Semester DOS, Blog #15

* Modern ideas of war & war crimes

My humanities teacher posed a great question. What do you do after a war?

After World War Two, the Allied Forces held tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany.
In this trial there were 22 most powerful captured Nazi leaders. Among them were, Karl Doenitz, Frank Hans, Frick Wilhelm.
During the trials they were asked about their actions with the Nazi Party. For example, Hermann Goering, a political, military and Nazi Party leader, perhaps the only one that could give a clear understanding of the ideas of the Nazi Party, MR. JUSTICE JACKSON: And upon coming to power you also considered it immediately necessary to establish concentration camps to take care of your incorrigible opponents?

GOERING: I have already stated that the reason for the concentration camps was not because it could be said, "Here are a number of people who are opposed to us and they must be taken into protective custody." Rather they were set up as a lightning measure against the functionaries of the Communist Party who were attacking us in the thousands, and who, since they were taken into protective custody, were not put in prison. But it was necessary, as I said, to erect a camp for themone, two, or three camps. (Cross Examination of Hermann Goering (1))

This was a question asked to Hermann Goering. what i found interesting is that in a 4 day tribunal there were only a few questions asked concerning the deaths of millions of Jews.

He, along with ten other Nazi leaders were condemned, yet Goering committed suicide two hours before his execution.