Media Essay
How to Prosecute Unprecedented Crimes? - Photograph
Judges' bench at the International Military Tribunal
The International Military Tribunal was a court convened jointly by the victorious Allied governments. Here the Soviet, British, American, and French flags hang behind the judges' bench.
Item ViewDefendant Walther Funk
Among the many ironies of the International Military Tribunal was that the defendants were accorded that which they had denied their opponents: the protection of the law and a right to due process. Here, defendant Walther Funk, former German Minister of Economics, speaks with his defense attorney, Dr. Fritz Sauter, in a visitation room at Nuremberg.
Item ViewDefendants at the International Military Tribunal
The defendants rise as the judges enter the courtroom at the International Military Tribunal trial of war criminals at Nuremberg.
Item ViewA defendant speaks with his attorney during the Nuremberg trial
Joachim von Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 to 1945) speaks with his lawyer, Dr. Fritz Sauter, in the Nuremberg courtroom.
Item ViewThe accused and their defense attorneys at Nuremberg
The accused and their defense attorneys in the courtroom during the International Military Tribunal. Nuremberg, Germany.
Item ViewPresenting the prosecution's case at the International Military Tribunal
US Major Frank B. Wallis (standing center), a member of the trial legal staff, presents the prosecution's case to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. A chart (top left) shows where the defendants (bottom left) fit into the organizational scheme of the Nazi Party. At right are lawyers for the four prosecuting countries. Nuremberg, Germany, November 22, 1945.
The trials of leading German officials before the International Military Tribunal are the best known of the postwar war crimes trials. They formally opened in Nuremberg, Germany, on November 20, 1945, just six and a half months after Germany surrendered. Each of the four Allied nations—the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France—supplied a judge and a prosecution team.
Item ViewOpening speech of the US prosecution at the International Military Tribunal
US Chief Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson delivers the opening speech of the American prosecution at the International Military Tribunal. Nuremberg, Germany. November 21, 1945.
Item ViewTank guarding the entrance to the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg
A tank guards the entrance to the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, site of the International Military Tribunal. The trial formally opened in on November 20, 1945, just six and a half months after Germany surrendered.
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