The Nuremberg Trials (1945–1949): The Reckoning of a War, the Birth of Modern Justice
In the aftermath of the Second World War, as the world stood among the ruins of cities and the ashes of death camps, a bold question emerged: How do you judge crimes so vast they defy imagination? Between 1945 and 1949, that question was answered in Nuremberg, Germany, where the Allied powers convened an unprecedented legal tribunal to hold the leaders of Nazi Germany accountable.
Known as the Nuremberg Trials, these proceedings became a milestone in international law, setting the foundation for how humanity prosecutes war crimes, genocide, and crimes against peace. It was a moral reckoning—and the first time the architects of state-sponsored atrocities were tried not merely as victors or vanquished, but as criminals before the bar of civilization.
Historical Background: A War Wi...