Nuremberg Day 2 (1945) Robert H. Jackson Opening Statement

Summary

The video presents excerpts from Robert H. Jackson’s opening statement for the United States at the Nuremberg Trial. An introductory narration describes Jackson’s legal career and notes that, while some Allied voices favored executing Nazi leaders, the United States pressed for a trial. Jackson hoped the proceedings would help establish international law against aggressive war.

The case for a fair trial

Jackson argues that the defendants must be judged under law, not vengeance. He acknowledges the trial’s unprecedented scale, the limited time for investigation, and the risk that the victors’ role as prosecutors could undermine its credibility. He says the prosecution must act fairly, uphold the presumption of innocence, prove each defendant’s responsibility, and leave a record that history can judge. He also emphasizes that the accused have legal counsel and an opportunity to defend themselves.

Evidence and alleged conspiracy

Jackson says the prosecution will use German documents, records, photographs, films, and the defendants’ own words to show how Nazi leaders planned and directed crimes. He focuses on the alleged common plan or conspiracy: leaders who did not necessarily carry out violence themselves, he argues, used their authority to design and enable it.

Persecution and war

Jackson describes the Nazi regime’s destruction of civil liberties, its use of racial hatred and scapegoating, and its drive for domination and war. He presents the persecution and attempted annihilation of Europe’s Jews as a deliberate, organized policy. Citing estimates, he says that of 9.6 million Jews in Nazi-dominated Europe, about 60 percent had perished. He also cites the Stroop report on the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, which records 56,065 Jews killed or captured, with additional deaths uncounted.

On preparations for war, Jackson alleges that Nazi leaders and figures in industry and finance coordinated rearmament on a scale far beyond defense needs. He also outlines alleged violations of the laws of war, including the brutal treatment and murder of prisoners of war, and an order that captured British and American airmen be denied POW protections and left vulnerable to lynching.

Forced labor and leadership responsibility

Jackson highlights forced labor as a vast criminal operation. He cites Hans Frank’s claim that 1.3 million Polish workers had been sent to Germany, and a report that fewer than 200,000 of the five million foreign workers brought there had come voluntarily.

Jackson says his task is not to detail every individual atrocity, but to show the scale of the crimes and the responsibility of the leaders who planned them.

Presenters and contributors

• Robert H. Jackson — U.S. chief prosecutor and speaker in the opening-statement excerpts.
• Unidentified narrator — Provides the introductory biographical commentary.