Film Review of Judgement at Nuremberg Judgement at Nuremberg, a three-hour long movie directed by Stanley Kramer and scripted by Abby Mann in 1961 , presents Nazi’s crimes in a new and unique perspective. Instead of putting Nazi officials into justice, Judgement at Nuremberg starts a long trial accusing four Nazi judges of conducting Nazi sterilization and cleansing policies. Accused German judge Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) is one of the main characters in the movie. The whole movie centers around his trial, along with other four judges, which is conducted by American Chief Judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy). Dr. Ernst Janning’s attorney and admirer, Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), is the other main character in the film. The
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First, the strategies and biases that defendant counsel Rolfe taking stand on, not only for defending Dr. Janning but also represents the German public conceptions of National Socialist Party. At the opening statement, he asserts that “patriotism is the crux of the issue at the bottom of this trial.” Ernst Jennings should be found not guilty, for “a judge does not make the laws, he carries out the laws of his countries.” Few of German people, including the judges, was aware of the horrors in concentration camps when those happened. Those judges did so only to carry out their duties to their country. No one doubt Hilter because he promised them a bright future when the whole country was in a desperate condition. Also at opening statement, Rolfe quotes “My country, right or wrong”, from the great American jurist supreme court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, to reinforce his standing on Patriotism. Later, when a case regarding sexual sterilization is introduced, which were signed by those German judges, he quotes again from the Supreme Court Justice. It was the high court opinion that “it is better if society can prevent their propagation (criminals with imbecilities) by medical means in the first means.” From my own perspective, this court drama thrives because of such great ironic scenes. At the end of the whole trial, he believes that Americans do not have a superior morality considering what they had done in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He reasserts that, besides the whole German nation, the whole world including Soviet Union, Vatican, leaders like Winston Churchill, and American industrialist who traded with Hilter, are all responsible for the crimes that they charged Ernest Jennings. Second, the roles of American judge Haywood and American prosecutor Lawson remain important in this film. They reveal American values like goodness of humanity and
First, the strategies and biases that defendant counsel Rolfe taking stand on, not only for defending Dr. Janning but also represents the German public conceptions of National Socialist Party. At the opening statement, he asserts that “patriotism is the crux of the issue at the bottom of this trial.” Ernst Jennings should be found not guilty, for “a judge does not make the laws, he carries out the laws of his countries.” Few of German people, including the judges, was aware of the horrors in concentration camps when those happened. Those judges did so only to carry out their duties to their country. No one doubt Hilter because he promised them a bright future when the whole country was in a desperate condition. Also at opening statement, Rolfe quotes “My country, right or wrong”, from the great American jurist supreme court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, to reinforce his standing on Patriotism. Later, when a case regarding sexual sterilization is introduced, which were signed by those German judges, he quotes again from the Supreme Court Justice. It was the high court opinion that “it is better if society can prevent their propagation (criminals with imbecilities) by medical means in the first means.” From my own perspective, this court drama thrives because of such great ironic scenes. At the end of the whole trial, he believes that Americans do not have a superior morality considering what they had done in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He reasserts that, besides the whole German nation, the whole world including Soviet Union, Vatican, leaders like Winston Churchill, and American industrialist who traded with Hilter, are all responsible for the crimes that they charged Ernest Jennings. Second, the roles of American judge Haywood and American prosecutor Lawson remain important in this film. They reveal American values like goodness of humanity and