Judgment At Nuremberg - Lessons in Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism: A system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.

In the year 2019 America has a leader in office that sees himself as dictators see themselves; above any criticism or accountability for their questionable actions. He would be untouchable if he were sitting on a throne as ruler of a monocratic kingdom. Problem is America is not a monocracy (governed by one), but a democracy governed by the people through elected officials. And he is an elected official.

I watched a 1961 courtroom drama film last night titled "Judgment at Nuremberg." It's an all-time favorite of mine that I hadn't seen in many years. The film follows the post-war trial of four German judges who served during the Nazi regime and are now facing a tribunal for charges of crimes against humanity.

Watching Judgment at Nuremberg this time around was a scary experience because it resembles the politics of today's dictatorial regimes. All but one of the men on trial, Ernst Janning, denied knowing about the atrocities their Nazi political party carried out under the leadership of Adolph Hitler. 

The defense attorney made a gallant effort in putting forward "alternative facts" to justify the actions of these men and their Nazi regime. He even went as far as charging the Vatican, foreign countries and foreign corporations in sharing in the blame of Nazi atrocities. 

And then there was at least one witness for the defense who during the war had given evidence that led to the arrest and death of a Jewish man, and the destruction of a young 16 year old girl's virgin reputation.  This witness represented the many subservient German citizens who felt obligated to report any crimes (real or imagined) against the state involving Jews or Jewish sympathizers, to the Nazi gestapo. The witness, an elderly female, left the stand discredited.

When Ernst Janning, the one defendant not in denial, chose to give his statement against the advice of the defense attorney, he literally blew away all defense testimony by admitting everyone knew what was going on in Germany and chose to go along with the Nazi plan. His performance on the stand was a highlight of the film. 

In delivering his indictment of the German peoples, Janning put the blame directly on the shoulders of good German citizens who cloaked themselves in Hitler's "make Germany great again" rhetoric. Germany was starving and barely surviving when Hitler came along and reminded them of how great they once were and could be again. He railed against the debts owed from WWI. Then he gave the German peoples a scapegoat in the Jews, and that's when the power of hate was ignited and began burning in full force.

What Judgment at Nuremberg warns against is not the Hitler type leaders of history making a modern day reappearance, but the wavering integrity of judges, doctors, lawyers, politicians and such. These oath pledging professionals know better than to conspire and participate in evil against the laws and peoples, or to turn a blind eye to it. They know the dangerous consequences a country in conflict with itself might suffer. Their complicity in allowing such evil actions to be carried out is what makes them guilty of a dictator's crimes. It is the duty of sworn in, learned and righteous citizens to protect their democracy against interlopers who come along and start tearing down democratic laws and institutions in an effort to dictate their own brand of government; a government that would normalize concentration camps, ethnic hatred and sterilization as well as ban freedoms of speech and such. 



One of my favorite quotes from the movie is in its final scene with the Judge and the main defendant Janning. The defendant wants the judge to know that he never knew it would come to millions of people dying. The Judge's reply was as follows: 

"Ernst Janning, It came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent."