November Blog: The 80th Anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials
Welcome to our November Blog!
See below for a discussion of:
- 80th Anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg Trials
- Site update
- Winter break reading ideas for teachers!
80th Anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg Trials
November 20th marks the start of the landmark military tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945. It was the first international military tribunal to try a total of 199 defendants for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also established individual responsibility for committing war crimes, rejecting the defence of following the orders of superiors.
For students covering the Second World War as one of their Depth Studies, this anniversary would be worth discussing. It would allow for a review of key events of the war; students could research the anniversary in the news and how it is being commemorated, and/or create a display to commemorate the anniversary. The concept of holding leaders accountable for human rights' abuses is also highly topical in current global events, so there is a good link here between events in history and what is happening today.
This brief news video gives an overview of the trials, how it set an enduring precedent for international law and the development of other international bodies such as the ICC.
This article from The Conversation, discusses the trials in more detail and picks up on issues raised in the video such as how events at Nuremberg impacted international law post 1945, and also if such ‘a reckoning’ could happen today. Its conclusion is that, despite global leaders committing human rights atrocities, ‘…With growing divisions in the world today, another Nuremberg is unlikely to happen any time soon’.
This anniversary is also recognised by the movie industry.
Nuremburg starring Russell Crowe (see image at top of page) is released this month to coincide with the 80th Anniversary.
It has mixed reviews, but we're looking forward to watching it over the forthcoming holiday and could be a good movie to recommend to IGCSE History students.
Site Update
Please note the new feature on the site which allows both you and your students to highlight text and add their own ‘sticky notes’ to the pages:
History winter break reads for Teachers!
See below for some recently published history books which you might enjoy over the forthcoming break: