The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries across Europe and atrocities against their citizens in World War II.
Judges' bench during the tribunal at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany
Jews arriving at Auschwitz concentration camp, 1944. According to legal historian Kirsten Sellars, the death camps "formed the moral core of the Allies' case against the Nazi leaders".
Aron Trainin (center, with moustache) speaks at the London Conference.
Aerial view of the Palace of Justice in 1945, with the prison attached behind it
A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression using state military force. The definition and scope of the crime is controversial. The Rome Statute contains an exhaustive list of acts of aggression that can give rise to individual criminal responsibility, which include invasion, military occupation, annexation by the use of force, bombardment, and military blockade of ports. In general, committing an act of aggression is a leadership crime that can only be committed by those with the power to shape a state's policy of aggression, as opposed to those who discharge it.
The crime of aggression was conceived by Soviet jurist Aron Trainin in the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Pictured: Stalingrad in ruins, December 1942
The loss of life and harms of war are cited as a reason for the illegality of aggression. Pictured: aerial view of the ruins of Vaux, France, 1918.
Chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (on the pulpit)
Theodor von Hornbostel [de] testifies for the prosecution during the Ministries trial, giving evidence for aggression