Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

 Stanley Kramer's "Judgement at Nuremberg"


The 1961 American film "Judgement at Nuremberg" features a dramatization of the real-life Nuremberg Trails that took place between 1946 and 1949. Specifically, it features the "Judges' Trial," in which multiple jurists and lawyers were put on trial for their association with carrying out unjust laws. The main takeaway I got from watching this classic Hollywood piece is the desire to study the very real trials that took place. Beyond that, the film is a moderately good courtroom drama.

While it was interesting to see a theatrical version of the real trials, along with very effective quick zooms, the oversimplification of the events leaves one to be desired. That being said, the film does its very best to layout all the complex notions it's bringing to the table. There is far more happening than the posited question: should the Germans be held accountable? The film muses on this question while providing a litany of concerns to the inevitable response. In the end, however, the moral superiority of righteousness conquers all.

Despite this overtly sanctimonious (if not obvious) ending, the film's dedication to these concerns is engaging all the same. Certainly, there are German officials and citizens who are not directly responsible for the carnage and were certainly not desirous to its results. There are also Germans who indisputably deserve punishment. There are even concerns over the United States' harsh penalization working against its own interests (as a way of needing German alliances to defeat the Communists). These are all concerns that make a black and white illustration more colorful.

Because of this stimulation by the film and its attempt to explore the various dynamics of moral and logical complications that arise, its effect is felt. It certainly delivers on its promise of drama, making it for an engagement film. My concerns with the ending are not because I don't agree with Spencer Tracy's final decree of moral sanctitude, but simply because the film holds its own simplistic moral viewpoint, which makes it less than savory. To put it simply, a film with a lack of any specific viewpoint on such a damning trail would have sufficed. 



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