On this day – 20th November 1945 – The beginning of the Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials against 23 of the most prominent Nazi-Germany leaders during the Second World War. The trials
were held in Nuremberg in Germany, thereby the name. They lasted from the 20th
of November 1945 to the 1st of October 1946. On the 16th
of October in 1946 were those who were sentenced to death, hanged. Lesser
war-criminals were tried and sentenced later, in a different trial. The trial was agreed to, and arranged, by the allied forces (UK, USA. Soviet). Out of the 24 prosecuted were 12 sentenced to death. Those who were sentenced to prison served their time in Spandau Prison in Berlin. This prison was destroyed after its last prisoner, Rudolf Hess, committed suicide in 1987. Nuremberg trial was the first international war trial. The main criticism against the trials were that the crimes were only defined as crimes, after they were committed, creating a "victors justice".
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| The accused from the trial in Nuremberg |
