represent them. This was called the International Military Tribunal, or IMT. Later on, the International Criminal Court was established, whose job was to uphold laws against atrocities like genocide.

9) The day before his execution, Hermann Goering, the most prominent defendant, committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill.

10) These trials left behind a legacy that still affects our world today; treaties were written, making genocide an international crime. The main purpose of the laws passed after this was to prevent the violation of human rights and the maltreatment of prisoners and civilians during wartime. State terrorism is now illegal due to the Nuremberg Trials.


 * Primary:**

//"The privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility. The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated. That four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury, stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that Power ever has paid to Reason."//

The opening address of the Nuremberg Trials began with this paragraph. It was delivered by Robert H. Jackson, a Supreme Court Judge, on November 21st, 1945. Jackson was asked by president Harry Truman to represent the United States in the Nuremberg trials by serving as the chief prosecutor. He is best known for this speech. Jackson didn't think that the worst criminals should be executed without trial and he preferred the legal way of settling things. He succumbed from a heart attack at the age of 62. The trials were necessary to try the Nazis because, as the paragraph above states, "...civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated." The Nazis needed to learn from what they did in order to prevent history from repeating itself and it was virtually impossible to not do anything about it. Lessons needed to be learned to ensure that something like the Holocaust will never take place again.

**Americans Doubt Trials by Sept. 1** //Officials Back From London Say, However, That Accord on Crimes is Due Soon// //"A rounded picture of the plans for the forthcoming 'master trial' of German war criminals, now scheduled to commence sometime in September at Nuremberg, became available for the first time today from officials who have just returned from participation in the four-power negotiations in Europe. These officials regarded the report today from Nuremberg that the trials would start Sept. 1, as overly optimistic// //but believed that they would begin some time in September.//" This article first appeared on page 12 in the //New York Times// on August 5th, 1945. It was written by John C. Crider. At the time, it was believed that the Nuremberg Trials would begin in September (which most Americans doubted) but that obviously was not the case. It actually began more than a month later on November 20th that same year. The article also mentions the joint tribunal formed by the Allies and the Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. In addition to that, the names of some of the Germans to stand trial were also listed. As the article states, the 'master trial' was for German war criminals, and rightfully so; we didn't commit those crimes - they did. In addition to that, they sent thousands of innocent people to their grisly deaths in crematoriums, gas chambers, and mass graves. It just wouldn't be right to let the culprits go free.



The trials were held at the Palace of Justice; it was pretty much intact compared to the rest of Nuremberg, in which more than half of the city lay in ruins. It consisted of courtrooms, prison quarters, and offices.There were 20 courtrooms and the prison was large enough to accommodate up to 1,200 people. The first session, however, was held in Berlin, but the others later took place in Nuremberg. The main courtroom needed to be expanded, and to do so, a wall was knocked down and the ceiling was raised. A translation system was extremely important to because the people involved with the trial spoke different languages because there were four major nations (the Allied powers) that were in charge of punishing the Nazis for the terrible things they were responsible for doing. The incriminating evidence like Nazi documents were vital; it bolstered the Allies' claims that the Germans were indeed guilty. It proved that Germany was the main instigator for the war.