The Nuremberg Trials
by Munir Abdel-2
What ever happened to the Nazis after WW2?
Intro
The Nuremberg trials consisted of 13 court trials to bring down many notorious Nazi war criminals after World War Two. The trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany and began in 1945 and ended in 1949. The Nazi defendants consisted of high ranking military officers as well as industrialists, lawyers and doctors who were all under the Hitler regime. They were all accused of crimes against humanity.
Technological Photograph 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Sources:
About Education. "The Nuremberg Trials." The Nuremberg Trials. About Education, 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
Photos:
"Photos: The Nuremberg Trials." Gallery. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
The Trial of Major War Criminals
A major part of the Nuremberg Trials were the Trials of Major war Criminals which nearly lasted a year. The trial went down in an interesting way. The sentences and fates of the defendants were in the hands of multiple judges called a Tribunal instead of there being a jury and just a solo judge. There were still prosecutors and attorneys. The main American prosecutor was Robert Jackson an associate justice(not a chief judge) of the U.S. Supreme Court. Each of the four Allied Powers involved in the war appointed two judges.
Twenty two Nazi war criminals were put on trial along with smaller Nazi organizations. The defendants could pick their own lawyers, and they tried to use tricky defense methods. One defense strategy was that the Allies(who were the bittersweet victors) were being too tough on them.
Since the defendants and judges spoke different languages the trial had a new technological tool. Instant translation which came to be by the U.S. company IBM. They recruited people from telephone exchanges to provide translations through special headphones.
At the very end the Judges found nearly all defendants guilty besides three.
Most of the defendants were sentenced to death while others were put in prison for a very long time.
Source:
Hermann Goring
The Subsequent Trials
Another important trial during this period was the Doctor's trial(1946-1947) where more defendants were accused of crimes against humanity conducting medical experiments on War prisoners. There was also the Judges Trial where lawyers and judges were charged with trying to help the Third Reich reach it's goal of a perfect race. There were many other trials some against industrialists and other high ranking military officers.
Nuremeberg Executions
Below is the Corpse of Hans Frank shortly after he was hanged.
Interesting Nuremberg Trial Facts
2) Gustav Krupp was being one of the accused was unfit to be put on trial after having a stroke.
3) The most important Nazi captured by the Allied forces was Hermann Goring.
4) Two Associates of Hitler Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels committed suicide as well.
5) 8 people received life sentences in the Subsequent trials part of the Nuremberg Trials.
Sources
"How Many of the Accused Never Set Foot in the Courthouse?" - Nuremberg Trial.Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
"Who Was the Most Influential Nazi Captured by the Allies and Put on Trial?" Who Was the Most Influential Nazi Captured by the Allies and Put on Trial? Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
Outro
Extra Info
-Describes Nuremberg Executions
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007089
-Explains about the trials as well as the Translating headphones