The Benefits of the Nuremberg Trials

Antony Zhukovskiy

Mike Messner

United States History

The Benefits of the Nuremberg Trials

The Second World War did not end on the battlefield. It ended in a court at Nuremberg. These trials put a closing stamp on the war that has remained a prominent topic in history to this day. From nation to nation, the trials brought relief to those who have suffered throughout WWII at the hands of the Nazi Fascists. The Nuremberg trials should have taken place, because they revealed terrible crimes against humanity and peace, and crimes of war, and also because they were the starting point of the Denazification process, and the improvement of the international justice system.

One of the most important facets of the Nuremberg trials was the unmasking of horrible crimes that were committed against humanity. During the course of both World War II, and the Holocaust, the Nazi Germans indulged in a series of increasingly atrocious actions against Jews and other minorities. It all began when the Fuehrer Adolf Hitler persuaded the German public that the problems of the German nation were to be blamed on the Jews. One by one, the Jews began to be deprived of their rights as citizens of the Nation. In 1935, at the Nazi party’s national convention in Nuremberg, two laws were passed, which successfully removed Jews from all of the areas of German political, social, and economic life. Some may argue that this is a perfectly allowable legislation, as the government has the power do decide how to treat its citizens and what rights they have. Notwithstanding, the level of deprivation that the Nazi party stooped to was so profound that it alone is enough to incriminate them based on common sense. The Nazi regime, however, was not satisfied with this course of action. Before long, they began to force the relocation of these Jews and other minorities to Ghettos and labor camps. This is a violation of two of our well known, natural freedoms that we as Americans consider to be inalienable: the right to liberty, and the right to the pursuit of happiness, and the fact that it was reaffirmed at the Trials made the rest of the world feel safer. The last, and most outstanding crime committed by the Nazi party against humanity was the mass murder of nearly an entire race, which was additionally accomplished by means that are torturous, and unnecessarily violent. This is the final infringement upon our natural rights: the right to life. By learning of all the grotesque experiences of the innocent men, women, and children who entered the death camps, the least the staff of the Nuremberg Trials could do to amend this atrocity is to try those responsible and to bring them to justice. During the course of the Nuremberg Trials, countless amounts of evidence were brought fourth to the jury, revealing in sequence these Nazi crimes. And one by one, the crimes against humanity were recognized, and their perpetrators punished. In this way, the trials were vital in establishing international guidelines for common sense, and attempting to prevent the crimes committed against the innocent people of a nation from ever happening again.

Crimes against humanity were not the only unclean acts that the Nazis had committed during their reign. There were numerous crimes made against peace itself by the German leaders. The most obvious of such crimes was the rapid rearmament of the German military after the Treaty of Versailles, having been passed, clearly stated that Germany was to keep their military at a certain, and very low level. The fact that the Fascist leaders agreed to break the rule set out by the other nations, was an action against the peace that they were trying to preserve. This is clearly not an acceptable way to carry out the terms of defeat for a nation, and should be punishable by law. Moreover, the case of rapid rearmament is a specific case that stems from a much broader issue. The Nazis broke many such peace treaties, such as the peace treaty with Czechoslovakia and the peace treaty with the Soviet Union. By disregarding these treaties, and actively invading the unsuspecting countries, Germany was heedlessly disrupting the already tentative guidelines set up to try to prevent a Second World War after the First had happened. This kind of aggressive behaviour is indeed what the Treaty of Versailles was trying to stamp out, which is why the Nuremberg Trials were important in enforcing those guidelines by punishing those who do not heed them.

So far, it has been made clear that the Nuremberg Trials were a valuable process after the Second World War, because they made sure that the Nazis didn’t get away with their awful crimes. However, the Trials had different consequences, as well. In fact, they played a major role in kick-starting the Denazification process of Europe. First of all, if the criminals weren’t properly tried and the consequences not properly carried out as they were at Nuremberg, the Nazi leaders would have become idols of Germany, ready to start a new Fascist state as soon as the country settled down some. Second, if Nuremberg had really been an unfair trial as, according to Mr. Messner, German historians say, then the Nazi leaders would have become martyrs hanged by tyrants. However, the trials were completely fair, and the defendants were allowed their own attorneys of their choosing, and a fair jury. Thus, the trials were very fair, and the sentences completely justified. Additionally, the uncovering of the many Fascist documents of the grotesque scenes that happened with respect to the Jews, and the concentration and death camps showed the rest of the world what horrors Fascism could bring about if allowed to take over the political situation. Therefore, the Nuremberg Trials were key in preventing the spread of Fascism by showing the horrors it can entail.

Lastly, it is necessary to mention the tremendous improvement of the international justice system as a direct result of the Nuremberg Trials. Before the Trials had been organized, there was no practical way to try and to sentence an international criminal, the actions of whom would not have been recognized as criminal within his or her own country. However, the Trials organized a group of nations in such a way that it was possible for them to communicate, and to cooperate on leading the Trials and to have an equal say in a fair, western-style trial. One of the more substantial consequences of the increased international justice is the creation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (left), which specified the rights of every single individual around the globe. Without the trial, there would not have been enough evidence to reveal the need for this document, and many people around the world would have been left wanting of rights.

In conclusion, it is apparent that the Nuremberg Trials were very necessary because of two overarching points. The Nazi criminals must not have been allowed to go free without being punished for all of the atrocities that they committed before the world, and the international justice system was greatly improved and outlined much more carefully. With the coming of greater, more destructive technology, it was an urgent necessity for the world to unite under a more common banner, so that the anger, hatred, and aggressiveness of Fascism and the Nazis would never recur to bring such massive destruction to the world ever again. There was one problem that was never addressed however. And that is the fact that there were many American, French, and especially Russian leaders and officers that also acted in a criminal way when compared with the rulings at Nuremberg. It is assumed that their crimes, much like the crimes of the Nazis, have not been overlooked, and that the date for their trial shall be announced in the future.

Bibliography

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Goldensohn, Leon. The Nuremberg Interviews. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 2004.

Rice Jr., Earle. The Nuremberg Trials. Lucent Books: San Diego, 1997.

Austin, Ben S. “The Nuremberg Trials: The Defendants and Verdicts.”

Nuremberg: Tyranny On Trial. The History Channel; A & E Home Video.