have a look through the link below http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/all-anniversaries/16293-nuremburg-trials-fair.html
Funny, watched a little documentary on Speer's Trial today - made me look at the sentences for the first time in years. Airey Neave's Nuremberg book is a damned fine account. Well, it left a real impression on me: Nuremberg: Amazon.co.uk: Airey Neave: Books I assume you've been to these, Meagan. but I may as well chuck 'em in from a 30 second Google as they're full of detail: Nuremberg Trial Nuremberg Trials Project -- Introduction Avalon Project - The International Military Tribunal for Germany Trials of German Major War Criminals Plant Pilot summed it up regards fairness for me in that other thread with: They got a chance of a day in court, which is more than most of their victims had, with plenty of witnesses to see that a legal process was followed. Were the sentences the right ones in every case? I doubt it, but the same could be said for court cases before that and since. (Merge threads, and Give it the plain 'Nuremberg Trials' title maybe? Not a subject we've touched on for a while. EDIT: Job done.)
The question was put to us as students, in a 'world affairs' lecture. The question asked, was it right to prosecute professional soldiers like Guderian. A long and at times heated 'discussion' ensued. The agins, suggested that as a professional army officer of the old Prussian school it would have been against every fibre in his body to disobey orders from the government that had been elected. Guderian, Rommel and many others of the General Staff grew up in a militaristic society starting out as cadets in military schools. learning not just the art of war but unlike our own people the science of war, the point I make is that it was ingrained in their very being. The code of discipline and conduct was strict and orders were to be carried out without question. My own view is with the teaching of British army officers and soldiers, that 'a defence of 'I was obeying orders' will not be accepted as a defence in the courts, if that order was known, or it might be reasonable to expect you to have known that the order was an illegal order. The fight against evil was costly in lives, however, the 'real politik' of the day the fear of Russia led to actions that appear now to be plain wrong. As Ron points out, we can only look at it from afar, without the pain and suffering that was still raw. The allies were not shy when it came to pardoning scientists and engineers, some of whom were many leagues above the likes of Guderian.
... The allies were not shy when it came to pardoning scientists and engineers, some of whom were many leagues above the likes of Guderian. And on that point: BBC News - Wanted Nazi Walther Rauff 'was West German spy' Certainly the Nuremburg Trials were the right and proper thing to do. But as for the use of other undesirables in the intelligence, scientific and engineering spheres by Britain, the US, Soviet Union and West Germany that is far more debatable about. Something I'm personally undecided upon.
Why did the Western Allies want to recruit Nazis for intelligence work? The Western Allies were far better than the Germans at intelligence during the war. It could be argued that the rocket scientists possessed skills that we needed so moral arguments had to be set aside. In the case of intelligence, there wasn't even a practical argument to counter the moral one. Nazi war criminals showed no signs of possessing skills lacked by Allied intelligence agents.
Could be argued that Intelligence work is as much about connections as skill though. If a German has the right contacts, and opens doors in areas of interest, then 'fieldcraft' can maybe always be taught? Frustrating thing about intelligence-related stories though I suppose; we'll likely never know the real nuances and back-story that lead to such curiosities as Rauff.
Not so much a matter of skills, it was what they knew. There are many post war US/UK documents written with the input of German commanders eg; 21st Panzer division. The information was post battle. Input confirms your ability to garner intelligence. Questions need answering, why did this commander adopt these tactics? Much of this information is still used in teaching commanders today . The principals of warfare never change, tactics may be adapted, but the principals do not. Give a group of students today a battle from 1944 and dissect it - what led the commander to do this or that. Why did he win or lose? There was also the anti Russian sentiment that was a valuable asset to be tapped, manipulated and used.
Obviously I haven't read it all in 15 minutes, but the conclusions presented here seem quite interesting on the whys and wherefores of certain individuals escaping Nuremberg: Nazi war crimes, US intelligence and Selective Prosecution at Nuremberg - Michael Salter - Google Books (looks like a rather intriguing book as a whole.)
This trial was very important. And still is. Great book on the trial "Nuremberg" by Airey Neave...he was honored with the role of reading the indictments to the Nazi leaders on trial.
Avalon Project - The International Military Tribunal for Germany The Avalon Project : Royal Warrant : Regulations for the Trial of War Criminals Avalon Project - The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919
A short history of Nazi war crimes that these so called 'men' were being tried for is a book by Lord Russell of Liverpool called THE SCOURGE OF THE SWASTIKA first published 1954
streicher should have never shared the stage with the other nazi hierarchy. did not deserve death penalty just because he was a vile rabid anti-semite. especially as the 'good nazi' speer only got 20 years.
BBC World Service - The Nuremberg Trials "Re-enactments from the transcripts of what Norman Birkett, one of the presiding judges called "the greatest trial in history." Written and presented by Richard Norton-Taylor" 1 hour, 28 minutes BBC audio - from 13 September 1996
“The Nuremberg Trials have to be regarded as one of the special achievements of the twentieth century: they killed the very idea of evil, though they killed very few of the people who had been infected with it… And if by the twenty-first century humanity has not yet blown itself up and has not suffocated itself—perhaps it is this direction that will triumph? Yes, and if it does not triumph—then all humanity’s history will have turned out to be an empty exercise in marking time, without the tiniest mite of meaning! Whither and to what end will we otherwise be moving? To beat the enemy over the head with a club—even cavemen knew that.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Soviets at Nuremberg https://podbay.fm/p/dan-snows-history-hit/e/1598544000 "SHOW NOTES Francine Hirsch joined me on the pod to discuss the full story of the Nuremberg Trials, one in which the Soviet Union was a defining player."
BBC Radio 4 Series - "The story of the trial of Nazi war criminals following Germany's surrender in 1945." BBC Radio 4 - Nuremberg: The Trial of the Nazi War Criminals - Episode guide https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2021/radio-4-nuremberg Germany, May 1945: a surrender, a country in chaos and the top Nazi leaders attempting to slip away. A new drama from Radio 4 follows the race to track down and capture war criminals, the struggle to establish the trial itself, the horrific evidence - and finally the monumental sentencing. ‘Nuremberg' begins as Nazi commanders are arrested and held in a former luxury but now stripped-out Luxembourg hotel. The accused await trial, on suicide watch and at risk of reprisals. The series tracks how the trial was pulled together, wrestling the legal systems of Britain, America, France and Russia. And how it almost never happened, stretched between the desires of Truman, Churchill and Stalin - then almost collapsed. Listeners will hear the tension of court proceedings as prosecutors scale an overwhelming mountain of evidence. Seized from retreating Nazis, the Navy Archive alone comprised of 485 tons of paper. Testimonies detail the convenient ‘amnesia’ of onetime Deputy Führer, Rudolf Hess, the self-adoring grandiosity of Nazi power figure Hermann Goering, and the tactical repentance from architect Albert Speer. But most importantly of all the first ever hearing of harrowing evidence of the Holocaust, with the trial effectively inventing the word ‘genocide’ to describe crimes inflicted upon Jews, Roma and other minorities. Written by Jonathan Myerson, the drama tells the story from the lesser-heard perspectives of those amongst thousands of individuals tasked with fighting what became the last battle of World War II - an interpreter, psychologist, reporter, a court officer and others who enabled it to happen. In order to ensure an authentic reconstruction of events, Myerson and producer Nicholas Newton pored over the 20 volumes of court transcripts, reviewed 2,000 hours of audio and newsreel, and collated contemporary news reports and interviews with participants. The result is a drama crafted with verbatim accuracy. Alison Hindell, Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Drama and Fiction says: “It’s been nearly 75 years since the sentencing, and this comprehensive drama recreates for listeners an important and world-changing story and offers fascinating insights stretching beyond the better-known Nuremberg narratives.” Rhian Roberts, Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Digital and Podcasts, adds: “The Nuremberg podcast, with its additional material, is designed to appeal to listeners who may not be familiar with the story of the trial; to present these phenomenal moments of history in a compelling style so we can all continue to understand how our world was shaped by them.” The acclaimed cast assembled for Nuremberg includes Natalie Dormer (Game Of Thrones), Freddie Fox (Cucumber, Banana, White House Farm), Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders, Wolf Hall), Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who), Ed Stoppard (The Pianist), Olivier Award-winner Henry Goodman and more. Nuremberg is available to audiences both on Radio 4 as an eight-part drama beginning 2.15pm on Friday 27 August, and as an extended 16-part podcast only on BBC Sounds featuring additional detail about what was happening historically. The drama comes ahead of the 75th anniversary of sentencing. Nuremberg 1/8 - Friday 27 August, 2.15pm - 2.45pm Also available as a 16-part extended podcast, in full on BBC Sounds from 27 August Cast Sergeant Monelli ….. Elliot Cowan The Hon. Diana Ravenscourt ….. Kate Phillips Roger Barrett ….. Luke Norris Airey Neave ….. Freddie Fox Tatiana Sablikova ….. Amanda Ryan Gustav Gilbert ….. Ed Stoppard Madeleine Jacob ….. Alex Kingston Emma Schwabenland ….. Natalie Dormer Hermann Goering ….. Nigel Lindsay Colonel Andrus ….. Joseph Alessi Robert H. Jackson ….. Joseph Mydell Sir Geoffrey Lawrence ….. Nicholas Woodeson Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe ….. Forbes Masson Judge Biddle ….. Clive Wood Iona Nikitchenko ….. Henry Goodman Anton Freud ….. Mark Edel-Hunt Judge Parker ….. Nathan Wiley Robert G. Storey ….. Hari Dhillon Douglas Kelley ….. Ilan Goodman Joachim von Ribbentrop ….. Jasper Britton Wilhelm Keitel ….. Jonathan Cullen Fred Pelican ….. Andrew Woodall Christa ….. Rosie Sheehy Edda Goering ….. Sophia Pettit Titles ….. Lewis Macleod Other roles played by members of the cast Production Sound designer: Adam Woodhams Studio Manager: Mark Smith Casting Director: Ginny Schiller Original Score: Metaphor Music Director: Jonathan Myerson Producer: Nicholas Newton A Promenade production for BBC Radio 4
