Main Content

Symposium "From the Crimes to the Beginning of the Judicial Reappraisal of National Socialism"

On 20 November 2025, the 80th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal will be commemorated. On this occasion, the ICWC will host a two-day symposium on 19 and 20 November 2025. As part of the event, the ICWC Annual Celebration and the 16th Marburg Lecture on International Criminal Law will take place on 19 November.

The International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg marked the beginning of efforts to investigate and prosecute National Socialist crimes—efforts that continue to this day and remain subject to social and political change. The IMT is also considered a landmark for the development of international criminal justice.

The phrase describing the Nuremberg Trials as “the greatest history seminar ever held in human history” (Buruma 1994: 186) has almost become proverbial. Attributed to the American prosecutor of German descent, Robert M. W. Kempner, it captures the Allies’ intention in Nuremberg: not only to prosecute the unprecedented mass crimes of the National Socialist regime, but simultaneously to lay the foundation for the historical understanding of the “Third Reich.” Moreover, the Nuremberg Main Trial represents a turning point in the genesis of international criminal law, as, for the first time, heads of state, political leaders, and the military elite were held accountable for acts committed in office and tried as “ordinary” criminals before a court of law.

The IMT took place between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the start of the proceedings, the ICWC is hosting a two-day academic symposium dedicated to the legal examination of National Socialist crimes. The conference is organized around two thematic focuses: the first day concentrates on the crimes of National Socialism, while the second day highlights their legal adjudication as well as new challenges, such as the impact of populist, illiberal, and revisionist historical tendencies. The symposium fosters dialogue between history, law, and social sciences by providing a space for interdisciplinary exchange.