A court stenographer named Vivian Spitz attended every day of the Nuremberg trials in 1945-46. She was 22 years old and unprepared for the testimony she’d transcribe. “This history mustn’t be forgotten,” she wrote in her diary on November 20, 1945, the trial’s opening day.
Historical Context
The Nuremberg trials prosecuted 24 major Nazi war criminals before the International Military Tribunal from November 20, 1945 through October 1, 1946. American, British, French, and Soviet judges presided over proceedings that established legal precedents for international law and crimes against humanity.
Multiple films dramatize this pivotal historical moment, most recently Bradley Cooper’s Nuremberg (2026) starring him as American prosecutor Robert H. Jackson and Carey Mulligan as German translator/witness. The $85 million production shot extensively in Bavaria, recreating the actual courtroom in Palace of Justice.
TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 07: Rami Malek attends the premiere of “Nuremberg” during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 07, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario.
Jackson delivered the opening statement that remains one of history’s most powerful legal arguments: “The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated.”
The Defendants
Hermann Göring, Hitler’s designated successor and Luftwaffe commander, dominated proceedings with his intelligence and defiant testimony. He was convicted and sentenced to death but committed suicide hours before execution. His psychological manipulation of the trial process features prominently in cinematic adaptations.
Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s former deputy, feigned amnesia throughout the trial. Albert Speer, Hitler’s architect and Armaments Minister, became the only defendant to express remorse and accept responsibility. His cooperation with prosecutors and relative candor saved him from death sentence.
Twelve defendants received death sentences, three life imprisonment, and four other prison terms ranging from 10-20 years. Three were acquitted, generating controversy about whether trials served justice or victor’s vengeance.
Legal Precedents
The Nuremberg trials established four categories of war crimes: crimes against peace (planning aggressive war), war crimes (violations of warfare laws), crimes against humanity (genocide and persecution), and conspiracy to commit these acts.
These legal frameworks influenced subsequent international tribunals including those for Yugoslavia (1993), Rwanda (1994), and the establishment of the International Criminal Court (2002). Modern war crimes prosecution owes its existence to principles established at Nuremberg.
The defense argument that defendants “just followed orders” was explicitly rejected. The tribunal established that individual moral responsibility supersedes governmental authority when orders involve criminal acts. This precedent has been cited in virtually every war crimes trial since.
Documentary Evidence
Prosecutors presented 100,000 captured German documents and showed extensive film footage of concentration camps. This evidence became crucial both for convictions and creating irrefutable historical record countering later Holocaust denial.
The decision to document proceedings through photography, film, and detailed transcription ensured permanent record. These archives provided source material for dozens of books, documentaries, and fictional adaptations including the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, and Marlene Dietrich.
Contemporary Relevance
Nuremberg trials continue inspiring filmmakers because they represent law confronting absolute evil. Cooper’s 2026 film emphasizes prosecutor Jackson’s realization that creating precedent mattered more than simply convicting defendants.
The trials’ imperfections – victors judging vanquished without similar accountability for Allied war crimes – generate ongoing historical debate. Soviet judges participated despite Stalin’s regime committing atrocities comparable to some Nazi crimes.
Modern audiences connect with Nuremberg’s fundamental questions: How do societies punish unspeakable crimes? Can legal processes deliver justice or merely revenge? What responsibility do individuals bear when serving evil governments?
Cultural Impact
The phrase “Nuremberg defense” entered common vocabulary describing futile attempts to justify immoral acts through superior orders. The trials established that conscience supersedes obedience when confronting fundamental human rights violations.
Educational programs worldwide use trial transcripts teaching about Holocaust, totalitarianism, and individual moral responsibility. The proceedings demonstrated that international community could unite against genocide and establish legal frameworks preventing future atrocities.
“This history mustn’t be forgotten” – Vivian Spitz’s diary entry captures why filmmakers repeatedly return to this subject. Each generation needs reminding that ordinary people can prevent extraordinary evil through moral courage and legal accountability.
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