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On This Day: Nazis at Nuremberg
Posted by: | CommentsWith the close of World War II came an international military tribunal which sought the prosecution of 24 of the most prominent German Nazi officials in the areas of military, politics and economics, according to newworldencyclopedia.org. This tribunal, or trial rather, was officially set into motion November 20, 1945, and was held in Nuremberg, Germany at the Palace of Justice. The offenses brought to the court included waging a war of aggression, violating the customs of warfare, and committing crimes against humanity. Though the “Trial of the Major War Criminals”, as it was called, was only one of thirteen to take place during the four years of the “Nuremberg Trials”, it was the most famous due to the importance of the leadership involved.
Defendants in the Dock at Nuremberg
According to the BBC, the court’s judicial bench was composed of the war’s three major wartime powers – those being the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union – with France being awarded a seat as well. Each country also provided an alternate judge as well as comprising the prosecutorial membership.
Justice Geoffrey Lawrence, the British representative who presided, opened the trial stating it was “unique in the history of the jurisprudence of the world and of supreme importance to millions of people all over the globe”.
The proceedings are unique and relevant in history as they were done under unusual conditions. International wars quite normally end with a peace treaty in which stipulations are placed to allow for the individual states to prosecute their own countrymen. Because Japan and the German Armed Forces surrendered unconditionally, this meant there were no provisions held by the Axis powers that would keep an international body from prosecuting those suspected of war crimes.
In all, Nazi Germany egregiously affected the lives of millions across Central and Eastern Europe. This trial was an attempt to bring to justice those who were responsible for the atrocities witnessed throughout WWII and the Holocaust. The symbolism of the trial being held at Nuremberg cannot be overlooked either – the city is considered to be the ceremonial birthplace of the Nazi Party.
To learn more about this and the Nuremberg Trials, check out the History Channel documentary “Nuremberg – Tyranny on Trial“.
On This Day: The Gettysburg Address
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Only Known Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg
In full irony, Lincoln would comment during the address that, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here”. Lincoln could not have been more wrong in this assertion as, according to a U.S. Department of State publication, the address is among the most remembered speeches in American history. This truth is evident in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own famous oration of “I Have a Dream”. King’s speech opens with a parallel of Lincoln’s words “Four score and seven years ago” when he remarks “Five score years ago”. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he goes on to reference the late president and his signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Gettysburg speech is so prominent in the legacy of Lincoln that its full content is carved onto the south wall of the Lincoln Memorial’s stone cella in Washington, D.C.
In total, the fields at Gettysburg witnessed the bloodied deaths of more than 3,000 Union soldiers and close to 4,000 Confederates. The wounded and missing were more than 20,000 on each side of the battle. These numbers are a mere fraction of the amount of lives lost in a war which held a mortality rate higher than any conflict before or after, according to “Outline of American History”.
Lincoln closed the two-to-three minute speech saying, “… we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
For further information on, and a deconstruction of the Gettysburg Address, check out “Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America”.
On This Day: Saturday Night Massacre
Posted by: | CommentsThe downfall of Richard M. Nixon’s Presidency began on the evening of June 17, 1972, with the break-in of the Democratic National Committee’s offices in the Washington, D.C., Watergate Complex. This break-in brought the indictment of five members of Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President, as well as two others, on charges of conspiracy, burglary, and violation of federal wiretapping laws.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the scandal though, came on November 17, 1973, when Nixon held a question-and-answer session with 400 Associated Press managing editors in what would be coined as the Saturday Night Massacre. During this tense, televised, hour-long conference Nixon fielded questions from the editors, at one point professing “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got”. These words, “I’m not a crook”, would later become synonymous with the corrupt image of Nixon and his administration.
The Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
Though he steadfastly denied any involvement with the Watergate case, it later became favorable opinion that he was well aware of the plan – most markedly in the fact that he resigned from the Presidency only nine months later. Due to a waning sense of trust among the American people, loss of support from his political allies, and near certainty of impeachment and conviction, Nixon tendered his resignation to Sec. of State Henry A. Kissinger on August 9, 1974. The letter simply stated “I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States”. Though the resignation brought the Congress to drop the impeachment proceedings there was still the possibility of criminal charges. Accordingly, Nixon’s vice-president and successor, Gerald Ford, issued a full pardon on his behalf only a month later.
The Washington Post covered the events of the Saturday Night Massacre in an article published the following day. It can be found by clicking here.
For further information on the Watergate Scandal, check out “The Wars of Watergate“.
On This Day: The International Day for Tolerance
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Today marks two eventful occasions in the history of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The first occurred in 1945 with the founding of the organization. For this agency, “it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education, Social and Natural Science, Culture, and Communication are the means to a far more ambitious goal: to build peace in the minds of men,” according to UNESCO.org.
Currently some of its main objectives fall into what is called the Millennium Development Goals. Among other things, this initiative seeks to aid in reversing the loss of environmental resources by 2015, and, inside developing countries, halve the number of persons living in extreme poverty by the same year. There are also plans in place to ensure universal education in all countries.
The organization, based in Paris, states it currently has 193 member states and six associate members with its most recent member, the Faroe Islands, having entered in October 2009.
The second occasion is the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Seville Statement on Violence. In 1989 at the 25th session of the General Conference, UNESCO adopted this document which had been drafted in Seville, Spain, in May of the same year. Written by international scholars in varying fields of science, its stated purpose was that of challenging “a number of alleged biological findings that have been used … to justify violence and war”. These scholars believed that, in refuting the idea that organized violence is somehow biologically derived, they could contribute significantly to the process of establishing world peace. They in turn penned five propositions in an attempt to dispel what they found to be a pessimistic viewpoint toward the behavior of man. These points began with five basic assertions, including:
1. “It is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors.”
2. “It is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature.”
3. “It is scientifically incorrect to say that in the course of human evolution there has been a selection for aggressive behaviour.”
4. “It is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a ‘violent brain’.”
5. “It is scientifically incorrect to say that war is caused by ‘instinct’ or any single motivation.”
In closing, the scientists argued that “the same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us.”
Aside from these two momentous days in the history of UNESCO, the organization has observed November 16th as the International Day for Tolerance since 1995. According to the day’s proclamation, its intended purpose is to “generate public awareness, emphasize the dangers of intolerance, and react with renewed commitment and action in support of tolerance, promotion and education”. The bi-annual UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize has been awarded since 1996 as part of the observance.
For further information regarding UNESCO, visit www.UNESCO.org.
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