Nuremberg Trials: Encyclopedia II - Nuremberg Trials - Origin of the trials

Nuremberg Trials - Origin of the trials

By 1944, victory for the Allies had become inevitable. Advocate groups (who had received detailed information regarding Nazi plans of mass extermination, or the "Final Solution") and governments in exile became concerned that the Nazis would unleash a final wave of atrocities. To help prevent the escalation of violence, the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) was established, an organization which began to compile a list of probable war criminals. However, the Allies did not consolidate these threats (of the possible prosecution of war crimes) against the Nazis yet due to a fear of reprisals on prisoners of war.

The then U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. suggested a plan of the total denazification of Germany; this was known as the Morgenthau Plan. The plan detailed methods of deportation, forced labor, and economic repression similar to that of the Treaty of Versailles. Both Churchill and Roosevelt supported this plan, and went as far as attempting its authorization at the Quebec Conference in September of 1944. However, the Soviet Union announced its preference for a judicial process (possibly seeing this as an opportunity for a show trial). Later, details were leaked to the public, generating widespread protest. Roosevelt, seeing strong public disapproval, abandoned the plan, but did not proceed to adopt support for another position on the matter. The demise of the Morgenthau Plan created the need for an alternative method of dealing with the Nazi leadership. The plan for the “Trial of European War Criminals” was drafted by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and his War Department. Roosevelt died in 1945, and the new President Harry S. Truman gave strong approval for a judicial process. After a series of negotiations with the Soviet Union, Britain, and France, details of the trial were worked out. The trials were set to commence on November 20, 1945, in the city of Nuremberg.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origin of the trials", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki