...The Nuremberg Trials War crimes, in practice, are offenses charged against the losers of the war by victor. During WW II there were three types of war crimes were committed by Germany. The first: crimes against peace, which included preparing for and starting a war of aggression in violation of treaties. The second: murder, ill treatment, the killing of hostages; plunder of public or private property; the destruction of cities and towns. The third: crimes against humanity, which include persecution on racial, political, or religious grounds either before or during a war. All of these violations were raised on Germany's actions. Trials of the Nazi leaders begun on October 18, 1945, and lasted for 10 months. Trials of Japanese leaders began on May 3, 1946 in Tokyo and ended on November 12, 1948. There were more than 2,000 lesser trials accusing Nazi leaders of wrong doing. Even more took place in the Soviet Union. Most of the war criminals were convicted, and many were also executed. The Nuremberg Trials, one of the more substantial trials, accused 22 German Nazi leaders of war crimes. Altogether 12 were sentenced to death, including Keitel, Ribbentrop, Rosenberg, Bromann (who was tried in absentia), and Goering (who committed suicide). Only three, including Hess were given life sentences. Just four, including Doenitz and Speer were sentenced to up to 20 years of prison. Amazingly, three including Papen and Schacht were acquitted. These trials brought some...
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...To what extent the Doctor’s Trial held in Nuremberg established a precedent in human experimentation and human rights movement? Table of Contents A. Plan of Investigation………………………………………………………………………3 B. Summary of Evidence………………………………………………………………………...4-7 C. Evaluation of Sources…………………………………………………………………………….8 D. Analysis……………………………………………………………………………9 E. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………10 F. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………11 G. Appendix A. Plan of Investigation This investigation assesses to what extent was the significance of the Doctor’s Trial in establishing a precedent for human experimentation and the advancement of the human rights movement. The body of evidence would contain all the events that lead to a change of the view of human experimentation and rights. The researcher evaluated the process in which the Doctor’s Trial at Nuremberg marked an example to human rights today and how the Nuremberg Code helped exercise the decisions made at the Nuremberg trials. Primary sources as the partial transcript of the Doctor’s trial were used to evaluate the contribution of the verdicts made at the trials to human rights. Documents will be analyzed in regards to their origin, purpose, value, and limitations in order to properly evaluate the evidence. B. Summary of Evidence On December 9, 1946, an American military tribunal opened criminal proceedings against twenty-three leading German physicians and administrators for their...
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...as the Nuremberg defense, lawful orders or by the German phrase "Befehl ist Befehl" ("orders are orders"), is a plea in a court of law that a person, whether a member of the armed forces or a civilian, not be held guilty for actions which were ordered by a superior officer or a public official.[1] The superior orders plea is often regarded as the complement to command responsibility.[2] One of the most noted uses of this plea, or "defense," was by the accused in the 1945–46 Nuremberg Trials, such that it is also called the "Nuremberg defense". The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the main victorious Allied forces after World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany. It was during these trials, under the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal which set them up, that the defense of superior orders was no longer considered enough to escape punishment; but merely enough to lessen punishment.[3] Historically, the plea of superior orders has been used both before and after the Nuremberg Trials, with a notable lack of consistency in various rulings. Apart from the specific plea of Superior Orders, discussions about how the general concept of superior orders ought to be used, or ought not to be used, have taken place in various arguments, rulings and Statutes that have not necessarily been part of “after the fact” war crimes trials, strictly...
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...Sara Wadlow PS 434 Research Paper May 3, 2015 Introduction The Syrian Civil War has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Since 2011, protests and attacks have been a daily occurrence, and the regime of Bashar Al-Assad has done what it believed was necessary to stop rebel forces and end protests. As such, Assad has committed many questionable, at best, and criminal, at worst, actions against the civilians of Syria in an effort to stop the rebels. The indiscriminate warfare Assad has used against Syrian citizens is shown in multiple international doctrines as illegal, and is thus a war crime, which should be prosecuted. The Statue of the International Criminal Court defines war crimes as “serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict” and “serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in an armed conflict not of an international character (ICRC 2016). Section IV of Rule 156 of the International Committee of the Red Cross, titled Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed During a Non-International Armed Conflict, lists use of prohibited weapons subject to criminal sanctions, and specifically references the Chemical Weapons Convention, Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and the Ottawa Convention as laying the groundwork for this guideline. This paper will address historical context of the Syrian Civil War, United Nations documents concerning...
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...During World War ll, many horrific events occurred. The people that caused the events were put to trial and charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. Their trials that brought justice were called the Nuremberg trials. The Nuremberg trials were a series of thirteen trials made by the allies held between 1945-1949 (Holocaust Timeline: Aftermath). In these trials, twenty-two criminals were received their punishment for their abominable crimes (Holocaust Timeline: Aftermath). The trials had taken place in Nuremberg, Germany at the Palace of Justice because Berlin had been to war-damaged (Angela Wood, 168, Jason Skog, 28). The trials were also held in Nuremberg because it is where racial laws were passed (Angela...
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...Tribunals By Cathy Kendzior Tribunals To first understand why a tribunal is important one must understand what a tribunal is and does. A tribunal is a committee or court which is convened to address a special issue. Apart from the mainstream courts, numerous tribunals have been created as an alternative method of dispute resolution in areas where there is a need for specialist knowledge. Tribunals are not part of the regular legal system, but they are usually established by the government and their results are legally binding. Tribunals maybe put together for a number of reasons and proceedings can be open or closed. By the end of the 20th century it was clear that the tribunal structure was a likely candidate for reform given the number of different tribunals, all operating under different procedures and government. A classic reason to convene a tribunal is where the international community wants to hold hearings pertaining to genocide, acts of war or any other event. These hearings are held on a international level to avoid accusations of manipulation or favoritism. Tribunals came under scrutiny in 1957 with the Franks Committee. The committee claimed tribunals were “cheapness, accessibility, freedom form technicality, expedition and expert knowledge of their particular subject” (lawobserver.com). The franks report led to the Tribunals and Inquiries Act of 1958 which has now been replaced by the Tribunals and Inquiries Act of 1992. Under these...
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...the deadliest conflict in human history which resulted in million fatalities. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military trials held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazis. After the World War II the laws and procedures were written down for the Nuremberg Trial and at that time using jurisprudence which provides a theory for why we need laws the committee defined a new law “Crime Against Humanity” as “Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated”. This law was added to the draft and the Nazis were indicted for war crimes, crime against peace and crime against humanity. The new law “Crime Against Humanity” is derived from the “Natural Law” which is oldest law of jurisprudence which states “that the governments and legal systems should reflect the moral and ethical ideas that are inherent in human nature”. Basically all the laws are believed to have been derived from natural law. Thus, on the basis of this law the judges of the Nuremberg Trial dismissed all the claims of the defendants and overruled the possibility of letting...
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...gradually developing consensus about the key ethical principles that should underlie the research endeavor. Two marker events stand out (among many others) as symbolic of this consensus. The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial following World War II brought to public view the ways German scientists had used captive human subjects as subjects in oftentimes gruesome experiments. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study involved the withholding of known effective treatment for syphilis from African-American participants who were infected. Events like these forced the reexamination of ethical standards and the gradual development of a consensus that potential human subjects needed to be protected from being used as 'guinea pigs' in scientific research. By the 1990s, the dynamics of the situation changed. Cancer patients and persons with AIDS fought publicly with the medical research establishment about the long time needed to get approval for and complete research into potential cures for fatal diseases. In many cases, it is the ethical assumptions of the previous thirty years that drive this 'go-slow' mentality. After all, we would rather risk denying treatment for a while until we achieve enough confidence in a treatment, rather than run the risk of harming innocent people (as in the Nuremberg and Tuskegee events). But now, those who were threatened with fatal illness were saying to the research establishment that they wanted to be test subjects, even under experimental conditions...
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...the issues of the political vacuum of power now that the leading party of the nation for the last 12 years, also the systems and culture created by this. Their main ways of tackling the Nazi legacy boiled down to several major areas; denazification, democratisation and the Nuremberg trials. The success of dealing with the Nazi legacy was fairly limited especially with the division of germany, also in such a short time period the ally powers struggled to find their feet. The Nuremberg trials which took place from the 20 november1945 -1 october 1946, were the trials of the leading Nazi war criminals or what was left of them. There were 13 trials in total over this time period and was the most tangible form of dealing with the Nazi legacy and holding those who were responsible. The prisoners were tried for; crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity and conspiracy, most of the evidence only came to light at the trials and are now what we consider most of the Nazi plans and actions. By the end of the trials 3 were acquitted and 12 were sentenced to death including Goring. The trials were able to sentence the remaining Nazis but aren’t the major way of dealing with the legacy they left. The trials set a president for what would happen to the Nazis and were rather symbolic of destroying the legacy, also by killing or sentencing the leading Nazis it prevented the reoccurrence of the Nazi party forming with any major members from the war. It also found the men rightly guilty...
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...The Nuremberg Trials by R. D. A student essay from Dr. Elliot Neaman's History 210 class (historical methods - fall 1996) © Elliot Neaman / PHDN Reproduction interdite par quelque moyen que ce soit / no reproduction allowed ________________________________________ The Nuremberg Trials took place during the immediate aftermath of World War II. They were the first trials in history to indict an entire regime for aggressive war crimes. These crimes included invading other nations, violating the Treaty of Versailles and most significantly, "crimes against humanity". These crimes were what later became known as the Holocaust, in which millions of innocent victims were deported, enslaved and systematically executed. The victims were primarily Jewish however many other victims suffered at the hands of the Nazis such as: Poles, Gypsies, the handicapped and the elderly. The Nuremberg Charter "defined war crimes as violations of the laws or customs of war"(Rosenbaum p, 30). Including killing of hostages, ill-treatment of civilians, use of forced labor and looting of public and private property and racial persecution. The International Military Tribunal, the prosecutors consisting of lawyers and judges from the United States, France, England and the Soviet Union had countless evidence of these crimes committed by the Nazis, however to serve justice to every individual for their inhumane actions was impossible. The Nuremberg Trials prosecuted twenty one defendants (all of whom were...
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... ‘CRIME AGAINST THE HUMANITY’, means that the acts of persecution or any large-scale atrocities against a body of people, as being the criminal offense above all others. Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal and social abuses. The right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to engage in political activity are the fundamental human rights. The rights exist in morality and in law at the national and international levels. The main sources of the contemporary conception of human rights are the Universal declaration of Human rights, the treaties that followed in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the African Union. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out number of human rights that countries should respect and protect, which are normally divided into six. They are Security rights that protect people against abuses of the legal system such as imprisonment without trial, secret trials and excessive punishments, liberty, rights that protect the liberty to participate in politics through actions such as communicating, assembling, protesting, voting and serving in public office, equality rights that guarantee equal citizenship, equality before the law and non discrimination and social rights that require provision of education to all children...
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...“Hate and intolerance are the catalysts for the destruction of a family, of a culture, and a nation”, by Werner Gellert, chair of The New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum and Study Center. (history:www.nmholocaustmuseum.com) It is vital to remember and pass to a new generation the history and lessons of the Holocaust since over 5.7 million Jewish people had their lives taken away by a man who was intolerant of their religion. The largest numbers of victims of the Holocaust were Polish citizens. Adolf Hitler tried to destroy a nation by destroying families who were targeted because of their religion and culture. George Santayana said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (history: quoteland.com) This quote explains why the lessons and history of the Holocaust need to be passed on to student’s today and future generations of students. Students need to clearly understand why Hitler wanted to rid Europe of the Jewish people, what was done to them in the concentration camps, how the families were split apart, and how he tried to destroy the Jewish religion and culture. The Holocaust plays an important role in world history. The word genocide was developed after events in Europe, between 1933 and 1945, called for a legal concept to be used to describe the “deliberate destruction of a larger group.” Genocide became a crime punishable under international law. (Genocide:britannica.com) The United Nations had difficulty defining the term “war...
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...groups because of their nationality, ethnicity, gender or religion, then the international community began to see the necessity of holding political leaders accountable for their political decisions in a court of law, (Hauss, 2003). After World War II, when the atrocities of the Holocaust became well known, the victorious Allied powers decided to hold war crimes tribunals to punish the political and military leaders of Germany and Japan. The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials were the first of their kind in establishing international precedent for the prosecution of war crimes. Later war crimes that were committed in Yugoslavia and Rwanda resulted in the creation of separate tribunals by the United Nations to punish the leaders who perpetrated these acts. Attempts are being made to set up an International Criminal Court, but several powerful countries, including the United States, have refused to support its establishment. Introduction The history of war crimes tribunals only begins after World War II, when the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals were established. The Allied powers of World War I attempted to prosecute war crimes committed by...
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...Understanding Morality Topic: Death Penalty 1. General theory overview Utilitarianism will check the outcome that results from punishing the criminals and whether it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory of social contract is supported by Hobbes. He argues that the state of nature is “the life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” His solution is to come together and agree to a social contract, whose aim is to protect people from harm by others as well as to guarantee all the parties can keep the agreement. Kant says we need to act out of duty of moral rule. When we treat criminals, the only reason to be regarded as praiseworthy must be nothing else than the crime itself. Then we should consider the 1st form of categorical imperatives, which says “act only on the maxim that you can will as a universal law”. Next, we must take the 2nd categorical imperatives into account. It says “always treat humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”. On the retributivist view, legal punishment is justified as a means of making those who are responsible for a crime or harm pay for it. According to the retributivist view, payment must to be made in some way that is equivalent to the crime or harm done. There are two arguments, proportional equivalency and egalitarian equivalency. For proportional equivalency, one is required to pay back something proportional...
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...When thinking of great leaders that I identify with, one person comes to mind and it is a choice that I don’t take lightly because of what he did before he turned his life around. Liberia and Sierra Leone were the scenes of human atrocities that war caused and brutality against human kind that man conducted. The hacking off of limbs and raping of women were just some of the crimes committed against humanity. One man in particular was the most brutal of all. His name is known as General Butt Naked. Known for going into battle only with ammo a weapon and shoes, his army of kidnapped and drugged child soldiers committed killings of other women men and children under his command. After the war this General was visited by a priest and told him that he would atone for his crimes and raise up the very people he destroyed. During the war crimes tribunal, amnesty was offered to all those who committed crimes and killings during the war. The only person who showed up was General Butt Naked. He was pardoned for his crimes because of what he had been doing before the tribunal. This man raped killed and mutilated people without thought. But he did something that changed my mind and life after watching his documentary. He gave his life to God and began a crusade by saying two words, “I’m sorry.” He went to every village, home and person that he committed these crimes against and apologized. He gave up his life and used it to start the process of reconciliation and forgiveness. I don’t take...
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