Bringing Nazis to Justice

1 Credit · Level: Undergraduate

After the Nuremberg trials, Germany and other countries brought Nazis to justice for Holocaust-related crimes. These trials ran over decades with varying degrees of success. State interests, legal issues, and public opinion were some of the many hurdles to justice. The most recent trial against a Nazi criminal ended in August of 2024; Irmgard Furchner, a former concentration camp secretary and stenographer at the Stutthof concentration camp, was convicted with 11,412 counts of accessory to murder and sentenced to a suspended jail term of two years. Furchner was 18 years old at the time of the crimes and 98 when she was convicted. Why did this trial happen, and why are other trials still taking place? Why are they occurring only now, almost 80 years after the fact? We will approach these questions and others during the class by analyzing trial material, historical backgrounds, and geopolitics. We also will speak to experts, prosecutors, and other actors about the challenges and legacy of these trials.