At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the world was dealt the final blow, with the discovery and liberation of the Nazi death camps.
The human race who had already faced up to and who had become hardened to nearly six years of murder and violence, found this level of barbarity and cruelty unlike anything the world had witnessed before or since.
For four years after the war, the heads of the former Nazi state were gathered and put on trial for their crimes. This film tells the story of these trials at Nuremberg.
Richard Widmark, plays an American army officer, one of the unfortunate few who marched in to liberate a concentration camp and was sickened by what he saw, a man who is now hell bent on prosecuting the culprits and bringing them to justice.
Spencer Tracy, without doubt one of the greatest screen actors of all time plays Judge Haywood, the man who is to sit in judgement over the proceedings,a man trying to remain impartial, despite his own personal views of disgust and hatred.
Burt Lancaster, in probably his finest performance, plays Dr. Ernst Janning, a former German lawyer, a man who had worked for the Nazis and had been responsible for sending many innocent men to their deaths in the interests of Hitler's Reich. A man now eaten away by his inner torment and feelings of guilt. A man who is now on trial for his own life just as his victims had once been on trial for theirs.
Maximillian Schell, deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of Hans Rolfe, the German defence lawyer, trying to defend these men he knows are guilty, while at the same time trying to salvage some threads of dignity for the people of his defeated and war battered nation.
Other notable performances come from Judy Garland, who showed us what a fine dramatic actress she could be when give the opportunity, and Marlene Deitrich as the widow of an already executed German officer...both performances, especially that of Garland were in my opinion Oscar winning level.
It is however Lancaster's performance which gripped me most. He takes the stand against Rolfe's advice and speaks to the court of his crimes, his guilt and his repentance.
He says that for the German people to rebuild their self respect, then they need to face up to the terrible things they have done. He lays mention to the fact that most Germans are saying that they didn't know of the death camps, and his speech is both heartfelt and moving.
'When train loads of women and children past through our towns, crammed in like cattle on the way to their extermination.....were we blind? When we heard those children crying out to us in the night and did nothing to help them....were we deaf? We didn't know because we didn't WANT to know.' He mentions how he thought Nazism was a good thing in the beginning, but how he had become too heavily involved and was too scared to back out once he realised the levels to which it had risen.
A poignant speech and one that still leaves a lump in my throat.
Spencer Tracy has the most accurate and thought provoking line in the whole movie.
Jannings tells Haywood, that he was shocked and appalled at the figure of six million victims....he explains how he never knew it would go that far.
Spence looks down at his shoes and says with neither hatred or kindness, 'It went that far the first time you ever sentenced someone to death whom you knew was innocent.' A truer word could not have been spoken.
It is my belief that every person in the entire world should be made to watch two movies as part of their education of life. Schindlers List and Judgement at Nuremberg. In no other film has the horrific and sickening crimes of the Nazis, been described or portrayed more vividly or graphically as in these two productions.
It is only by keeping this fresh in the mind of future generations can we ensure it can never happen again.
The human race who had already faced up to and who had become hardened to nearly six years of murder and violence, found this level of barbarity and cruelty unlike anything the world had witnessed before or since.
For four years after the war, the heads of the former Nazi state were gathered and put on trial for their crimes. This film tells the story of these trials at Nuremberg.
Richard Widmark, plays an American army officer, one of the unfortunate few who marched in to liberate a concentration camp and was sickened by what he saw, a man who is now hell bent on prosecuting the culprits and bringing them to justice.
Spencer Tracy, without doubt one of the greatest screen actors of all time plays Judge Haywood, the man who is to sit in judgement over the proceedings,a man trying to remain impartial, despite his own personal views of disgust and hatred.
Burt Lancaster, in probably his finest performance, plays Dr. Ernst Janning, a former German lawyer, a man who had worked for the Nazis and had been responsible for sending many innocent men to their deaths in the interests of Hitler's Reich. A man now eaten away by his inner torment and feelings of guilt. A man who is now on trial for his own life just as his victims had once been on trial for theirs.
Maximillian Schell, deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of Hans Rolfe, the German defence lawyer, trying to defend these men he knows are guilty, while at the same time trying to salvage some threads of dignity for the people of his defeated and war battered nation.
Other notable performances come from Judy Garland, who showed us what a fine dramatic actress she could be when give the opportunity, and Marlene Deitrich as the widow of an already executed German officer...both performances, especially that of Garland were in my opinion Oscar winning level.
It is however Lancaster's performance which gripped me most. He takes the stand against Rolfe's advice and speaks to the court of his crimes, his guilt and his repentance.
He says that for the German people to rebuild their self respect, then they need to face up to the terrible things they have done. He lays mention to the fact that most Germans are saying that they didn't know of the death camps, and his speech is both heartfelt and moving.
'When train loads of women and children past through our towns, crammed in like cattle on the way to their extermination.....were we blind? When we heard those children crying out to us in the night and did nothing to help them....were we deaf? We didn't know because we didn't WANT to know.' He mentions how he thought Nazism was a good thing in the beginning, but how he had become too heavily involved and was too scared to back out once he realised the levels to which it had risen.
A poignant speech and one that still leaves a lump in my throat.
Spencer Tracy has the most accurate and thought provoking line in the whole movie.
Jannings tells Haywood, that he was shocked and appalled at the figure of six million victims....he explains how he never knew it would go that far.
Spence looks down at his shoes and says with neither hatred or kindness, 'It went that far the first time you ever sentenced someone to death whom you knew was innocent.' A truer word could not have been spoken.
It is my belief that every person in the entire world should be made to watch two movies as part of their education of life. Schindlers List and Judgement at Nuremberg. In no other film has the horrific and sickening crimes of the Nazis, been described or portrayed more vividly or graphically as in these two productions.
It is only by keeping this fresh in the mind of future generations can we ensure it can never happen again.