Nuremberg Trials

On this day Nov. 20, 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany.

Some thoughts on remembering Nuremberg.

Sixty three years ago the victorious powers of World War Two created the Nuremberg trials in order to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. It was the first time that an aggressive power had to face trial and judgment for their crimes against humanity.

Three years ago the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law held a conference to recall and reaffirm the lessons - the legacy – of Nuremberg. Current and former jurists, judges, prosecutors, and law professors from all over the world spoke eloquently on the state and struggle for human rights today.

I was privileged to participate in a documentary on the Nuremberg Trials produced by the Cardozo School of Law. You can see some of the filmed stand-ups by going to my website at the right side of this blog and then clicking on the "on-air" link.

The impact of Nazi Germany and the adjudication of Nuremberg has been forgotten by some, but with each new genocide, each new extermination by tyrants in power it is remembered. The stench of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and in Darfur, Sudan and now in the Congo bring new tribunals, but the same old lesson. Crimes against humanity result from silence and indifference.

Do we really need to learn it over and over again?