The Tokyo Process and the Nuremberg Trials

More than seventy years ago, the first ever trial took place , in which criminals who possessed Germany and turned it into weapons for the commission of the most terrible crimes were tried. This process was the first, as before in the legal practice there were no cases of trial of politicians who committed military aggression against other countries. It was the Nuremberg trial. A few months later, a similar trial took place in Tokyo over the war criminals of Japan.

Nuremberg

The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials of war criminals were not carried out over simple participants in military operations from among the rank-and-file or officers, namely, the most faithful helpers of A. Hitler. They were judged for having launched the most significant and large-scale war, thereby engaging a multitude of countries.

The basis for the first process was the agreement concluded between the allied states. As a result, the International Military Tribunal was formed. His goal was to bring justice to the main Nazis.

The duration of the Nuremberg process was almost a year. September 30, 1946, the tribunal began the announcement of the verdict, which was completed only the next day. Practically all the defendants who came under the tribunal were sentenced to the highest limit of punishment - death. Individuals are still lucky, they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Such associations such as the SS and SD, the Gestapo and the higher ranks of the Nazi Party of Germany were classified as criminal, and their members received severe punishment.

In total, 12 people were sentenced to death, among them were Rosenberg, Ribbentrop, Goering, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner and others.

Tokyo

The Tokyo trial of war criminals, as well as the court in Nuremberg, carried out justice over the criminals of World War II, but in the capital of Japan. It began on May 3, 1946, and its duration was an order of magnitude greater than the tribunal in Germany. The Tokyo process lasted more than two years and ended on November 12, 1948.

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East has issued a death sentence to the seven largest war criminals, among them the Minister of War, the Prime Minister and the highest ranking generals of the Land of the Rising Sun. To other criminals, the Tokyo trial brought various prison terms, sixteen of which were lifelong.

Among the accusations brought by the defendants, such as preparations for war, unleashing a war, participating in it, destroying civilians, prisoners, as well as many other serious criminal offenses were heard.

The importance of trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo

The Tokyo process, similar to the trial in Nuremberg, was of immense significance for history. Both tribunals recognized and determined that the aggressive war that Nazi Germany had begun was a grave international crime .

In addition, the formation of the International Tribunal has become a source and basis for individual legal norms used in international law. The charters of both tribunals, as well as the verdicts passed by them, were subsequently approved by the UN, and, consequently, the principles of these documents, according to which punishment was imposed and the composition of serious crimes were established, have become universally recognized norms in the field of international law.

Consequences of processes

It was thanks to the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials that such important international instruments as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were subsequently prepared . They also had a significant impact on various international covenants, including the Resolution on Combating Racial Discrimination, and the conventions on the protection of cultural property in military clashes, as well as many other significant documents.

In 1968, the UN Convention was adopted, according to which war criminals do not apply the time limit for bringing to criminal responsibility. Such a document was needed in connection with frequent attempts to stop the persecution of individual Nazi criminals.

Conclusion

The international and historical significance of the trials that took place after the Second World War in the cities of Nuremberg and Tokyo can not be overemphasized. In carrying out these processes it was noted that they will go down in history. The material and information received as a result of their conduct will be so significant that in the future historians will turn to these results in order to find the truth. At the same time, the trials of the forties will become a kind of warning for politicians and leaders of all countries of the world.