The international military tribunal, now known as the Nuremberg Trials, were considered “alternative justice” because they broke from the tradition of victor’s vengeance. Instead of summary executions, the Allies used an international court to hold individuals—not just nations—accountable under law. This new model of justice established both personal responsibility and an enduring record of truth.

The online photo collection of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum includes more than 200 images related to Nuremberg. This photo exhibit highlights the extraordinary history captured on film.

A JUSTICE FOR JUSTICE

On May 2, 1945—three days after Hitler’s suicide and six days before Germany’s surrender—President Truman issued Executive Order 9547, appointing Robert H. Jackson (above, right), as Chief of Counsel before an International Military Tribunal. Given broad powers to act on behalf of the United States in conjunction with America’s major allies, Jackson later observed that he had never before been compelled to establish a court and then find a courthouse in which to try his case. So significant was Truman’s appointment of Jackson that a typewritten copy of Executive Order 9547 is part of a permanent exhibition of “American Treasures” at the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library.

“We then went to work with might and main to get out a report to the President on a plan for conducting the trials. The staff devoted itself to it almost constantly. The President revealed the report at a press conference, gave copies of it to the press, and said that he had completely approved it as expressing the American position.

Many men had been very skeptical about a trial because they could see no plan for it, felt that the project hadn’t been thought through, that it was carelessly entered upon and that it was likely to run amuck. On reading this report they had a new confidence in our enterprise. It also had a very pronounced affect abroad. There can be no doubt that it was one of the decisive steps taken in connection with our trial preparations.”

–Justice Robert H. Jackson

PREPARING FOR THE TRIBUNAL

ABOVE: Delegation from the Four Powers–France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States—arrive in Germany to inspect Nuremberg in advance of the trials.

BELOW: Nuremberg, Germany, at the time of the Nuremberg Trials

The Nuremberg trials took place in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, specifically in the east wing’s Courtroom 600. The preparation for the trial involved extensive remodeling, which was completed by the summer of 1945, as the U.S. Army used the facility from that point forward. The work included knocking down a wall, raising the ceiling, and installing a simultaneous translation system and a visitors’ gallery.

NAZI PRISONERS

After Germany’s surrender in 1945, Allied forces—primarily American, British, and Soviet troops—arrested 22 top Nazi officials. They were held in a military prison within the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, near the courtroom where they would stand trial for war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity.

Conditions were strict but humane by the standards of the time: each defendant had a separate cell, meals were provided, and they were allowed lawyers and access to medical care.

ABOVE: Attorney Fritz Sauter consults with Baldur von Schirach. Tried for crimes against humanity, von Schirach served as the Reich Youth Leader (Reichsjugendführer) from 1931 to 1940, overseeing the indoctrination of German children and teens with Nazi ideology. Later, he became Gauleiter (regional governor) of Vienna from 1940 to 1945, where he was involved in deporting tens of thousands of Jews to concentration camps. Baldur von Schirach was found guilty of crimes against humanity and membership in a criminal organization. He served his full 20-year sentence before being released in 1966.

BELOW: Ernst Kaltenbrunner awaits trial. Kaltenbrunner was a high-ranking Nazi official and one of the principal perpetrators of the Holocaust. A notably ruthless figure in the Nazi security apparatus, he served as deputy to Heinrich Himmler. Although a cranial hemorrhage prevented his appearance at the beginning of the trial, he recovered to participate in his own defense. He was ultimately convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and was executed in 1946.

ABOVE: Hermann Goering awaits trial. Goering was a leading Nazi official, founder of the Luftwaffe, Hitler’s designated successor, and a key architect of the Nazi regime’s crimes, including the Holocaust. Sentenced to death for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, Goering evaded execution by ingesting poison the night before his hanging in October 1946.

THIRD REICH ON TRIAL

In preparation for the Nuremberg Trials, Allied prosecutors undertook an extraordinary effort to document Nazi atrocities.

They reviewed over 100,000 captured German documents and more than 25,000 photographs, many created by the Nazis themselves to record their own actions. Audio‑visual evidence was also preserved, including 1,942 phonograph discs (about 775 hours of hearings) and 37 reels of film.

These records established the systematic planning and execution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, forming the foundation of the legal case against the Nazi leadership.

ABOVE: The United States counsel follows the trial with the help of translators; Justice Jackson is pictured in the lower-right corner.

MORE TO EXPLORE

Click here for more TRU History related to the Nuremberg Trials

Images courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum, part of the National Archives and Records Administration.