“The war was over but there was no peace.”
Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today is the documentary complement to the dramatic Judgment at Nuremberg. Both feature the themes of good and evil and how one can determine morality in a subjective world. The opening comments of the prosecutor in the documentary seem as certain as the fictional character in the drama. At that time and place – post-war Germany in 1945 and 1946 – it certainly seemed that those on trial must have steadfastly supported the sinister atrocities of the German Reich. Judgment at Nuremberg shows that that interpretation is not as obvious as it seems at first but Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today uses rare clips to further detail the accusations.
The footage of the trials is sparse (only about thirty hours in total) but the documentary producers compiled other recordings of German life during the 1930s to supplement their film. It is haunting to see German citizens go about their lives in factories unwittingly preparing for war. It is also compelling to see the flames of World War II arise from the ashes of the World War I.
Nevertheless, the idea of moral relativity remains. Some of the defendants seem so indignant that they are on trial, perhaps because they believed staunchly in their actions. Some deny that they did anything wrong, some protect Adolf Hitler, and some beg for mercy. To me, the main lesson of the Nuremberg trials is that humanity remains capable of anything. Some may find the actions horrendous but others believe that their deeds were entirely justified. It is a tall task for all global governments to protect the rights of every minority. ***