The Nuremberg Trials

In 1945, with Nazi Germany defeated, the Allied powers faced a question: what to do with its captured leaders? Instead of summary executions, representatives from the four major Allied nations met in London. On August 8, they signed the London Charter, creating an International Military Tribunal. This was a new kind of justice. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief American prosecutor, was a driving force. The charter established a revolutionary principle: individuals, not just states, could be held legally responsible for international crimes. It also stated that 'following orders' was not a valid defense. The stage was set for a trial that would test whether law could truly rise above the power of nations.