Nuremberg Trials

At 10.00 am on 20 November 1945, Sir Geoffrey Lawrence, the presiding judge at the first of the Nuremberg Trials, opened proceedings at what he described as a trial that was ''unique in the history of jurisprudence''.

What followed were 11 days of accusations and rebuttals that would determine the fate of 21 Nazi leaders and see the indictment of three others in their absence. The charges against them included war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and the conspiracy to commit those crimes.

Judges, administrators and onlookers alike had to steel themselves as they listened to a catalogue of barbaric and sickening acts.

Compellingly, The Nuremberg Trials recalls the events of that first trial, the people involved - both accusers and accused - and explores the impact and consequences that it would have on subsequent trials at Nuremberg and in Tokyo (where Japanese leaders were also tried) and on the future of international law and tribunals.