Reassessing the Nuremberg Military Tribunals

Kim C. Priemel is Assistant Professor of History at Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.

“This work consisting of ten interrelated essays edited by two European historians is a real gem… A must read for all those interested in the development of international law. Highly recommended.” · Choice“…the essays in Reassessing the Nuremberg Military Tribunals open up new paths of investigation for scholars and students alike. The collection covers a range of topics related to the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and presents ambitious arguments about its influence upon the political culture of the German Federal Republic, the historiography of the Third Reich, and the theory and practice of transitional justice. While these arguments are not always persuasive, they are consistently suggestive and certain to inspire further research and discussion.” · Journal of Modern History“Priemel and Stiller have put together a fine collection, which is thoughtfully laid out, flows smoothly from one essay to the next and stays focused on exploring the legacy of the Nuremberg Military Tribunals.” · English Historical Review“The contributors redefine the legacy of the trials, viewing the testimony, prosecution, and public representation as firmly embedded in Western culture. Solidly researched, these articles revisit many themes already present in the literature.” · Holocaust and Genocide Studies“Overall this convincing volume offers rich material and innovative approaches.” · Historische Zeitschrift“One of this volume’s outstanding contributions is its elucidation of the massive and often lamentable impact that the strategies employed by both the prosecution and defense counsel in Nuremberg courtroom had on early understandings if Nazi criminality… Taken together, the exemplary essays in this volume successfully resurrect the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and illustrate their central role both in molding interpretations of the Third Reich and laying the foundations for modern international criminal law… They represent a considerable step toward to the proper integration of the NMT into the historiography of the Third Reich and postwar justice.” · The American Historical Review“This collection impresses with its versatility and the wide spectrum covered by the texts. Another merit of the publication is the fact that it brings to light aspects that have been totally neglected by researchers so far.” · Perspectivia.net“…an excellent collection… that fills a massive lacuna in the literature. This is the first edited collection on the NMT trials, and there have been very few articles and chapters dedicated to the trials written by scholars, as opposed to participants in the trials themselves.” · Kevin Jon Heller, Melbourne Law School“…a timely and important book… The editors have chosen contributors who are real experts in the field… it is a rarity to see a volume that includes scholars from both sides of the Atlantic; I cannot stress enough the value of this kind of cross fertilization, both for students and other scholars. It is refreshing to see such a fruitful collaboration between European and North American scholars.” · Rebecca Wittmann, University of Toronto

• List of FiguresList of AbbreviationsForewordMichael MarrusIntroduction: Nuremberg’s Narratives – Revising the Legacy of the “Subsequent Trials”Kim C. Priemel and Alexa StillerChapter 1.The Trials of Robert Kempner. From Stateless Immigrant to Prosecutor of the Foreign OfficeDirk PöppmannChapter 2. A Judge, a Prosecutor and a Mass Murderer: Courtroom Dynamics in the SS-Einsatzgruppen TrialHilary EarlChapter 3. Victims, Witnesses and the Ethical Legacy of the Nuremberg Medical TrialPaul WeindlingChapter 4. Semantics of Extermination: The Use of the New Term of Genocide in the Nuremberg Trials and the Genesis of a Master NarrativeAlexa StillerChapter 5. The SS as the ‘Alibi of a Nation’? Narrative Continuities from the Nuremberg Trials to the 1960sJan Erik SchulteChapter 6. Tales of Totalitarianism. Conflicting Narratives in the Industrialist Cases at NurembergKim C. PriemelChapter 7. From Clean Hands to Vernichtungskrieg: How the High Command Case Shaped the Image of the WehrmachtValerie HébertChapter 8. The Power of Images: Real and Fictional Roles of Atrocity Film Footage at NurembergUlrike WeckelChapter 9. The Fate of Nuremberg: The Legacy and Impact of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials in Postwar GermanyDevin PendasChapter 10. From IMT to NMT: The Emergence of a Jurisprudence of AtrocityLawrence DouglasBibliographyNotes on ContributorsIndex