Someone once said: “The Nuremberg Trial was a noble idea corrupted by politics”. There were, indeed, very noble ideas behind the Nuremberg Trial (however, there were also ideas that were not noble at all).
One of the noble ideas was to send a loud and clear message to leaders and statesmen of all nations:
“Do not commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. If you do commit these crimes, you will be arrested, prosecuted, indicted, charged, tried, convicted and executed”.
Unfortunately, this noble idea got so corrupted by politics (actually, by ignoble ideas) that the Nuremberg Trial delivered a radically different message. In many ways, exactly the opposite message:
“Do not lose the war. If you lose the war, you will be arrested, prosecuted, indicted, charged, tried, convicted and executed – even for the crimes that you did not commit. Even for your actions that at that time were not considered a crime at all.
Win the war. Because if you win the war, you will get away with any war crime or crime against humanity you have committed – no matter how horrible. Moreover, if you win the war, you can arrest, prosecute, indict, try, convict and execute your defeated enemies – whether they committed any crimes or not. Even more than that – you can commit the same crimes they are being tried for right during that very trial with complete impunity”
Now that’s corruption par excellence. No wonder a prominent America judge (actually, a Superior Court judge) openly called the main Nuremberg Trial a fraud. Which in many ways it was.
The Essential Guide to Nazi Germany 