...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...
Words: 5476 - Pages: 22
...Holocaust Socratic Discussion Final Reflection How does your reading (and memoir) connect to the other readings you learned about in your seminar? All the reading s that we received symbolized in word the different events that lead up to the mass genocide, otherwise known as the Holocaust. The first excerpt was about the events that occurred after World War one. There was a huge economic decline in Germany because of the inflation, debt, and the Great depression as well. The population of Germany was angry at the government, and Hitler took advantage of their anger by directing a t the Jews. The first excerpt once again enforced whatever segregative feelings the average Ayran had against the average Jew with the introduction...
Words: 936 - Pages: 4
...The Holocaust was probably one of the most devastating human death events to ever occur. The term Holocaust actually is the root of the word “holokauston” which in term means “sacrifice by fire.” This was the perfect term seeing how Jews were tormented. Plenty of Jews also used the word Shoah when describing the Holocaust since it is defined as devastation, ruin, or waste.” (Holocaust Facts) It all started when Adolf Hitler was put as the ruler of Germany after World War I. He had the right chance to claim power for Germany because everyone was devastated because of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles destroyed Germany’s economy, industries, facilities, and almost all their land was lost. Adolf Hitler came in and raised the people’s confidence in saying they can do anything they can. Once he did this, people started supporting him. With the power of the people and the government on his side, Hitler associated the Enabling Act. It was officially called the Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich. If passed, it would be the end of democracy in Germany and make Adolf Hitler the dictator of Germany. (Holocaust Facts) With Hitler as the new ruler of Germany he started his so called attempt of a “Perfect Race.” On April 1, 1933, the Nazis started their first action against German Jews by making a boycott of all Jewish-run businesses. (United States Memorial Holocaust and Genocide Studies) At this time, The Nuremberg Trials were being held. These trials were held...
Words: 790 - Pages: 4
...The Holocaust: Suggested Reading There is a wealth of information about the Holocaust. So much has been written, in fact, that it can be difficult to determine where to start. This reading list is collected from recommendations from other members of The Holocaust History Project. It is not a complete bibliography but represents our opinion as to what are the most useful starting places for research. Since this list concentrates on works that are easily available and useful to a person unacquainted with the history of the Holocaust, many excellent books which are rare or out of print are not listed. Another class of books that are not included is works that are controversial because of their contents or the unusual theories they propose. Some of these are excellent works, others are not. But we feel that the reader for whom this list was compiled would not have the knowledge needed to evaluate these discussions of the legitimate controversies about the Holocaust. Just as a medical student must learn anatomy before he or she is taught surgery, someone studying the Holocaust must know the factual background before some of the more technical studies can be understood. As well as general works we have included books of specialized interest concerning the matters about which we at The Holocaust History Project are most frequently asked. Many of these books deal with more than one subject, but in the interest of brevity we have not cited a book more than once. General history of the...
Words: 5578 - Pages: 23
...H. Res. 106: Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution 110th CONGRESS 1st Session Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 30, 2007 Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. MCCOTTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. Resolved, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This resolution may be cited as the `Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution'. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The House of Representatives finds the following: (1) The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes,...
Words: 1901 - Pages: 8
...countries. The United Nations established international laws such as the Nuremberg Principles and the Genocide Convention to hold individual responsible for crimes against humanity. Countries have engaged in war crimes for thousands of years in violation of the established laws and customs of war. Torture, rape, massacres, genocide, and atrocities documented over centuries continue today. This paper will discuss some of the heinous crimes committed during War World II Holocaust and the Hutu massacre of the Tutsis. War Crimes the Executioners and the Victims of Genocide Military powers around the world inflict some of the most atrocious crimes against humanity, and in each case, there are executioners and victims of these crimes that never get fair justice. “ The German concentration camps of World War II, the horrors of the Vietnam War, the prolific rape and brutality during the break- up of the former Yugoslavia and the Hutu massacres of the Tutsis in Rwanda,” ("20th Century," n.d., p. 5) are just a few named conflicts that displayed devastating atrocities. The executioners in the World War II Holocaust and the Hutu Massacres in Rwanda caused terrible massacre to the human race more than any other conflict in history. These crimes all have a negative impact on the country and the citizens that live there. Every leader, citizen, and Soldier has a responsibility to report criminal acts committed in war. War crimes and atrocities will leave unshakable scares...
Words: 1667 - Pages: 7
...The millenniums of persecution of the Jewish people because of their religion and culture has taken on many forms, from enslavement and expulsion from their lands to starvation and mass genocide. The history of violent mistreatment has occurred in nearly every country in which the Jewish people have lived. The Ukraine has seen a fair amount of this violence. With the Khmelnytsky Uprising in the 1600’s, the pogroms in the early 20th century, the Russian Civil War and WWII the Ukrainian soil is filled with the blood of Jews, entire communities slaughtered. Despite all this bloodshed, until recent years, little was known about the Ukrainian Jews genocidal violence endured during WWII. Auschwitz and other mechanizations of mass murder carried...
Words: 1387 - Pages: 6
...Holocaust Midterm Dana Bob Mercy College 1. Explain the origins and development of modern anti-Semitism Throughout history the Jewish community has been subject to a violent history which can be traced as far back as their expulsion from Carthage in 250 C.E. For centuries, Jews have endured slavery, land confiscations, massacres, pogroms, blood baths, mass arrests, public torture, banishments, inquisition, slaughter, mass murders and finally, the Holocaust in the 20th century (Grossman, 2014). The Holocaust by far has been the most odious experience that the Jewish community has endured and yet there are many who deny it even took place. The rise of anti-Semitism in early 20th century Germany surely did not begin with Adolf Hitler; however, he was the fulcrum on which it intensified. This hatred for the Jews was not always the case as prior to World War I Jews in Eastern Europe “enjoyed a period of comparative peace, tranquility and the flowering of Jewish religious life” (Jones, 2011). It was after the defeat and subsequent peace settlement at Versailles in 1919, which was followed by a period of depression and burdensome reparations, that nation began to look for a scapegoat. The Jews were seen as the leaders of the parties which had surrendered and ‘stabbed’ Germany in the back by agreeing to the peace accord. Germany slipped into a great depression in the early 1920’s with widespread unemployment and rampant inflation. Hitler and the Nazi party began...
Words: 2103 - Pages: 9
...The events leading up to and during the holocaust and WW2, can be said are something that was done for the first time in history. Although there were obviously attempts in history to isolate certain religions, races, culture, never in history was there a attempt to eliminate a whole race. It can be said that anti-semitism plays a vital role in the events which would unravel into what we know today as world war two and the holocaust. But what needs to be explored first is what is antisemitism, and the difference between “traditional” and modern antisemitism. Furthermore looking at what role (if any) did it play in the rise of the nazi party and Hitler, and the events that would unravel. Further exploring this, we need to look at In what ways...
Words: 1900 - Pages: 8
...Community Abhishek Gandhi Professor Farber Sociology 300 Summer 2012 Abstract What are war crimes? Inhuman acts have been committed in all wars throughout human history. It has only been in the last 2 centuries that certain acts that were committed during war were found to be so reprehensible that they were labeled war crimes. Even thought these acts were committed during the "fog of war", they still merited punishment in a court of law in the eyes of the international community. When military and political leaders began to systematically target large civilian 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...
Words: 3270 - Pages: 14
...The Rwanda Genocide Xenophobia, the hatred or fear of certain targeted ‘outsiders,’ is one of the most destructive group phenomena in human history. Various incidents in our collective past portray how xenophobia has negatively impacted the lives of so many people. One of the most outright and horrific displays of this destructive force was seen in the German treatment of the Jewish race before and during the Second World War. These events were part of the holocaust, associated with the Nazi notions of racial superiority especially in contrast with their notion of Jewish inferiority. Racial superiority has caused much violence and many deaths for those who have been labeled by the ‘superior’ as ‘inferior.’ This violence has been spawned mostly by an extreme hatred for those viewed as different or inferior. Furthermore, such feelings of hatred have been translated into outright acts of violence against those viewed as inferior, and this at times often prompted retaliation against their oppressors, such as the case in Rwanda. With these premises, the world has been witness to various acts of violence, including the massacre of a significant number of people, all in the name of racial superiority. The concerned countries of the world have often refused to act in time to stop these events even though ample signs of trouble were apparent. Racial superiority has traditionally been an issue for various countries at one point or another in their history, but none worse than...
Words: 2222 - Pages: 9
...an extreme right wing national party that played on the Germans hatred of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1920 the party changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and Hyperinflation in 1923 with the Weimer Government ruined the middle class and furthered the dissatisfaction of the German people with the current Government. This presented the NSDAP an opportunity to present a policy that would benefit Germany. The regime offered opportunities to the population with security across the community and a direction of supremacy for their race. Policies of the Nazis did not include involving the broader population in the more brutal and violent parts of their rule, thus the people’s communities were forged through genocide. Hitler was obsessed with having a pure racial community in Germany and an extension of land for Germany eventuating in world domination and he pursued these objectives with ruthlessness and inhuman brutality. Progressive radicalization was inevitable due to the chaotic anti-Semitism beliefs and competitive nature of an elite ruler and a few devout followers. The propaganda campaigns are what paved the way to anti-Semitism becoming a way of life throughout Germany responsible for desensitizing people to human compassion and portrayed the Jewish people as evil sub-species who needed to be eradicated in order to achieve a pure race fit for the Utopian society Adolf Hitler had envisioned and promised. The Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 is an event...
Words: 2223 - Pages: 9
...Source BBC: Adolf Eichmann did not work hard or do well at school and left without any qualifications. His father, who had meanwhile started an oil-extraction business, gave him a job. Eichmann worked on the surface and in underground oil-shale tunnels before moving to an apprenticeship with an electrical engineering firm. In 1927 his father used family contacts to get him a job with another oil company. Little attention has been paid to Eichmann's work experience, but it had a significant bearing on his career in the SS. Eichmann was adept at learning practical skills on the job, under the tutelage of seniors he respected. While he continued to live at home, he ranged over Upper Austria selling oil products, locating sites for petrol stations, and setting them up. He also arranged kerosene deliveries. On Saturday he conscientiously completed his paperwork and reported to his superiors. Eichmann did well and was transferred to the Salzburg district. But by 1933 he had tired of the job and, anyway, was laid off. He had learned a lot, though: how to identify prime sites at communication junctions, how to timetable and organise deliveries, how to sell a product and persuade people to do your bidding. During his trial he pretended to be apolitical, but Eichmann came from a strongly German nationalist family. Like many Germans his father lost his wealth during the post-war economic crisis and had the embittering experience of starting all over again. He enrolled his son in the...
Words: 3615 - Pages: 15
...Jasmine Buisson English 101 0822 Professor Neddy McMills The Holocaust was one of the most tragic and brutal time during the World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Jews were targeted and precisely murdered in the largest genocide of the 20th century. What started this horrific massacre was the notorious Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany. After the start of World War II, Hitler the chancellor of Germany created a policy known as the “Final Solution.” From the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 to Kristallnacht in 1938, Hitler slowly removed Jews from German society. However, the Nazis created an elaborate and intensive system to work Jews to forced labor under brutal conditions. From the concentration camps created by the Nazi, forced labor was futile and destructive. The concentration camp forced the Jews to perish without proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest. Because Adolf Hitler devised the Final Solution to eradicate Europeans Jews, more than one million Jews, labored and perish in Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp. Like what Fidel Castro said “There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust.” After the start of World War II, the anti-Jewish law enforcers came up with a plan to dispose of European Jewry. To mask the true meaning behind their destruction, the Nazi Germany used certain language to disguise it. The meaning of the “Final Solution” means to annihilate the Jewish people...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
...that the roots of Hitler’s politics was about eliminating the Jewish race from Germany and the evidence can be found in Mein Kampf. On the other hand, structuralist historians will claim that the persecution of the Jews was never planned and it was improvised all the way through to the Holocaust; furthermore, they will state that the Nazi’s did not come to power based on policies towards the Jews as the electorate was never as enthusiastic as Hitler was about this.Although it increased it was more gradual than steady, It did increase but there were times where it stopped, but it was at a very low key when not much attention was taken towards the situation. However, in 1938 when the Nazi’s had invaded Austria and Sudetenland, there was more of an increase in persecution of Jews. In the year 1933, the Boycott of Jewish businesses and professional offices, the exclusion of Jews from civil service as well as the Quota for non-Aryan students occurred serving the purpose of isolating the Jews from the Aryan race. Reasons for such policy also have to do with the Nazi’s hatred or perhaps jealousy of many of the Jews being able to take up leading positions in the upper class society. Also, the act of isolation meant citizens would have less chances of coming into contact with the Jews thus increasing the chances of them buying into the propaganda. Furthermore, a policy...
Words: 2649 - Pages: 11
