FSU CCJ 4938r - Accountability for Human Rights Violations

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Part II Accountability for Human Rights Violations 12 million people killed by the Nazis 6 million European Jews Nuremberg Trials Germany had killed 100 000 German civilians not just jews mentally ill handicapped elderly o German civilians were the first victims 3 5 million Russian POWs o Hitler despised Russians o Perfected gas chambers by trying out gas on Russian POW o Used as guinea pigs of how to kill mass populations 500 000 Roma Gypsies German Concentration Camps targeted people who did fit the perfect Arian race profile How to Prosecute crimes of this magnitude o Stalin saw one murder as a crime but mass killing as a statistic Prosecute military leader Prosecute Civilian leaders o First thought find the military leaders and prosecute them o Some civilians had rose to levels and had major roles o Radio spokesmen PR people that were extremely Nazi and anit jewish that pushed propaganda Prosecute those who actually carried out atrocities o Do we want to also prosecute those who committed the acts because they were given orders Nuremberg Trials Command Control Military leaders liable for what their troops do o 1 Actual control of troops o 2 Commanders knew or did nothing to prevent or prosecute Allies knew if they used this theory to prosecute them they must prove these two requirements Decided they don t have the resources or time to prosecute lower level 1474 1st International war trial o German knight commander accused of allowing his troops to rape pillage and murder o Convicted by 27 judges of the Holy Roman Empire and executed him even though he never personally rapes or murdered anyone o First time the Command Control theory was used in history o Allies used this as an example model Nuremberg Trials British Model Churchill s solution Shoot the top German leaders quickly and publicly without a trial Nuremberg Trials Russian Model Stalin s solution Execute all 50 000 German officers without a trial Execute anyone who had been an officer US Great Britain France Russia 4 allies that brought Hitler down that were coming together to discuss the models Nuremberg Trials US Model Insistence on judicial process of some kind Must have a trial to prove innocence or guilt US had the most money at that point so the US model was used Nuremberg Trials Allies create a new model for war crimes trials Each of the 4 major Allies US Britain France Russia name a prosecutor and a judge o Would be a Russian judge American Judge British judge and French judge o Same with prosecutor o A feeling that Germany was incapable of holding these trials themselves o Didn t trust Germany to hold these trials themselves What Legal Rules to Use Russia Show Trial Just have accusations then take them all out and execute them mass executions Britain European Model o No juries no separate prosecutor o Only have a Judge prosecutor judge o Trial is an investigation lead by a judge USA Adversarial Model o Prosecutor and Defense Attorney o Independent Judge 3rd party fact finder o Examination and cross examination o Some kind of truth will come out of this adversarial model o US Model prevailed o 4 judges and 4 prosecutors in order to be convicted you had to be found guilty by 3 of the judges o Because it was an adversarial model chosen that the US already used the US had some type of advantage Chief Prosecutor Justice Robert Jackson of the U S Supreme Court o Guilt is individual it is not collective o Chosen by Truman to be our prosecutor U S selection for Nuremberg Judge former Attorney General Francis Biddle Classic Charge of War Crimes Definition of a war crime Charges of the Nuremburg Trials 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 Italy Hungary Romania o Mass killings outside the scope of war before formally declaring war on 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 22 Nazi leaders indicted civilian military Highest ranking Hermann Goering 2nd in the command to Hitler 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 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 o The Ex Post Facto Defense happened Things the Germans were charged with were not crimes under international law at the time they This is retroactive prosecution cant 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 o The State Crime Defense 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 subordinates do We were only following orders The defense of lower level officers and soldiers who carried out atrocities at the command of o


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FSU CCJ 4938r - Accountability for Human Rights Violations

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Notes

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Test 2

Test 2

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Test 1

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49 pages

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10 pages

Exam 3

Exam 3

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Notes

Notes

37 pages

Deviance

Deviance

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Essay

Essay

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Exam 2

Exam 2

22 pages

Test 2

Test 2

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Midterm

Midterm

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Exam 1

29 pages

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

18 pages

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

13 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

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Notes

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Notes

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Exam 3

Exam 3

16 pages

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