The Nuremberg Trials Sentencing - Essay Example

All this was happening after World War II, at a time when the world was coming to terms with the presence of human rights and civil liberties. This paper will examine the political heads and military leaders that had a part to play in the death of innocent Jews, and their fate after the verdicts were made after the initial IMT (International Military Tribunal). Twenty-four men were to face trial, but only twenty-one stood before the court to prove their innocence. Subsequent hearings were for judges, doctors, and the military in that region to prove whether they were guilty of the crimes.

This group was identified as the second-tier and after a lot of deliberation, the guilty parties received much lesser punishment than their predecessors in the IMT. During that time in German’s history, the military had might and carried out activities and operations that may not have been permitted in this day (Evans 82). The Chief Prosecutor, Frencz B. Benjamin, during his time in the region admitted to letting some things pass unnoticed like the burning alive of an individual. This was meant to be an undercover task to evaluate the practices of the military in the region.

It was during these subsequent hearings that a significant number of individuals were sentenced to prison. Brigadier Telford Taylor, Chief of Council for the prosecution, ensured that trials were carried out in the regions that still required the court’s attention. The growing differences between the allied forces made it more difficult to have control over the court. However, the Control Council Law ensured that trials were conducted without the presence of all the members of the allied forces.

These trials may have found the second-tier parties guilty, but the sentences they were handed may not have been befitting (Evans 93). This was according to some parties that thought they were handed lesser punishment than what they actually deserved. The military personnel indicted by the courts were thought to have violated their code of conduct and ethics. They, therefore, could not be given a dignified death according to some of the parties present in the sentencing of these groups. Death by hanging was familiar in that time, and it is alleged that it was agonizing and painful as some of the parties had to struggle during strangulation for 14 to 28 minutes before they died (Ehrenfreund 145).

Some saw this as well-deserved, as death through firing squad, as was the case during that time, would have been much dignified. Top ranking military officials were tried during the first IMT, but the subsequent hearings may have been for the lesser individuals that actually played a part in the persecution of innocent individuals. Twelve subsequent trials were carried out after the first International Military Tribunal, and the judges’ trial was the third. Josef Altstotter, Hermann Cuhorst, Herbert Klemm, Wolfgang Mettgenberg, Hans Peterson, and Curt Rothenberger were among some of the parties indicted during the subsequent trials (Ehrenfreund 167).

Some of the mentioned parties were acquitted of the charges while others faced life imprisonment. It is evident that the subsequent trials conducted were for groups that were much lower in rank than the previous group, which paved the way for the tribunals. The military and this group of judges were