‘Crimes Against Humanity’

The press called it “the trial of the century,” even “the greatest trial in history,” and it certainly was monumental.

The 22 men sitting in the prisoners’ dock were not run-of-the-mill criminals but the surviving leaders of Nazi Germany, which in 1939 had launched history’s most devastating war and gone on to systematically exterminate 6 million Jews and millions of others whom the Nazis considered “undesirables,” including Roma, gay people, and people with disabilities.

This was the historic war crimes trial held before four judges of an International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, and this fall marks the 75th anniversary of that watershed event. The Nuremberg Trials—and the dozen follow-up legal proceedings against high-ranking German officials, doctors, judges, and business leaders—forced the architects of a genocidal war to undergo a fairly traditional judicial process. But some charges against them—“crimes against peace” and “crimes against humanity”—had never in history been brought before a court of law.

That latter charge—which specified such acts as extermination of a racial group, deportations, and enslavement—established a precedent for trying war criminals. It would be imitated decades later, after other instances of genocide—the killing of people with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

“Nuremberg defined the crime of genocide—that those who commit mass murder will be brought to justice,” says Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum. “And we have heeded that ever since.”

The press called it “the trial of the century.” Some even referred to it as “the greatest trial in history.” And it certainly was a significant moment.

The 22 men sitting in the prisoners’ dock were not common criminals. They were the surviving leaders of Nazi Germany. In 1939, their regime had launched history’s most devastating war. The Nazis had systematically murdered 6 million Jews. They had also killed millions of others whom they considered “undesirables.” That included Roma, gay people, and people with disabilities.

This was a historic war crimes trial. It was held before four judges of an International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. This fall marks the 75th anniversary of that landmark event. The Nuremberg Trials were held to prosecute the architects of a genocidal war. (A dozen follow-up legal proceedings prosecuted high-ranking German officials, doctors, judges, and business leaders.) It was the first time in history that the charges of “crimes against peace” and “crimes against humanity“ had been ever brought before a court of law.

That latter charge referred to acts like the extermination of a racial group, deportations, and enslavement. It established a model for trying war criminals. It would be imitated decades later, after other instances of genocide. Genocide is the killing of people with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

“Nuremberg defined the crime of genocide—that those who commit mass murder will be brought to justice,” says Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum. “And we have heeded that ever since.”

In a sense, Nuremberg was a follow-up to World War II (1939-45). After Germany’s humiliation in World War I (1914-18), German dictator Adolf Hitler aimed to rebuild his nation as a military power. He completely ignored treaties that banned him from doing so.

He and other Nazi party leaders rallied the German people by demeaning Jews. They gained support by wrongfully blaming them for Germany’s defeat in the First World War. The government deprived Jews of citizenship and political rights. They boycotted and confiscated Jewish businesses. And they unleashed a wave of public beatings, torching of synagogues, and brutal arrests.

Hitler worked hard to expand German territory. First, he absorbed Austria and a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. Then, German troops invaded Poland in September 1939. In less than two years’ time, Germany had conquered much of Europe (see map).

In nations that came under German control, Jews were confined in ghettos, then deported in jam-packed cattle cars to infamous concentration camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka in Poland. There, children and the elderly were immediately dispatched to rooms that were soon filled with a deadly poisonous gas. Those designated as able-bodied were put to work as slave laborers, making munitions and other war supplies, though most succumbed to hunger and disease or were eventually sent to gas chambers as well. In this systematic fashion, two-thirds of Europe’s Jews were murdered in what became known as the Holocaust.

In 1941, the U.S. entered the war and churned out thousands of planes, ships, and tanks that helped turn the tide. German armies found themselves overstretched across the continent and began losing battle after battle to the U.S. and its allies, Britain and the Soviet Union. Unable to protect its cities from Allied bombing and fend off the armies penetrating as far as the capital of Berlin, the Germans surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945.

The Allied powers realized that once the war was over, they would have to punish the German higher-ups who ordered or carried out such atrocities. Winston Churchill, Britain’s prime minister, proposed lining up the worst perpetrators in front of a firing squad without trial. But U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson argued that summary executions would turn the killers into martyrs and pressed successfully for military tribunals. The victorious powers, he said, should rehabilitate the German people and turn the nation into an ally, but they should punish Nazi leaders.

In nations that came under German control, Jews were confined in ghettos. Then, they were packed into crowded cattle cars and sent to infamous concentration camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka in Poland. There, children and the elderly were immediately put into rooms that were soon filled with a deadly poisonous gas. Those designated as able-bodied were put to work as slave laborers. They were forced to make war supplies. Many of them died of hunger and disease or were eventually sent to gas chambers as well. In this systematic fashion, two-thirds of Europe’s Jews were murdered. This campaign of mass murder became known as the Holocaust.

In 1941, the U.S. entered the war. Thousands of American planes, ships, and tanks helped turn the tide. German armies found themselves stretched thin across the continent. As a result, they began losing battle after battle to the U.S. and its allies, Britain and the Soviet Union. Germany soon found itself unable to protect its cities from Allied bombing and fend off the armies gaining ground as far as the capital of Berlin. On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered unconditionally.

The Allied powers realized that once the war was over, they would have to punish the German higher-ups who ordered or carried out such atrocities. Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister at the time. He proposed lining up the worst offenders in front of a firing squad without trial. But U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson argued that swift executions would turn the killers into martyrs. That‘s why he pressed successfully for military tribunals. The victorious powers, he said, should rehabilitate the German people and turn the nation into an ally. But he agreed that they should punish Nazi leaders.

Nuremberg was a medieval city then largely in ruins from Allied bombs. It was chosen as the trial site because it was considered the birthplace of the Nazi Party. It was the location of the party’s annual propaganda rallies.

The chief American prosecutor was no ordinary district attorney. Instead, a sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice, Robert H. Jackson, was appointed. His presence signaled to the world how crucial President Harry S. Truman thought this trial was. The other prosecutors represented Britain, France, and the Soviet Union.

The trial began in November 1945. Justice Jackson gave an eloquent opening statement.

“The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating,” he said, “that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated.”

Hitler was not on trial. With Allied forces approaching Berlin, he had killed himself on April 30, 1945. He did so by taking cyanide and shooting himself in the head in his underground bunker. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels had also died by suicide. And so did Heinrich Himmler, commander of the S.S. (or Gestapo), Hitler’s elite secret police force. Other notorious leaders had escaped to South America.

But other important Nazi leaders, including Hermann Goering, were tried at Nuremberg. Goering had turned himself in to the American army. For a time, he was considered Hitler’s successor.

The Nazis carefully recorded everything they did on paper. In fact, the evidence against the 22 defendants was largely contained in hundreds of signed and stamped documents. There were 47 crates worth of files, weighing 3,000 pounds. But there was also testimony by witnesses.

The Einsatzgruppen were the German killing squads that shot hundreds of thousands of Jewish civilians on the edges of mass graves in Poland and the Soviet Union. A former Einsatzgruppen head admitted to the murder of 90,000 Jews. The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess, acknowledged that hundreds of thousands of Jews were gassed on his watch. Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever was a Jewish survivor of the ghetto in Vilnius, Lithuania. He testified that 80,000 Jews in his city were massacred by the German occupiers or deported to death camps.

“The manhunters,” he said, “would break into Jewish houses at any time of day or night and drive away the men, instructing them to take a piece of soap and a towel. . . . Hardly anyone returned.”

The defendants for the most part did not deny their crimes but insisted they were merely following orders from superiors, that disobeying would have meant death.

“Don’t you see, we S.S. men were not supposed to think about these things; it never even occurred to us,” Hoess testified. “We were all so trained to obey orders without even thinking. . . . I really never gave much thought to whether it was wrong. It just seemed a necessity.”

The wily and vain Goering attracted the most attention. Although he was required to remain silent when witnesses testified, he managed to make his contempt known by shaking his head in disbelief or chuckling. Still, he seemed genuinely shocked when films were shown of skeletal camp inmates and piles of emaciated corpses. He claimed not to have known what took place inside the camps even though he was among those responsible for creating the prison camp network. But he was finally backed into revealing his guilt by the British prosecutor, Sir Hartley Shawcross.

The defendants for the most part did not deny their crimes. Instead, they insisted that they were merely following orders from superiors. And they added that disobeying would have meant death.

“Don’t you see, we S.S. men were not supposed to think about these things; it never even occurred to us,” Hoess testified. “We were all so trained to obey orders without even thinking. . . . I really never gave much thought to whether it was wrong. It just seemed a necessity.”

The wily and vain Goering attracted the most attention. He was required to remain silent when witnesses testified. Despite that, he managed to make his contempt known by shaking his head in disbelief or chuckling. Still, he seemed genuinely shocked when films were shown of skeletal camp inmates and piles of scrawny corpses. He was among those responsible for creating the prison camp network. Yet he claimed not to have known what took place inside the camps. But he was finally backed into revealing his guilt by the British prosecutor, Sir Hartley Shawcross.

After 11 months, the tribunal delivered its verdicts. Goering and 10 others were sentenced to death by hanging—a pointed humiliation since military men regarded a firing squad as the dignified way to be executed. Three others received life sentences. Four defendants were sentenced to 10- to 20-year prison terms and three were acquitted. The executions took place two weeks later, but Goering managed to escape his final punishment. He arranged to have a cyanide pill smuggled into his cell, and he killed himself the night before he was to have been hanged.

Afterward, the U.S., on its own, conducted a dozen other trials in Nuremberg, including separate trials of German doctors, judges, and military officers. Of the total 199 defendants tried in Nuremberg, 161 were convicted, and, of those, 37 were sentenced to death.

After 11 months, the tribunal delivered its verdicts. Goering and 10 others were sentenced to death by hanging. That punishment was a deep humiliation since military men regarded a firing squad as the dignified way to be executed. Three others received life sentences. Four defendants were sentenced to 10- to 20-year prison terms and three were acquitted. The executions took place two weeks later. But Goering managed to escape his final punishment. He arranged to have a cyanide pill smuggled into his cell. He used that to kill himself the night before he was to have been hanged.

Afterward, the U.S., on its own, conducted a dozen other trials in Nuremberg. These included separate trials of German doctors, judges, and military officers. Of the total 199 defendants tried in Nuremberg, 161 were convicted. Of those, 37 were sentenced to death.

Benjamin Ferencz, now 100 years old and the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, unearthed signed documents in the headquarters of the Gestapo that proved the guilt of the 22 Nazi commanders.

“I found daily reports that told how many Jews were killed, in which town, and who was the Einsatzgruppen commander,” he says.

What significance has Nuremberg had in the decades afterward, and what’s its legacy 75 years later? Ferencz says the trials established the principle that “the rule of law rather than rule of force” must be applied in cases of genocide and war crimes.

Since Nuremberg, international courts have punished officials and military commanders who perpetrated atrocities in countries including the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A permanent International Criminal Court was established in 2002 and sits in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands. It has 123 member nations.

Benjamin Ferencz, now 100 years old, is the last living Nuremberg prosecutor. He discovered signed documents in the headquarters of the Gestapo that proved the guilt of the 22 Nazi commanders.

“I found daily reports that told how many Jews were killed, in which town, and who was the Einsatzgruppen commander,” he says.

What significance has Nuremberg had in the decades afterward, and what’s its legacy 75 years later? Ferencz says the trials established the principle that “the rule of law rather than rule of force” must be applied in cases of genocide and war crimes.

Since Nuremberg, international courts have punished officials and military commanders. These war criminals have carried out horrible crimes in countries including the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A permanent International Criminal Court was established in 2002. It sits in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands. It has 123 member nations.

The U.S. didn’t join, however, arguing that doing so would interfere with its independent court system and its ability to deal with potential war crimes by Americans. The U.S. has been criticized for that decision by the Court, which has been frustrated in its attempts to investigate allegations of war crimes, including torture, by American forces in Afghanistan.

Today, the lessons of Nuremberg seem not to have been absorbed by everyone. Despite the trial’s mountain of evidence, denial of the Holocaust continues, and neo-Nazi groups have been on the rise in the U.S., Germany, and other European countries. A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of young adults in the U.S. don’t know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. And despite the revulsion at the Nazi atrocities, genocides persist.

Nevertheless, the ethical principles developed through the Nuremberg trials are very much alive.

“For the first time in history, leaders of a regime were held legally accountable for crimes committed in the course of carrying out their government’s policy,” says Berenbaum, the Holocaust historian. “They could not shelter themselves in the defense that they were merely carrying out orders.”

The U.S. didn’t join. The nation argued that doing so would interfere with its independent court system and its ability to deal with potential war crimes by Americans. The U.S. has been criticized for that decision by the Court‘s officials. The Court has been frustrated in its attempts to investigate allegations of war crimes by American forces in Afghanistan. Among them are accusations of torture.

It doesn‘t seem like everyone today has absorbed the lessons of Nuremberg. The trial exposed a mountain of evidence. Despite that, the denial of the Holocaust continues. Neo-Nazi groups have been on the rise in the U.S., Germany, and other European countries. A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of young adults in the U.S. don’t know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. And despite the disgust at the Nazi crimes, genocides continue to happen.

Even so, the ethical principles developed through the Nuremberg trials are still alive.

“For the first time in history, leaders of a regime were held legally accountable for crimes committed in the course of carrying out their government’s policy,” says Berenbaum, the Holocaust historian. “They could not shelter themselves in the defense that they were merely carrying out orders.”