Judgment At Nuremberg Character Analysis

“Crimes against humanity”
In Abby Mann’s play, Judgment at Nuremberg readers ask themselves if Janning really should be charged with crimes against humanity. Was he in fact the most cruel and devastating murderer and torturer, this world has ever seen? Or was he just doing his job for the love of his country? Jannings may have done what he thought was for the love of his country, but he most certainly committed crimes against humanity. Tragedies like the one that happened in Germany has happened in another place to just not realized as so. The reader starts off the novel with Capt. Byers showing Haywood around town When Haywood says “it’s hard to believe it happened!” Capt. Byers not for me. They speak another language and dress differently, but they are people in my hometown, people in my own unit.” (Mann 11). Capt. Byers isn’t blinded by the US he knows that something in this nature has already happened to his own soil and is not surprised it has happened again to another country in a different race. He realizes that people are not different from place to place he points it out to Haywood. …show more content…
“Colonel Parker: Did you wear such an insignia? Dr. Wichkert: No. I would have been ashamed to wear it. Colonel Parker: Did you resign in 1935? Dr .Wichkert: yes, Colonel Parker: Did Ernst Janning wear a swastika on his robe? Dr. Wichkert: yes (27)”. Colonel Parker brought up former judge Dr. Wichkert to the stand to show judge Haywood that it is possible to do things in the courtroom but not be associated with the Nazi’s. Colonel Parker also brought him to the stand to prove that you can in fact resign and nothing to happen to you. Dr. Wichkert ended up not having to serve jail time or even worse be killed, he just had to find a new