Nuremberg 1945-2005

In November 2008, I spoke from the judges' tribune in
Courtroom 600 to an international conference.

This week marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg trial. It took place in Courtroom 600 of Nuremberg's Palace of Justice, still standing after the city around it had been virtually destroyed by bombing. The Courtroom has been in continuous use since the trial, first for a series of American Military Tribunal trials on thematic war crimes issues, and then as a working courtroom of the German justice system. This week, it was transformed into a museum, called the Memorium Nürnberger Prozesse, which is open to visitors.
Films of the trial itself are available on the website of the Robert Jackson Centre. Also of great interest is the recent film by Sandra Schulberg, which is a restoration of a post-war documentary on the trial produced by her father and her uncle that was shown in Germany. A few years ago, Christian Delage produced a fine film based upon the footage shot by John Ford during the trial: Nuremberg, The Nazis Facing Their Crimes.
The trial proceedings were published in English (as well as in French, German and Russian), in a 42 volume compilation, now available in pdf here.