The Many Usages of “Nuremberg”: On the Aftermath of the International Military Tribunal and Subsequent Trials

The Nuremberg Trials are often considered the starting point of the progressive expansion of criminal legal approaches to address serious human rights abuses. Rather than reaffirming the narrative of progress encapsulated by the formula “From Nuremberg to The Hague,” the article calls for a historical analysis of the origins of such narratives. This analysis should dissolve teleological narratives, focus on regions not considered part of “the West,” integrate the perspectives of social and cultural history into the analysis of legal phenomena, and acknowledge the contested nature of what was understood by “Nuremberg.”