Part 2 Accountability for Human Rights Violation 12 million people killed by the Nazis 6 million European Jews Nuremberg Trials Germany had killed 100 000 German civilians non Jewish mentally ill handicapped elderly o Hitler regarded them as baggage embarrassment o Began killing off years before the World War II 3 5 million Russian POWs o After Germany invaded Russia they would lock Russian prisoners in small rooms and use different types of poison to figure out what the best way to kill someone quickly is 500 000 Roma Gypsies o Hitler had a particular hatred for them o Seen at times as being associated with common crime Questions How to prosecute crimes of this magnitude Prosecute military leaders Prosecute civilian leaders Prosecute those who actually carried out atrocities Command Control Theory Military leaders liable for what their troops do Actual control of troops Commanders knew or did nothing to prevent or prosecute 1474 1st international war trial German knight commander accused of allowing his troops to rape pillage and murder Convicted by 27 judges of the Holy Roman Empire which was most of continental Europe and found the knight guilty and executed him Knight s defense was that he never killed or raped anyone himself First time a commander was held accountable for something his lower level troops had done British Model o Shoot the top German leaders without a trial Russian model U S Model o Execute all 50 000 German officers o Insistence on judicial process of some kind o Truman wanted to determine innocence or guilt of the human rights violation first Allies create a new model for war crimes trials Each of the 4 major allies USA Britain France Russia name a prosecutor and a judge What Legal Rules to use o Russia Show Trial Accusations Followed by mass executions o Britain European model No juries no separate prosecutor Trial an investigation by a judge Judge prosecutor o USA Adversarial Model Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Independent judge doesn t take sides Third party in the courtroom Has to decide Who s telling me more of the truth Examination and cross examination Chief Prosecutor Justice Robert Jackson of the U S Supreme Court U S selection for Nuremberg Judge former attorney General Francis Biddle Classic Charge of War Crimes o 3 part definition 1 Crimes committed by the military 2 3 Against the military or civilians of a hostile country In time of war War Crimes Include Killing civilians in occupied territory Killing POWs Enslaving civilians for forced labor Gaps in War Crimes Definition Crimes the Nazis committed against German citizens especially German Jews Crimes the Nazis committed against civilians in countries allied with Germany Italy Hungary Romania Mass killings outside the scope of war New charge Crimes against Humanity Inhumane acts committed against the civilian population Murder extermination enslavement Civilians as well as military could be charged Limitation crimes had to be planned and systematic single offense did not qualify Crimes against humanity can also happen outside of war time situations Germany doesn t have to have declared a war against someone to commit a crime against humanity 22 Nazi leaders indicted civilian military Highest ranking Hermann Goering 2nd in command to Hitler Committed suicide before he could be hanged Established a friendship with a U S solider from Texas and it is thought that he slipped him a pill The Indictments Included generals admirals political leaders and civilians who ran arms industry German defenses The Goering Defense The Ex Post Facto Defense This was a show trial with no jurisdiction was merely victor s justice He and fellow Germans soldiers could only be tried under German law 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 Things the Germans were charged with had were not crimes under international law at the time they happened This is retroactive prosecution You can t be charged with something that was not a crime at the time you 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 It was the German state that committed these crimes Not individuals Jackson s response Individuals commit atrocities Individuals must be prosecuted Command Control Theory Leaders are responsible for what their The State Crime Defense subordinates do 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 Nuremberg Trial Verdicts 11 condemned to death 3 life sentences 3 given prison terms 3 found non guilty Nuremberg Trial Legacy It was victor s justice but with due process of law something Nazis never gave their victims Imperfect justice but justice Individuals at highest level of government can be prosecuted for human rights violations by international tribunal Following orders no longer a defense Both civilians and military can be prosecuted Command Control Theory now an established part of international law The crimes prosecuted at Nuremberg did not include genocide Genocide attempt to eliminate an entire people Movement for a number of years to look at crimes against an entire people not individual person Rafeal Limpkin Polish Jewish lawyer His studies were about a country wanting to wipe out people created the term genocide Was determined to make it a crime under international law Able to get out of Poland before Hitler took it over and came to the U S Tried to get a treaty passed by the UN to recognize genocide as a national crime Spent years writing to people all over the world Was unable to get it added to the Nuremberg trials but by 1948 Genocide treaty Provides the definition that the UN still uses Definition the intentional elimination of an entire group based on race religion nationality or ethnicity Seeing it now in Bosnia Any state that ratifies the convention against genocide must do 2 things Obligated to prosecute against genocide if it is encountered Obligation to
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