O Nuremberg Court was an international court created in 1945 to try crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II.
Trials began on November 20, 1945 and ended on October 1, 1946.
In total, 185 people were accused of which 35 were acquitted.
Creation of the Nuremberg Court
When World War II ended, the victorious countries – the United Kingdom, the United States, France and the Soviet Union – set up a court to try the Nazis.
For the first time in history, those responsible for a conflict have gone to trial. In doing so, the Allies wanted to give a moral meaning to the military victory. The Nuremberg Court was composed of American, British, French and Russian judges.
The city of Nuremberg was not chosen by chance. It was here that Adolf Hitler had gathered his supporters for numerous congresses and enacted the first anti-Semitic laws.
39 doctors and lawyers sat on the benches of accused; 56 members of the Nazi Party and Police; 42 industrialists and managers; 26 military leaders and 22 ministers and senior government officials.
The most influential participants in the war, however, were not tried. adolf hitler (1889-1945), German chancellor, committed suicide after learning of Germany's defeat by the Allies.
Heinrich Himmler, SS commander and concentration camp supervisor, had also committed suicide; and Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda. Certain officers and doctors who worked directly in the extermination of Jews like Josef Mengele were at large.
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Court was responsible for prosecuting criminals involved in murder, extermination, slavery, deportation, abuse of power, among other crimes.
The most anticipated judgment was that of the 24 officers who worked in the structure of the Nazi government or in the Armed Forces.
These were responsible for the conspiracy crimes; crimes against peace; war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Convicted by the Nuremberg Court
Most of the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges they received, however, they claimed they were just following orders from above.
The most severe penalties were applied to those who acted directly in the mass execution of people and contributed to the Final Solution project, in which the physical elimination of all Jews from the Europe.
During the trial of the members of the Nazi hierarchy, 219 sessions were held and the court handed down its verdict on October 1, 1946.
Of the 24 tried, 12 were sentenced to death, three acquitted, three got life imprisonment and four were confined to prison for 15 to 20 years.
Among those sentenced to death by the Nuremberg Court are Nazi Party leaders such as Alfred Rosenberg and ministers such as Joachim von Ribbentrop. Commanders of occupied territories such as Hans Frank and heads of the armed forces such as Hermann Göring also received capital punishment.
The Nuremberg tribunal inaugurated a new era for international law and war crimes by showing that justice could be applied in any territory.
Criticism of the Nuremberg Court
The Nuremberg Court was criticized from a legal point of view because it breached a number of rules.
The principle of territoriality was changed, as the Germans were tried by magistrates from other countries and, in addition, the accusers formed part of the court, something that is prohibited.
The Court only considered the German Nazis as war criminals. No other person of nationality other than the German or political ideology that the Nazi was accused of.
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