Study Guide for Exam 2 2015 1 The charges defenses and legal precedents of the Nuremberg Trials Classic Charge of War Crimes Definition of a war crime 1 Crimes committed by the military 2 Has to have happened in time of war 3 Has to be against the military or civilians of a hostile country War Crimes o Include Killing civilians in occupied territory Killing POWs Enslaving civilians for forced labor Gaps in War Crimes Definition o Crimes the Nazis committed against German citizens especially German Jews o Crimes the Nazis committed against civilians in countries allied with Germany o Mass killings outside the scope of war before formally declaring war on Italy Hungary Romania somebody New Charge Crimes Against Humanity Inhumane acts committed against the civilian population o murder extermination enslavement o civilians as well as military could be charged Limitation crimes had to be planned and systematic single offense did not qualify Can also happen outside of war time situations The Indictments Highest ranking Hermann Goering 2nd in the command to Hitler 22 Nazi leaders indicted civilian military o Took part in everything that Hitler did o Was able to commit suicide because someone snuck him a cyanid pill so the US couldn t execute him o Included generals admirals political leaders and civilians who ran arms industry People who sold the gas for chambers etc Didn t go after the lower level guys that committed the acts German Defenses Defenses o The Goering Defense o The Ex Post Facto Defense This was a show trial with no jurisdiction and was merely victor s justice He and fellow Germans could only be tried under German law Wanted to be shot like a soldier instead of being hung Justice Jackson s Response If these men are the first war leaders of a defeated nation to be prosecuted in the name of the law they are also the first to be given a chance to plead for their lives in the name of the law said this isn t a show trial it s a real trial Things the Germans were charged with were not crimes under international law at the time they happened This is retroactive prosecution can t charge someone with something that wasn t against the law when they committed the act You can t be charged with something that was not a crime at the time that they did it Jackson s Response There is no injustice in punishing defendants for something they knew was wrong even if the action was not specifically covered by international law Avoids entire legal argument Didn t want Nazi s to get away with anything due to technicalities It was the German state that committed these crimes Not individuals Hitler created laws that had created a hostile state Said they couldn t disobey a law Jackson s Response Individuals commit atrocities Individuals must be prosecuted Command Control Theory Leaders are responsible for what their o The State Crime Defense subordinates do o Superior Orders Defense We were only following orders The defense of lower level officers and soldiers who carried out atrocities at the command of superior officers Jackson s Response This is not a defense Lower level soldiers are to be prosecuted for offenses they commit whether or not they have been given orders There is an obligation to disobey orders when they involve committing a human rights violation Can no longer say I was just following orders as a defense in international law Nuremberg Trial Verdicts 22 o 11 condemned to death o 3 life sentences o 3 given prison terms o 3 found not guilty o 2 committed suicide Nuremberg Trial Legacy Legal Precedents o It was victor s justice But with due process of law something Nazis never gave their victims o Imperfect justice but justice o Now seen as being credible o Individuals at the highest level of government can now be prosecuted for human rights violations by an international tribunal o Following orders no longer a defense o Both civilians and military can be prosecuted o Command Control Theory now an established part of International Law 2 The definition of genocide Treaty defines Genocide The intentional elimination of an entire group based on race religion nationality or ethnicity 4 grounds of genocide 3 The requirements of the UN Convention Against Genocide Provides two obligation Requirements of the UN Convention Against Genocide o Any state that ratifies must 1 prosecute genocide 2 prevent genocide 4 The roles of Raphael Lemkin and William Proxmire in combating genocide Rafael Lemkin o Polish Jewish lawyer who had become obsessed with looking back through history at times when entire people had become wiped out or people attempted to wipe out an entire people o He created the word Genocide o was determined to make it a crime under international law o was able to get out of Poland before Hitler took it over and went to the US and o Tried to get a treaty passed by the UN to prohibit genocide o write letters called people tried to get it included in the Nuremberg trials taught at Duke unable to o He had lost his entire family to the Nazis o By 1948 he was able to get the UN to pass the UN Convention Against Genocide Treaty defines Genocide The intentional elimination of an entire group based on race religion nationality or ethnicity 4 grounds of genocide Definition of genocide Wanted to include political beliefs but Stalin refused to include that in the grounds of genocide Stalin had committed mass murders based on political beliefs Provides two obligation Requirements of the UN Convention Against Genocide Any state that ratifies must o 1 prosecute genocide o 2 prevent genocide o Eventually became an American citizen o When in Geneva at a bar he saw a pretty Chilean woman and he started talking about genocide Senator William Proxmier o Senator from Wisconsin o Proxmier also obsessed with genocide over history o Vowed to make a speech every day in congress until they ratified this treaty o Gave a speech everyday even to empty seat o took 19 years 3200 speeches 5 The background and human rights violations of the 1991 1995 Balkan conflict Cambodian Genocide by Pol Pot largely ignored by the West in the 1970s o Pol Pot died in the jungle without justice o Pol Pot attempts to turn Cambodia into a completely agrarian country and eliminate all Western education and influence o Purges Cambodia with a genocide that takes the lives of almost 3 million people o Get rid of everything western and anything that has to do with business o Went after the children of Cambodia and wanted them to rat out
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