Main Content

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

November 20, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the start of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg. The ICWC is organizing a two-day symposium to mark the occasion. In this context, the annual celebration of the ICWC will also take place on November 19 with the 16th Marburg Lecture on International Criminal Law.

The International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg marked the beginning of efforts to investigate and punish National Socialist crimes, which continue to this day and are still subject to social and political change. The IMT is also regarded as groundbreaking for international criminal justice.

The phrase “the greatest historical seminar ever held in the history of mankind” (Buruma 1994: 186; translation by the author) may almost be considered a common saying. Attributed to the American prosecutor – with a German background –  Robert M. W. Kempner, it describes the intention of the Allies not only to punish the unprecedented mass crimes of the National Socialist regime in Nuremberg, but also to lay the foundation for the historical classification of the “Third Reich”. The major war crimes trial in Nuremberg also marked a turning point in the genesis of international criminal law, as it was the first time that the highest statesmen, political leaders and the military elite were tried and sentenced before a bench of judges as “ordinary” criminals for crimes committed in office.

The IMT took place between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the start of the trial, the International Research and Documentation Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) is organizing a two-day academic symposium dedicated to the judicial reappraisal of National Socialist crimes. The conference is divided into two main topics: The first day will focus on the crimes of National Socialism, while the second day will focus on their legal processing as well as new challenges such as the effects of populist, anti-liberal and historical revisionist tendencies. The symposium promotes dialogue between History, Law and Social Sciences by creating a space for interdisciplinary exchange.