Nuremberg Trials
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At the end of World War II the Nuremberg trails started. This meant people who helped Hitler in the World War II would face punishment. A lot of people say this was the greatest trail in history. Many people said this was not a fair trail. The Nuremberg trail was fair because the trail had rules to follow. Nazis leaders had lawyers, in the trial it was eight judges and everyone had the right to speak.
Defendants have to know certain rights when they got into trail. The defendant has to be informed of the nature and causes of the accusation. Other thing the defendant has to be confronted with the witnesses against him and question them in open court. Also to have trial process for the trail needs to obtain witnesses in his favor and to have assistance of counsel for his defense. Every person accused of crime has the right to offer the best possible defense. (5)
A jury must try all the people accused of federal crimes. A defendant may waive the right to a jury trial. But that can be done only if the judges is satisfied that the defendant understand what actions means. In fact, a judge may order a jury trail even when the defend does not want the jury. A jury trial is very important to know, because it can help you and can affect you at the same time. In the Nuremberg trial the allies provide the judges (two from each allies). (5)(1)
The Nazis leaders that were accused had different reasons to be on trial, because each one of them had different positions in WWII. All the people got informed why they were on trail and what they did in WWII. The Nazis leaders had a jury and if they speak different languages it was not a problem because they got the trial on their own languages. They got witnesses the were in favor of them they got witnesses against them. These are some of the reasons that the trail was fair for the defendants. (1)
Many Nazis leaders were put on trail because they helped Hitler in WWII. One of the most famous Nazis leaders that were put on trail was Rudolf Hess. Hess was the personal secretary of Hitler and he did not have official rank in the Nazi party. In 1932 Hess became to be the chairman of centrail political commission of the Nazis party and SS general as a reward for his loyal services. Hess was the second most important man on the Nazis leaders and he was found guilty and he was sent to sentence death. (2)
All the trials had witnesses to prove the truth or make easier the decision of the judges and the Nuremberg trial was for be a fair trial. The Nuremberg trial had a doctor for a witness. The doctor showed all humanity that the Nazis leaders made in the concentrations camp. Other of the witnesses that were on the Nuremberg trial were Alois Hollirigal, he said the he saw extermination of inates of the camp by shooting and gassing. There are two famous witnesses that were on the Nuremberg trail they were Eruwin Lahusen and Otto Olenderf. Eruwin was in favor of the defendants and Otto Ohlenderf, and he was against the defendants. These just prove that on the Nuremberg trail had witnesses in favor of the Nazis leaders and against them. (3)
The International Military Tribunal tries to punish the Nazis leaders for causing of the WWII. The charges against the accused were four charges. The first charge was “conspiring to engage in the other three accounts”. The second charge was “crimes against peace”. The third of the charge was “war crimes”. The last charge was “the crimes against humanity”. These are the four charges against the Nazis leaders. (4)
One of the charge was “conspiring to engage in the other three accounts”. This charge was for any of the defendants. These meant all participation in any way to war machine of Germany. Does not matter what way was it can be financial, physical, or ideological everybody of the members were indicted under this account. This is what conspiring to engage means. (4)
Another charge was “crimes against peace”. The crime against peace means the planning and pre-party of aggressive war. This also contains any type like financial, or ideological attempt to wage war. The leadership of the country the same as the armed force the finance, there have made this also valid to all the defendants. This is why the charge “crime against peace” it was valid. (4)
The next charge was “war crimes” and this included violations of the law of war. These is very interesting because in the war are rules. The shooting Pow’s, as same as waging undeclared war, were include this charges. No everybody of the members was included in this charge. This charge became valid in the Nuremberg trial. (4)
This was the last charge was “crimes against humanities” and contained violation of the human rights. This charge in contains the enslaving of civilians and Pow’s. It contained deportations and involuntary relocations of people. It also contained the death and physical work camps and the tread somebody of the Jew, Slavs, Rome and he prove the experiments that it was made on the concentrations camp. This how the last charge became effective. (4)
In the Nuremberg trial the prosecutors had to used evidence a guilty verdict. The prosecutors used films such as the Nazis plans and a Nazis concentrations camp. Other thing that they used for evidence it was pictures. The prosecutors used the testimony of witnesses and documents. It was a lot pieces for evidence that the prosecutors had to used for the verdict. (4)
The films that the prosecutors used showed the Nazi plan. It was the Nazi film, which was used show the support of the defendants for Nazism. Even at the trail “the defendants were leaving toward in hypnotic fashion”. It showed the Nazis people’s Court’s in which defendants were convicted to death with something, which did not deserve to be called “trial”. Another film it was about the “Nazis concentration camp” was a collection of videos put together to shed light on the camps this films showed atrocities of concentrations camps and effective method of killing disposal. The prosecutors had to used the films for the verdict. (4)
The prosecutors not only used films they also used pictures. These pictures contained concentrations camps and pictures of another crimes were produced. The defendants presented some pictures to defendant themselves. A lot of the pictures it was taken by official Nazi photography personnel. There were a lot of pictures that the prosecutors used on the trail. (4)
But other thing the prosecutors used for evidence was the testimony of witnesses and documents. These contain documentation efficiency of concentration camps, deportation documentation, as same as orders plans for war among others. The shed light on purposes and meant of acquiring goals for the Reich. The prosecution at the Nuremberg trail found many ways of the idea. The testimony of witnesses and people was always received as truth has been prove false, even often it helped put the defendants in jail or kill them. The judges had over whelming amount of evidence to convict the Nazis leaders. The defense had the opportunity to say all they want to say in front of the judges. (4)
The Nuremberg trail finished on October 1,1946 the International Military Tribunal said the verdicts. It was twenty-two defendants of the twenty-two defendants eleven were given the death penalty, three were acquitted, three were given life prison and four were give imprisonment and four were given imprisonment ranging from ten to twenty years. The defendants that the sentenced to death were hanged at the Spandav Prison on October 6,1946. The defendants who received prison sentences were sent to Spandav Prison. These are how the Nazis leaders were punished on Nuremberg trail by International Military Tribunal. (4)
This is what made the Nuremberg trial fair .The Nuremberg trial leave clear the witness against the defendants and favor of them. In the Nuremberg trial it was evidence the make guilty at the Nazis defendants. Everybody had the right to speak and made the verdict based on the testimony of the witnesses and the evidence. This is why the Nuremberg trial was fair
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Glossary
Charge: v. to accuse someone or blame.
Courts: n a room in which a law court is regularly held.
Defendant: n. law the person in a law court who is being sued or accused.
Evidence: n. law something presented before court as stamen of a witnesses; an object.
Guilty: v. having done wrong deserving of blame culpable.
Jew: n. a person who is an adherent of Judaism.
Judge: n. a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law.
Nazi: n. members of the National Socialist German Workers’ party of Germany, which in 1933, Under Adolf Hitler.
Bibliography
1) Linder, Douglass O. Nuremberg trials 1998
http://ww.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/nuremberg.htm
2) Pukinskas, Rokas. Rudolf Hess. 2000
http://www.geocities.com/capitoinill/congress/2106/hess/hessmain.htm
3) The Avalon Project at Yale law school 1996
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/witness.htm
4) L. Jorge. The Nuremberg trials.2001
http://cghs.dadeschools.net /ib_holocaust-2001/Nuremberg_Trials/issues.htm
5) McClenaghan. William A. American Government. Massachusetts: Prentice Hall, 1988