Term paper on War Crime Trials (1945–1948)

War Crime Trials

RESOURCE GUIDE

In 1946 the Allies established an international tribunal in Nuremberg to try twenty-one Germans for crimes against humanity and against the acknowledged rules of warfare committed during World War II. After nearly a year, eleven of the defendants received death sentences; seven others received long prison sentences. Beginning in 1945, similar proceedings took place in Japan , where twenty-five wartime figures were tried and convicted, seven of them condemned to execution. In future years, several thousand defendants were to go on trial in various countries, particularly in Asia . While many applauded the effort to bring perpetrators of wartime atrocities to justice, others were opposed, largely on legal grounds.
Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Analyze the arguments for and against holding the post–World War II war crime trials.

2. Compare the war crime trials of Germans and Japanese.

3. Discuss the postwar hunt for escaped prominent Nazis.

4. Discuss the capture, trial, and execution of Adolf Eichmann.

5. Discuss attempts to deny the historical existence of the Holocaust.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Encyclopedia of the Third Reich . Christian Zentner et al., eds. New York : Macmillan, 1991. The definitive reference source for basic data on events in Nazi Germany, as well as strong biographical entries.

Great World Trials: The 100 Most Celebrated and Significant Courtroom Battles in World History . Edward W. Knappman, ed. Detroit : Gale, 1997. Trials of political and historical significance in the twentieth century.

GENERAL SOURCES

Landau, Elaine. Nazi War Criminals . New York : Franklin Watts, 1990. Shows the complicity of people, countries, and governments in knowingly sheltering these men.

Lipstadt, Deborah. Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory . New York : Free Press, 1993. Forty years ago, pseudohistorians argued that Hitler never meant to kill the Jews and only a few hundred thousand died in the camps. Today, this irrational idea has become an international movement.

Morin, Isobel V. Days of Judgment: The World War II War Crimes Trials . Bridgeport , CT : Millbrook, 1995. Argues that the tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo failed to establish the clear standard of international justice needed to prevent history from repeating itself.

Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness . 2d ed. New York : Schocken Books, 1997. Revised and expanded edition of the author’s 1976 effort providing personal narratives of the concentration camp experience and philosophical insight.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Arnold, James R. Operation Eichmann: The Truth behind the Pursuit, Capture and Trial of Adolf Eichmann . New York : Wiley, 1997. The story behind the kidnapping of Eichmann from Brazil by the Israeli Secret Service to Jerusalem to stand trial for war crimes.

Conot, Robert E. Justice at Nuremberg . New York : Carroll&Graf, 1984. Story of the trials for major Nazi war criminals.

Gilbert, Gustave M. Nuremberg Diary . (1947). Reprint. New York : Da Capo, 1995. Recorded thoughts on the trial of the German war criminals.

Marrus, Michael R. Nuremberg War Crimes Trial . New York : St. Martin ‘s, 1997. Recent and explicit descriptive account of the major trials.

Persico, Joseph E. Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial . New York : Viking, 1994. Treats the trials’ principal issues and gives biographical vignettes and scenes of Nuremberg life.

Taylor , Telford . Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir . Boston : Little, Brown, 1993. A definitive volume covering only the first of the major trials; compelling narrative with excerpts from the trial proceedings.

Tusa, Ann, and John Tusa. The Nuremberg Trial . New York: Macmillan, 1984. Clear and highly readable, balanced in its judgments. For those interested in international law, a must read.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Levy, Michael. Wiesenthal File . Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s, 1994. The enthralling story of the most famous Nazi hunter as he searched the world for Nazi war criminals.

Pick, Hella. Simon Wiesenthal: A Life in Search of Justice . Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996. His search for justice for those who died in the Holocaust by finding those who escaped the Nuremberg trials.

Sereny, Gitta. Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth . New York: Knopf, 1995. Based on information from Speer’s family, friends, and colleagues, as well as Allied advisers after the war. Concludes he was an opportunist who served Hitler, outwitted the justices at Nuremberg, and found favor in postwar West Germany.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial . New York: A&E, 1995. 50-minute documentary examines the historic trials that tested the principles governing the laws of nations, from the accusations through the executions. Interprets the verdicts and historical impact.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Fray, William C., and Lisa A. Spar. ‘‘Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.” The Avalon Project: The International Military Tribunal . 1996. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imt.htm Complete collection of documents relating to the trials’ motions, rules of procedure, indictments, reports, and so forth. Includes documents cited in the official records, including those from the Hague Conventions.