Who's Who

Key figures explained - quick reference guide

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Who’s Who: Key Figures

Quick Reference Guide

The Accused

Nuremberg Trials

Hermann Göring

  • Highest-ranking Nazi tried
  • Head of Luftwaffe (air force)
  • Committed suicide before execution

Rudolf Hess

  • Hitler’s deputy
  • Life imprisonment
  • Died in Spandau Prison (1987)

Albert Speer

  • Minister of Armaments
  • 20 years imprisonment
  • Only defendant to express remorse

Karl Dönitz

  • Head of German Navy
  • 10 years imprisonment
  • Briefly Hitler’s successor

Tokyo Trials

Hideki Tojo

  • Prime Minister of Japan
  • Executed (1948)
  • Highest-ranking Japanese leader tried

General Yamashita

  • Japanese general in Philippines
  • Executed for command responsibility
  • Established “Yamashita standard”

The Prosecutors

Telford Taylor

  • Role: Chief prosecutor at Nuremberg
  • Why Important: Wrote “Nuremberg and Vietnam” explaining how trials worked
  • Chomsky’s Point: Taylor’s own explanation confirms selective standards
  • Status: ✅ Verified - 7,049+ references found

Robert Jackson

  • Role: US Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg
  • Why Important: Opening statement famous
  • Quote: “We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow”

The Judges

Radhabinod Pal

  • Role: Indian judge at Tokyo Trials
  • Why Important: Only Asian judge, wrote 700-page dissent
  • Chomsky’s Point: Pal compared atom bombs to Nazi crimes
  • Status: 🔍 Not Found - dissent requires library access
  • Background: International law expert, criticized trials

Other Judges

  • Nuremberg: 4 judges (US, UK, France, USSR)
  • Tokyo: 11 judges from Allied nations
  • Note: All from victorious nations

The Analysts

Noam Chomsky

  • Who: MIT linguist and political commentator
  • Why Relevant: Wrote essay analyzing trials
  • Background: Critic of US foreign policy, academic
  • Essay: “If the Nuremberg Laws were Applied…” (1990)

Why These People Matter

For Understanding Trials

  • Prosecutors: Showed how trials were conducted
  • Judges: Made decisions about what was a crime
  • Defendants: What they were accused of

For Understanding Chomsky

  • Telford Taylor: Confirms Chomsky’s points
  • Pal: Supports critique of selective standards
  • Yamashita: Example of command responsibility

For Understanding Analysis

  • Chomsky: Made the claims we’re verifying
  • Sources: People he references (Taylor, Pal)
  • Context: Who was involved and why it matters

This guide helps readers understand who the key players are and why they matter for understanding Chomsky’s analysis.