The Defense of the Nazis
A common theme that the Nazis used during the Nuremberg Trials was blaming others for their own charge. Those that had done the actual killing stated that they were just following orders. Those that ordered the killings, reported that they did not murder anyone. I feel that no matter what situation a soldier is in, they always have a choice in doing what is morally right. This defense that the actual murders gave was their only defense that they could give for killing innocent lives. I can understand that the Nazis did not want to be charged because of the punishment of being guilty, but to blame someone else for personally killing multiple humans is insane to me. Hermann Goring gave a different reason for attacking the Jews. While under testimony, he stated, “All this naturally resulted in a strong defensive attitude on the part of the Party and led from the very beginning to an intensification of the fight” (1). He was blaming the Jews for threatening Germany politically and culturally. This was obviously incorrect because the Jewish population made up less than one percent of Germany’s population. There was no way that the Jews could possibly impact Germany’s way of life.
After the Nazis were found guilty, what type of punishment is suitable for their actions? The easy quick answer would be death, but does the executioner then become a hypocrite? If he is killing a person for the crime of killing others, is that just? Is not killing a person who killed another, just? I believe that the Nazis were horrific people with terrible intentions that deserve death, but I do not think they should have been executed. I do not have an answer for a proper punishment for them, but violence leading to more violence is not just to me.
(1) “Nuremberg Trial Transcripts,” uwgb.edu. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imt.htm. Accessed December 4, 2015
Photo: “Defendants in the dock at the Nuremberg Trials,” Unkown Photographer, 1945-1946. National Archives and Records Administration.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defendants_in_the_dock_at_the_Nuremberg_Trials.jpg. Accessed December 5, 2015.
Your post points out some of the topics we briefly discussed in class. I agree that I don’t know what the proper punishment is for Nazis either. I don’t think death is always the right option. That creates a “eye for a eye” situation, which can be a deadly cycle. I’m not sure that is the right option because of the continued violence we seem to have in society. I am amazed the execution of high ranking Nazi officials didn’t cause more backlash. In modern society I think if something similar happened there would be more backlash.
i agree with you Sara.I don’t, and I don’t think that anyone can know a good punishment for anything that had happened. I am surprised that the death penalties didn’t create more of an uprising. Especially for people who really believed in the Nazi ideology. In the world today, I cannot see something like that happening and people not protesting against it. Killing violence with violence will only create more problems in the future.
Everyone refused to accept responsibility. They blamed Hitler and each other. In the end I believe that the most defiant should have been executed. Doing the deed is one thing but then denying it or holding justification for their actions is even more unacceptable. The outcome of the Nuremberg trials was just and has had a great impact on how war crimes and violations of human rights have been dealt with ever since WWII.