Legal Aftermath and Follow-Up of the Holocaust: A Brief Overview

The Nuremberg Trials

 The Nuremberg Trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany after World War II beginning on November 11, 1945 and ending on October 1, 1946. However it had been established before the war even ended in 1942, that the Allied countries were going to seek to prosecute members of the Nazi Third Reich. Twenty four men were placed on trial at the Nuremberg Trials, (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler had committed suicide and the International Military Tribunal decided not to try them posthumously) and only three were acquitted of the charges against them.

The International Military Tribunal or IMT which was established to preside over the Nuremberg Trials was composed of members of Allied countries. Charges against the criminals included war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggressive war. The United States Nuremberg Military Tribunal presided over twelve smaller trials known as the Subsequent Trials in which more than one hundred members of various branches and cabinets throughout the Third Reich were put on trial; these defendants were grouped based on their areas of activity: medical, legal, ethnological, economic, or political. After the Nuremberg Trials ended there would be no international court of its kind in existence until the next millennium.

Sources:

"Final Report to the Secretary of the Army on the Nuernberg War Crimes Trials Under Control Council Law No. 10." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013. 

"Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013.

 "The Nuremberg Trials and Their Legacy." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 21 July 2013.

"Nuremberg Trials." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013.

"Nurnbuerg Military Tribunals: Indictments." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013.

"Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013.

"Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10." Military Legal Resources. Library of Congress, 10 July 2010. Web. 21 July 2013. 

Genocide and International Law

Genocide was not an issue officially addressed by an international governing body until the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Rome Statute in 1998; the ICC was not a sitting body until 2002, when sixty countries ratified its treaty. The ICC has jurisdiction over the following areas: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. As of May 1, 2013, there are one hundred and twenty-two state members of the ICC; the United States is not one of them.

Sources:

"About the Court." International Criminal Court. Web. 21 July 2013. 

"Frequently Asked Questions." International Criminal Court. Web. 21 July 2013. 

"International Law: Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 21 July 2013. 

"Introduction to the International Criminal Court." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 21 July 2013.

"Structure of the Court." International Criminal Court. Web. 21 July 2013. 

Holocaust Denial 

Although it does not seem possible given the plethora of evidence, evidence left behind by the Nazis themselves, there are some who insist on denying that the Holocaust happened. Several countries have made it illegal to deny the Holocaust; in countries where the law does not explicitly outlaw Holocaust denial, legislation does allow for the punishment of racially offensive remarks. The United States has not made it a criminal offense to deny the events of the Holocaust due to the freedom of speech rights protected by the 1st Amendment.

Sources:

Bazyler von Oppenheim, Michael J. "Holocaust Denial Laws and Other Legislation Criminalizing Promotion of Nazism." Yad Vashem. 25 December 2006, PDF. 21 July 2013.