Judgment at Nuremburg: Defending Humanity, presented by Dr. Edward Gordon

Between November 1945 and October 1946, 24 high-ranking Nazi leaders were brought to trial before an international court assembled in Nuremberg, Germany. They were indicted on such charges as crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. This was the first time in history for a trial that established precedents and procedures for dealing with wartime genocide and other atrocities. In this program historian Ed Gordon will tell the important story of how these German leaders were brought to trial, charged, and defended. He will center this program on the Third Reich’s principal leaders – Herman Goering, Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer, and Wilhelm Keitel – and how they planned and implemented the Nazi Holocaust. This program will also consider: How were the court’s justices chosen? Did an international court have the right to examine a nation’s treatment of its own and other nation’s citizens? Can the plea that “they were just following orders” mitigate guilt? Was Nuremberg an example of “victor’s justice”? If Hitler had lived, how would he have defended his actions? What took place at the 12 additional trials that were held at Nuremberg between 1946 and 1949? The trial exposed the profound criminality of the Nazi leadership primarily based on their own carefully kept records. It was an important step forward in the establishment of international law as it led to such documents as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also helped to map out the future course of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial that was held from 1946 to 1948.