War is an extreme reality that the world today, for the most part does not understand completely. Hate is also an extreme issue the world faces, but is generally more aware of. The second world war showed a presence of both the extreme reality of war, and the issue of hate. Behind the front of the war, there was another battle being fought- the Holocaust. This battle wasn't fairly fought, the Nazis had the guns, and their victims, mainly Jews, communists, homosexuals, and gypsies, had nothing. Under the brutal shadow of the Holocaust, about six million Jews were murdered and millions of others also saw this fate. With the end of the war, the Nuremberg trials began. Top Nazis were put on trial, and the world desired to bring them to justice. Of 21 top Nazis who were on trial, 14 were sentenced to death by hanging and the remaining 7 received prison sentences. The question raised after the trials was, "was justice served". In my opinion, I think that justice was served- to an extent. Although these men committed horrific war crimes, they didn't seem to regret what they had done, mostly because they thought what they were doing was right.
The Nuremberg trials saw the death sentence to 14 top Nazis and imprisonment of 7. I believe that although, it did seem just to bring many of them to death, I think they did get off too easy. I think that what you give is what you get. Personally, the Nazis should have suffered just as much as their innocent victims had. When you are killed by hanging, you die almost instantly and virtually painlessly. The people in the concentration camps who were "lucky" enough not to be gassed to death right away, spent their days virtually rotting away from disease and starvation. Actual footage of the concentration camps shows bodies that were literally walking skeletons , still living. They had been without food or water for quite sometime, and found it hard to eat anything at first. This must have been very painful. I believe that it would have been very just for the Nazis to experience the brutal conditions their victims had to live through in camps.
A reality today, is that war is still being fought. Many people have a one track mind in North America, if it doesn't directly involve them, or affect them, they have no bother with it. Of course, this is only a general statement and can't be true for all North Americans. I'm not sure if too many people realize battles are still going on. With battles, come war crimes. War crimes can see the death or brutal treatment to innocent victims. Who is to convict the people who commit such horrific crimes? I believe there should be a world court today for war crimes. I believe that innocence is something to be cherished, not to be punished. I think that a world court should contain a fair representation from either most countries or all of the continents. I believe as much justice should be shown to these criminals as there was to their victims.
One other question you can ask yourself, while pondering the laws of war, and the crimes that follow, is ‘is war itself a crime'. I personally believe war is a crime because one of the sole goals of war is murder. Millions of people die "heroically" on the front, while their families are paralysed by tragic losses. War also creates hate and prejudice around the world. I believe the only battles that should be fought , are ones with the mouth and the mind, as opposed to guns and bombs. Don't forget that almost never are soldiers the only people killed in war, millions of people die innocently in wars for either being the wrong person in wrong place, or simply "in the way".
In conclusion, I believe that war in itself is an injustice. I think that the Nuremberg trials were very necessary and that justice was served- to an extent. It was necessary to give the top Nazis exactly what they deserved, but I believe that because of the inhumanity of their actions, they should be treated inhumanely. I realize that there is wars happening in the world to this day, and that there should be a world court to try and convict criminals of war. Hate and war may possibly always remain reality to the world, but it does not mean we, as humans, have to accept that.