24 May 2013
Holocaust Essay
War Crimes Trials War crimes trials are trials of persons charged with criminal violation of the laws and customs of war and related principles of international law. The records of the war crimes trials after World War 2 provide some of the most comprehensive formulations of the concept of war crimes. After the devastating amount of crime committed during World War 2, the law was the only way to seek justice on the accused war criminals. In order to seek justice for these war crimes, many trials were held. The first declaration officially noting the mass murder of Jews, resolving to prosecute those responsible, was noted on December 17, 1942 by the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (War Crimes Trials). The people responsible for the war crimes were to be sent back to the countries where such crimes haf been committed and judged accordingly to the laws of that nation (War Crimes Trials). Justice was the only reasonable solution to this situation. Many nations which Germany occupied during World War 2 or who collaborated with the Germans in the persecution of certain populations, espically Jews, have also held national trials in the years following World War 2 (War Crimes Trials). The goal of the post war trials was to punish all of the people charged with offenses recognized as crimes in Article 2 of the Control Council of Law no 10 (War Crimes Trials). Due to the heinousness of such crimes, it was vital of authorites to go to such extremes. These post war trials really helped bring peace to many of the victims of the crimes. There was a wide range of people prosecuted for war crimes. The vast majority of post World War 2 war crimes trials involved lower-level officials and functionaries (War Crimes Trials). Among the people put on trial were union leaders, policemen, and news paper editors, all charged with crimes in the aftermath of World War 2 (Who was put on trial?) People were fooled