Establishing the Frontier of International Law: The Nuremberg Trial

Jamie Kim ()
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Jamie Kim: Eastern Christian High School, Paramus, New Jersey, USA

RAIS Conference Proceedings 2022-2024 from Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies

Abstract: Conducted from 1945-1946, the Nuremberg Trials were the first instance of justice for the unique crime of genocide, and redefined international law and obligation, setting a precedent for holding individuals responsible in cases of human rights violations. The trial and conference transcripts and images of the time tell the story of nations attempting to navigate through the inherent clash between national sovereignty and international law, as well as creating an entirely new international code. Controversy, however, remains on the desired outcome of the trials as contention remains over the Allied powers’ use of the Nuremberg Trials for propaganda and “show†trials. While the Nuremberg Trials were utilized to restore justice, their extensive use of film and photography suggests that another key interest was to immortalize WWII’s crimes. Additionally, critics contest the Nuremberg Trials’ validity due to their predetermined outcome. Furthermore, although the Nuremberg Trials marked a significant step in international justice, the subsequent genocides and human rights violations provoke questions of the trial’s effectiveness. This paper argues that although the Nuremberg Trials were flawed, they altered history in their debut of international justice with creations of bodies such as the International Criminal Court; yet, it is only when nations can truly lay down self-centered interests for the greater good that justice can be impartially executed.

Keywords: World War II; Nuremberg Trials; Nazism; Genocide; Jurisprudence; International Law; International Justice; Propaganda; Due Process; Holocaust; Germany; criminality; London Conference; precedent; Nazis; Joseph Stalin; Winston Churchill; Harry Truman; Occupation; Human Rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 6 pages
Date: 2023-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Published in Proceedings of the 34th International RAIS Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities, November 16-17, 2023, pages 168-174

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