Nuremberg Trial Essay

The Struggle for Justice: Nuremberg Trial. After Germany was defeated in World War II. Millions innocent people had lost their lives. The trials were held at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany. There were many Nazi leaders who were under suspicion and the from all of those the top Nazi leaders were called to go on trial and justify there reasons to committing war crimes and war against humanity for the execution of the Jews, and simply for killing many people innocent people. Hermann Goering, Albert Spear, Wilhelm Keitel and Hans Frank are just a few of the Nazi defendants in the trial. They defended themselves even though there was a lot of proof proving that they were guilty. In this essay we are going to see all the defenses used by these four Nazi defendants. Hermann Goering was the reichmarschell and air force chief, he was the president of Reichstag, and director of the â€Å"four year plan† In the Nuremberg Trial he believed strongly that he was not guilty and did not regret what he did, but this was not what everyone else seemed to think. When Goering was asked about the concentration camps in the trial and who decided upon them, he said † The idea was mine, It was a question of removing danger only one cause was available protective custody. How can the party rule unless it established order and how could it maintain order with it’s deadly enemies particularly the communist running free† I think that the concentration camps were used for torturing people that were innocent and I strongly believe that there were more options then just putting people in concentration camps, this was probably the easiest way to torture hundreds of people at once rather than doing anything else. Many people who were innocent and also many Jews who had not committed anything were taken in just for the reason that they might commit crime in the future, and simply for the hatred the had for the Jewish people, to me that is not a valid reason at all. During the trial there was also a movie shown that was created by motion pictures by allied military photographers and it showed the areas where the concentration camps were located and how people were treated, and the outcome of the camps, it clearly showed people suffering and being tortured only because they were â€Å"supposedly† a threat and might commit a crime. If someone is said to be suspicious it still does not mean that they are thrown to concentration camps, or they are tortured, proof must be shown and then a decision should be made towards that individual. Sadlyno one was heard and no one had the rights to explain themselves innocent. Many people were sent to concentration camps, it did not only happen to people who were suspicious but it mainly happened to millions of innocent people and Jewish people who were simply hated because they were Jews, and to me that is racism and disrespect, and it is disgusting to see that people can take such measures, and torture human beings like they have no rights and like they are just a pieces of toys. Most of all it is also sickening to see that many of these Nazi leaders especially Goering did not regret what they did. Keitel Wilhelm was the chief of staff of German high command, and Hans Frank was the governor-general of Nazi-occupied Poland, called the † Jew Butcher of Cracow† When Hans was asked how he felt about what he had done, and was asked to explain how he did those things, which was shoot and kill people who were innocent, and genocides in the camps. He said that † I don’t know, It’s as though I’m two people. The Hans Frank you see here and the Hans Frank the Nazi leaderI wonder how the other Frank could do these things,This frank looks at the other Frank and says your a terrible man, The other Frank said that I just wanted to keep my job† I respect that Frank realized that what he did was wrong and that he was still not brainwashed by the views that they were forced upon By Hitler and that were influenced by him. Many of the Nazi leaders still believe that what they did was right, and regret nothing and show ignorance through out the trial. I do believe that a person can feel bad for the actions or crimes they have committed, which Frank showed, but unfortunately it was too late. I think that that he is brave to admit his sorrow, and that he feels terrible. On the other hand it is sad to realize that this trial was what made him realize what he did was wrong and even though he did it to keep his job which is understandable because he probably had a family to provide for and to survive on his own. Showing sorrow cannot bring back and change anything, and what was done has happened. I wish that Hans Frank would have stopped his job which was being a Nazi leader, personally I would not want the money I have earned knowing it was because I had killed innocent lives. The next defendant was Kietel Wilhelm, when Kietel and many other war criminals were lined up, that was the moment whenKietel says that† Only following orders, nothing more, you must understand† I think that since many of these Nazi leaders were used to following orders, and that is what they had been doing for a very long time, for that reason I do not blame them for having this type of mind set. I think that what Keitel said was somewhat justifiable and the reason for that is that Hitler was the higher power and he ordered many of the Nazi leaders and if they did not accept his order and do as they were told, they were most likely killed. The fear of being killed is what kept these Nazi’s to do as they were told. With that being said, I believe that what Kietel said was something that any Nazi soldier would say or perhaps any soldier in general. Albert Spear was the Reichminister of armaments and munitions, From all of the the other Nazi leaders he was different. He felt guilty for what he had done just like Hans Frank but when he was in trial he told the truth, and showed that he was truly sorry for his actions. One of the things that he said was † This war has caused catastrophe† I do agree with what Spear said, and it is nice to know that he agrees with this, rather than all the other Nazi leaders who were still brainwashed and though that the war and the crimes done in them were completely fine. He also said that † No one is blameless for the responsibility of the crimes except the victims† After hearing what all the other ignorant Nazi leaders had to say, It was very pleasing to here this from Spear as it shows a sign of shame and that he feels ashamed of his actions. When Spear was asked if he came up with a plan to assassinate Hitler he said † Yes I did try to assassinate Hitler† When he said this it brought lots of hatred towards hims from the Nazi leaders as they gave him dirty looks and were shocked that one of their own man could think of taking such actions. I for one believe that even though Spear was a Nazi, later on he realized that Hitler was evil , he also said † Hitler was a nightmare for our own making† I think that Spear genuinely hated Hitler, and it was not only during the trial he realized but as he was a Nazi leader his hate for him was the reason he wanted to kill Hitler, but unfortunately that did not happen. In my opinion Spear was the only Nazi leader who knew what he was talking about and he seemed to understand that what was done, was absolutely not right, and the only one to realize that was Spear and you can also that regarding say Hans Frank. I think that the courts took what he did too seriously, which is good but at the same time, he told the truth and showed that he really did feel bad for the actions of not only him but of all the others. He was imprisoned for 20 years on charges three and four. I understand that he was also a part of the Nazi group, and he killed many innocent victims, his views from back then have definitely changed, and I believe he is a better person from before. But you must face the consequences for what you have done, and it would only be fair. In conclusion, some of the defenses were justifiable, but what Goering used to justify himself was completely ridiculous and was not justifiable what so ever. Many people had lost family and relatives, and all these people wanted justice and if it were up to me, I would have given some of these Nazi leaders the same torture they did to many of the innocent people, but it was not up to me. In the end justice was given and many of these Nazi’s were hanged to death or imprisoned.