In 1943 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill met at the “Tripartite” dinner in Tehran to discuss the punishments of war criminals and war organizations during World War II. Both Roosevelt and Stalin believed that execution should be one of the punishments for those convicted of war crimes, whereas Churchill was vehemently opposed to the execution of soldiers fighting for their country. In this blog, I will discuss whether Roosevelt and Stalin acted appropriately or if Churchill’s position was correct with regards to what would become “The Nuremberg Trials”.
In Tehran, Stalin provoked the thought of simply killing 50,000-100,000 German Staff Officers and Roosevelt jokingly said, “49,000 will do”. Now that the “Big Three” were all in on what would become the Nuremberg Trials they had to establish a drafted plan. Churchill soon wrote the “Moscow Document” which was written on November 1, 1943 that stated they should be tried at the places where the crimes were committed. Prior to this, on January 14, 1942, the creation of the “Tribunal Courts” happened. The “Inter-Allied Draft” was developed when representatives from the nine occupied countries met in London. The “Big three” presided. This allowed there to be an authoritative judge in the courtroom when trials would begin.
The main judge, (Soviet Main) that presided over the initial trials, was General Iona Nikitchenko who was President of the Trial. The trials began on October 18, 1945 in Nuremberg Germany at the Palace of Justice. The trials began by deciding upon punishments towards the original twenty-four indicted major war criminals and the six criminal war organizations, such as, Leadership of Nazis, (SS) Schutzstaffel, (SD) Sicherheitsdienst, Gestapo, General Staff and High Command, and the Sturmabteilung (SA).
The main defendant of this trial was Hermann Goering. Goering was the chief of the four year plan, (which was the redemption of economic problems created by the Nazis) and head of the Gestapo. He was also the second highest ranking Nazi official. Goering committed suicide the previous night of the Trials. There were a total of twenty-four war criminals being tried. Thirteen were tried and all sent to the death penalty to be hung. Three were acquitted, three were in for life imprisonment, one got ten years, one got fifteen years, another was medically unfit for the trial so he escaped possible death, and two got twenty years.
Stalin and Roosevelt had both wanted the defendants all dead, however Churchill thought otherwise. Churchill tried to see things through the defendant’s and a military perspective. He knew that crimes against humanity were obviously terrible, cruel and appalling, but he also said, “The cold blooded execution of soldiers who fought for their country” was un-just. Churchill was also against execution for “political purposes”.
In my opinion, I believe that Stalin and Roosevelt’s ideals were correct and the right choice was executed because there should be absolutely no sympathy or remorse for crimes against humanity. I am happy that they got their way. For those that were put into jail, they should have been executed. It doesn’t matter how little they were involved in it, what matters is that they were involved.
I find it funny that Stalin who killed way more people in his own country is actually being listened to let alone obeyed. I do agree on some level that all the Nazi generals should have been executed without question but many soldiers fighting for Germany were not Nazis simply civilians fighting for the country and they should not be killed for that.
ReplyDeleteSoldiers who commited war crimes should not have been executed. If you put yourself in their shoes they had probably just witnessed their very own friends and countrymen being murdered as well. All the hate must build up after awhile until they have the opportunity to avenge the enemy. Also, thousands of war crimes were commited throughout WWII. Punishing merely twenty-four of them is pointless.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of the soldiers who were committing these horrid crimes should have been executed. But on the other hand some soldiers were just doing what they were told, simply following orders, so how can you execute everyone, when not everybody was on board with committing murders?
ReplyDeleteThis was a horrible crime against humanity, the Jewish people. Men, women, and children who were abused and murdered. The argument that soldiers were just fighting for their country is adding more pain and suffering against the Jewish people. This part of the trial was for the 24 top military criminals and they all should have been executed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Leilani about Stalin and her point about civilians being made to fight. Personally I think Churchill had it right that many were simply carrying out orders.
ReplyDeleteThe only people that deserved executions were those who massacered countless innocents regardles of rank.
ReplyDeleteI think that the people that should be executed are the one's who actually pulled the trigger and also the people above them who issued the order.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that the Nazi soldiers should be excecuted because they were just sering their country and doing what they thought was right. I do think that the people who sent the soldiers to kill people for no reason should be executed without a second thought.
ReplyDeleteI think the Herman Goring and the head of the Gestapo had so much hatred towards all minority people that they should be executed immediately after being found guilty. The rest of the Nazi leadership should have been jailed and required to make restitution by helping rebuild their own country and the new nation of Israel for the Jewish survivors. I think everyone in Germany was brainwashed by the Nazi propaganda.
ReplyDeleteAnyone that committed the crime or gave the orders for that crime should be executed. Orders that are given can be resisted for an innocent mans life. If a generral wants a man dead he should have to do it himself so that the blame is not spread to others.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe the Nazi soldiers should have been executed. I do agree that the soldiers who killed many innocent people and the generals who gave orders to kill should have been executed. However I am sure there were many soldiers who lived in fear of their own comrades and did anything they could to survive another day.
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