Comparison Of Horrible And Unthinkable Crimes During World War II
Many horrible and unthinkable crimes were committed throughout World War II. During the war, members of the Nazi party, high-ranking officials, and everyday ordinary businessmen and lawyers were to blame for the death and annihilation of millions of people. They destroyed countries and civilians that did not meet their standards. People across the globe were not immune to the devastation that these criminals produced and throughout the years people would continue to feel the tragedy they left behind. These inhumane acts lead the Allied powers to bring formal charges against thousands of major and minor Nazi war criminals starting on November 20, 1945 at the now famous Nuremberg Trials. World War II was a time of morbid and uncanny actions.
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With the extremely horrific crimes Nazi officials engaged in, many people at the time didn't even want them to be tried, they wanted an immediate execution. Joseph Stalin, The Soviet leader, initially proposed the execution of 50,000 to 100,000 German staff officers, while British prime minister Winston Churchill discussed the possibility of summary execution of high ranking Nazi officers. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau also recommended an “eye for an eye” approach, he proposed killing eminent Nazi leaders and banishing others to far corners of the world. Even though this was a widely discussed course of action, many people realized that it was just as inhumane as the original crimes committed. Eventually Winston Churchill was persuaded by American leaders, including Henry Stimson, that a criminal trial would be more effective. This course prevented later accusations that the defendants had been condemned without evidence since criminal proceeding would require documentation of the criminal charges against them. Not only would military officers be held to a trial, but civilian officials would be held responsible for their acts as well. With the trial, however, there came many difficulties. First of all, existing international law provided no means for prosecuting war criminals. There had been cases of war criminal trials in the United States but that had operated under only one country, there being several countries on trial created friction. The city of Nuremberg in the German state of Bavaria was the selected location for the trials because its Palace of Justice was undamaged by the war and included a large prison area. By it being the site of annual Nazi propaganda rallies, holding the trials there marked the symbolic end of Hitler's government, the Third
With the extremely horrific crimes Nazi officials engaged in, many people at the time didn't even want them to be tried, they wanted an immediate execution. Joseph Stalin, The Soviet leader, initially proposed the execution of 50,000 to 100,000 German staff officers, while British prime minister Winston Churchill discussed the possibility of summary execution of high ranking Nazi officers. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau also recommended an “eye for an eye” approach, he proposed killing eminent Nazi leaders and banishing others to far corners of the world. Even though this was a widely discussed course of action, many people realized that it was just as inhumane as the original crimes committed. Eventually Winston Churchill was persuaded by American leaders, including Henry Stimson, that a criminal trial would be more effective. This course prevented later accusations that the defendants had been condemned without evidence since criminal proceeding would require documentation of the criminal charges against them. Not only would military officers be held to a trial, but civilian officials would be held responsible for their acts as well. With the trial, however, there came many difficulties. First of all, existing international law provided no means for prosecuting war criminals. There had been cases of war criminal trials in the United States but that had operated under only one country, there being several countries on trial created friction. The city of Nuremberg in the German state of Bavaria was the selected location for the trials because its Palace of Justice was undamaged by the war and included a large prison area. By it being the site of annual Nazi propaganda rallies, holding the trials there marked the symbolic end of Hitler's government, the Third