War crimes in the Ukraine – for whom the bell tolls
The documented brutality of Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire prompted the coalition of World War II allies to conduct war crimes trials after both Germany and Japan unconditionally surrendered. The plans for such war tribunals emerged at around the time of the “Big 3” meeting at Potsdam. They marked – and were perceived to be – a fresh and legally appropriate approach to the identification and appropriate prosecution of atrocities committed against both allied military servicemen, and innocent civilians.
This included, but was not limited to, the prosecution of unjust wars, the “Rape of Nanking,” China, the cruel Bataan Death March following the fall of Corregidor in the Philippines and the establishment of concentration camps where some six million Jews were cruelly exterminated. Rather than resort to military tribunals (or summary hearings), followed by death by firing squad (or hanging), the war crimes courtroom was conceived as the civilized response most likely to address depraved and willful behavior occurring during World War II. Merely following the orders of superiors was no longer a legal defense.
Many Americans are unaware that, following the American Civil War, there were military trials of a number of Confederates for war crimes. Thus, Henry Wirz, who commanded the Andersonville Prison, was tried in connection with the deaths of nearly 13,000 Union soldiers from malnutrition, disease and exposure. He was hanged in November, 1865.