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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-nuremberg-trials-at-80-could-such-a-reckoning-ever-happen-again-267313>
"In November 2025, cinemas worldwide will release
Nuremberg, a courtroom
drama directed by James Vanderbilt. The film focuses on the International
Military Tribunal against 24 major Nazi war criminals (though two were
ultimately not tried) and seven Nazi organisations – including the SS, the
Gestapo and the general staff of the army – at the end of the second world war.
Its release coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, which
officially opened on October 18 1945. The film explores our desire to see
justice and reckoning for those who committed war crimes against civilian
populations in the past and present.
The plot centres on the confrontation between Hermann Göring (played by Russell
Crowe), a leading Nazi on trial, and psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley (played by
Rami Malek). Kelley’s task was to examine whether the top Nazis were fit to
stand trial.
Nuremberg is often called “history’s greatest trial”. It was the first
international trial that held senior governmental officials accountable for war
crimes and crimes against humanity committed across Europe. It also established
individual responsibility for committing war crimes, rejecting the defence of
following the orders of superiors.
The indictment covered Nazi crimes before and during the war, against both
soldiers and civilians. Nuremberg happened in a unique moment in time, when a
country that triggered a major war was completely crushed by a military
alliance willing to enforce its “unconditional surrender”.
It was also during the short time before the outbreak of the Cold War, when the
wartime alliance between the East and West still held together. Such a trial
seems unlikely to be repeated in our current historical moment."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
