An important precedent for international human-rights norms was set by the Nuremberg war-crimes trials of Nazi leaders after World War II, said Elizabeth Borgwardt, assistant professor of history.
The trials were a major event in the international human-rights movement after the war and were also heavily influenced by the ideas of America’s “New Deal” advocates.
The New Deal ideal of universal domestic security was introduced to the world through President Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, Borgwardt said at a Hinckley Institute of Politics forum April 11.
Addressing Congress in January 1941, Roosevelt declared that freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear were universal human rights.
“New Deal and Four Freedoms ideologies were projected into the formation of the Nuremberg Charter,” she said.
The Nuremberg Charter set up rules governing the war-crimes trials of Nazi leaders.
After World War II, there was debate among the Allies about what approach to take toward Germany and its deposed leaders. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. favored draconian measures to prevent the Germans from ever starting another war, including de-industrializing the entire country.
Soviet leader Josef Stalin favored summarily executing Nazi leaders without a trial.
Such measures were rejected, in part because they were seen as violating the ideals of the Four Freedoms speech.
The creation of an international tribunal to judge alleged war criminals from a single nation set an important precedent.
“Many contemporaries saw it as a first step in the creation of a permanently sitting international criminal court,” she explained.
An international court was finally established in 2002, demonstrating the long-term legacy of the Nuremberg trials.
Trevor Gordon, a senior in political science, said he found the lecture informative.
“It was interesting to hear about the relationship between international legal institutions and politics,” he said.
“She brought a fresh perspective to the Nuremberg trials,” said Kari Swenson, a senior in political science.
Borgwardt’s book, A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights, has been nominated by Harvard University Press for a Pulitzer Prize.
On April 18 at 6 p.m., Borgwardt will give another lecture at Sam Weller’s Bookstore on 245 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson will introduce Borgwardt and C-SPAN2 cable network will nationally televise her speech, titled “The Genesis of the Modern Human Rights Regime.”