The Nuremberg trials and the invention of crimes against humanity
After World War II, the world faced an unprecedented question: how do you put a regime on trial? Trace how Nuremberg built the legal machinery for prosecuting atrocity and shaped international law ever since.
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The London Charter established the International Military Tribunal to replace summary executions with formal legal proceedings.
Hersch Lauterpacht shifted international law by prioritizing individual human rights over the traditional shield of state sovereignty.
The war nexus compromise initially limited crimes against humanity prosecutions to actions taken during wartime.
Prosecutors relied on captured Nazi documentation and film footage rather than witness testimony to secure convictions.
The Nuremberg trials rejected the superior orders defense and established individual responsibility for international crimes.
Control Council Law Number Ten eventually allowed for the prosecution of atrocities committed during peacetime.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Legal Vacuum of 19452 min
- 03Hersch Lauterpacht and the Individual3 min
- 04The Trial of the Major War Criminals3 min
- 05The Nuremberg Legacy and the Rome Statute3 min
- 06Outro1 min
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