Nuremberg Essay

With larger assignments and final assessments I like to offer choice, not only because I can preempt having to read 30 papers on the same topic, but it also gives students a sense of agency and confidence because they are choosing a question that they either feel they can effectively respond to or that they are particularly interested in.

Nuremberg Trials: Responsibility, Judgment, and Justice 

After mass violence what needs to happen for there to be justice? 

Great Success – Were the Nuremberg Trials successful? Evaluate the goals and

intentions the prosecutors set out for the trials along with the goals of others like Lemkin to decide whether or not justice was served? How does one determine punishment? Are all equally guilty or do some bear more responsibility than others? You can use the ideas presented by prosecutor Robert Jackson to compare to the reflections you read from other people involved with the trial to evaluate whether or not you think the trials were a success or if there were aspects that could have been improved. 

Foreign Intervention – What role should other countries play in the wake of genocide? Who should be tried? Are individuals responsible for their crimes if they obeyed the laws of their nation? Or are there “ higher laws” that should be dictated by an international organization? Discuss different attempts to address the issue of national sovereignty to create international laws to define the proper time for intervention. Think as well about different political leaders and their attempts and frustrations to involve themselves in the affairs of other states.

Trials as Access to Truth – What is the purpose of a trial? Is it to punish “ evil-doing” ? Or is it to set a precedent for the future? What role does a trial play in the search for justice after genocide? To what extent are trials a deterrent for future atrocities? Think about the purpose of trials as defined by the Anglo-American Justice system. Use the ideas presented by prosecutor Robert Jackson to compare to the reflections you read from other people involved with the trial to evaluate whether or not you think the trials were a success or if there were aspects that could have been improved.

Power of One – Can an individual make a difference in the face of Genocide? You may choose to focus on the story and actions of some of the people who tried to develop solutions to the crimes they saw perpetrated abroad. Consider one of the following: (Raphael Lemkin, Henry Morgenthau, Robert Jackson) to discuss their influence on international understandings of mass crimes.