This ground-breaking comparative perspective on the subject of World War II war crimes and war justice focuses on American and German atrocities. Almost every war involves loss of life of both military personnel and civilians, but World War II involved an unprecedented example of state-directed and ideologically motivated genocide-the Holocaust. Beyond this horrific, premeditated war crime perpetrated on a massive scale, there were also isolated and spontaneous war crimes committed by both German and U.S. forces. The book is focused upon on two World War II atrocities-one committed by Germans and the other by Americans. The author carefully examines how the U.S. Army treated each crime, and gives accounts of the atrocities from both German and American perspectives. The two events are contextualized within multiple frameworks: the international law of war, the phenomenon of war criminality in World War II, and the German and American collective memories of World War II. Americans, Germans and War Crimes Justice: Law, Memory, and "The Good War" provides a fresh and comprehensive perspective on the complex and sensitive subject of World War II war crimes and justice. . Provides historic photographs related to war crimes and trials . An extensive bibliography of primary sources and secondary literature in English and German related to World War II war crimes and trials

After the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which over a million Armenians died, thousands of Armenians lived and worked in the Turkish state alongside those who had persecuted their communities. Living in the context of pervasive denial, how did Armenians remaining in Turkey record their own history? Here, Talin Suciyan explores the life experienced by these Armenian communities as Turkey's modernisation project of the twentieth century gathered pace. Suciyan achieves this through analysis of remarkable new primary material: Turkish state archives, minutes of the Armenian National Assembly, a kaleidoscopic series of personal diaries, memoirs and oral histories, various Armenian periodicals such as newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, as well as statutes and laws which led to the continuing persecution of Armenians. The first history of its kind, The Armenians in Modern Turkey is a fresh contribution to the history of modern Turkey and the Armenian experience there.

The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the "neutrality trap" snaps shut. This book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.

When Slobodan Milosevic died in the United Nations Detention Unit in The Hague over four years after his trial had begun, many feared - and some hoped - that international criminal justice was experiencing some sort of death itself. Yet the Milosevic case, the first trial of a former head of state by a truly international criminal tribunal and one of the most complex and lengthy war crimes trials in history, stands for much in the development and the future of international criminal justice, both politically and legally. This book, written by the senior legal advisor working for the Trial Chamber, analyses the trial to determine what lessons can be learnt that will improve the fair and expeditious conduct of complex international criminal proceedings brought against former heads of state and senior political and military officials, and develops reforms for the future achievement of best practice in international criminal law.

This is the first major study of the mass sequestration of Armenian property by the Young Turk regime during the 1915 Armenian genocide. It details the emergence of Turkish economic nationalism, offers insight into the economic ramifications of the genocidal process, and describes how the plunder was organized on the ground. The interrelated nature of property confiscation initiated by the Young Turk regime and its cooperating local elites offers new insights into the functions and beneficiaries of state-sanctioned robbery. Drawing on secret files and unexamined records, the authors demonstrate that while Armenians suffered systematic plunder and destruction, ordinary Turks were assigned a range of property for their progress.

Since unification, the Federal Republic of Germany has made vaunted efforts to make amends for the crimes of the Third Reich. Yet it remains the case that the demands for restitution by many countries that were occupied during the Second World War are unresolved, and recent demands from Greece and Poland have only reignited old debates. This book reconstructs the German occupation of Poland and Greece and gives a thorough accounting of these debates. Working from the perspective of international law, it deepens the scholarly discourse around the issue, clarifying the 'never-ending story' of German reparations policy and making a principled call for further action. A compilation of primary sources comprising 125 annotated key texts (512 pages) on the complexity of reparations discussions covering the period between 1941 and the end of 2017 is available for free on the Berghahn Books website, doi: 10.3167/9781800732575.dd.

A thorough introduction to the laws of war, the savagery of war crimes, and the international system that demands justice. How do you speak of the unspeakable and defend the indefensible? War Crimes and Justice: A Reference Handbook thoroughly examines the laws of war and how the world community handles the monstrous brutalities of war through the international justice system. Highlighted are 20th century war crimes and trials including Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and the Kerry incident in Vietnam. Also covered are the four international tribunals established to punish violators in Nuremberg, Tokyo, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Howard Ball discusses those who committed unspeakable acts during war, others who sought justice for victims, and case studies portraying both victims and perpetrators. Significant treaties and conventions are explored, as well as all the options available to nations emerging from the throes of bloody civil wars to ensure peace with justice. Includes coverage of key people and trials including World War II, Vietnam, and the recent war in Kosovo Provides speeches, reports, and edited trial transcripts from cases involving war crimes

Based on a series of detailed case studies, this book presents the history of genocide in Africa within the specific context of African history, examining conflicts in countries such as Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, and Sudan. Why has Africa been the subject of so many accusations related to genocide? Indeed, the number of such allegations related to Africa has increased dramatically over the past 15 years. Popular racist mythology might suggest that Africans belong to "tribes" that are inherently antagonistic towards each other and therefore engage in "tribal warfare" which cannot be rationally explained. This concept is wrong, as Timothy J. Stapleton explains in A History of Genocide in Africa: the many conflicts that have plagued post-colonial Africa have had very logical explanations, and very few of these instances of African warring can be said to have resulted in genocide. Authored by an expert historian of Africa, this book examines the history of six African countries-Namibia, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Nigeria-in which the language of genocide has been mobilized to describe episodes of tragic mass violence. It seeks to place genocide within the context of African history, acknowledging the few instances where the international legal term genocide has been applied appropriately to episodes of mass violence in African history and identifying the many other cases where it has not and instead the term has been used in a cynical manipulation to gain some political advantage. Readers will come to understand how, to a large extent, genocide accusations related to post-colonial Africa have often served to prolong wars and cause greater loss of life. The book also clarifies how in areas of Africa where genocides have actually occurred, there appears to have been a common history of the imposition of racial ideologies and hierarchies during the colonial era-which when combined with other factors such as the local geography, demography, religion, and/or economics, resulted in tragic and appalling outcomes. Provides an unprecedented comprehensive history of genocide in Africa that will serve students of history, war and society, and genocide as well as general readers Covers Africa's most infamous genocides as well as lesser-known cases of large scale atrocities Addresses events that are contested as genocides in Africa in recent history, including the Nigerian Civil War as well as events in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Examines the historical context for each of these events to clearly explain how they occurred

Overshadowed for many years by the Nuremberg trials, the Tokyo Trial--one of the major events in the aftermath of World War II--has elicited renewed interest since the 50th anniversary of the war's end. Revelations of previously hidden war crimes, including comfort women and biological warfare, and the establishment of international courts to try Yugoslav and Rwandan war criminals have added to the interest. This bibliography addressees the renewed interest in the Tokyo Trial, providing over 700 citations to official publications, scholarly monographs and journal articles, contemporaneous accounts, manuscript collections, and Web sites. Also included are sources on the Trial's influence on international law and military law and unresolved issues being debated to this day.

Defining war crimes after the fact, practicing victor's justice to punish enemies, holding military commanders accountable for their troops' actions--these were issues confronted in the Tokyo Trial and other Asia-Pacific war crimes trials. They are still being investigated, researched, and debated today. This bibliography helps to illuminate these issues from different perspectives, providing a variety of ways to locate relevant English-language sources. The volume also includes citations to contemporary issues stemming from the Asia-Pacific war crimes trials--comfort women, biological warfare, and unresolved issues of reparations and official apologies. The book is a useful guide to sources on all aspects of the Tokyo Trial.

The 1998 Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), includes a longer list of gender-based crimes than any previous instrument of international criminal law. The Statute's twentieth anniversary provides an opportunity to examine how successful the ICC has been in prosecuting those crimes, what challenges it has faced, and how its caselaw on these crimes might develop in future. Taking up that opportunity, this book analyses the ICC's practice in prosecuting gender-based crimes across all cases for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the ICC up until mid-2018. This analysis is based on a detailed examination of court records and original interviews with prosecutors and gender experts at the Court. This book covers topics of emerging interest to practitioners in this field, including wartime sexual violence against men and boys, persecution on the grounds of gender and sexual orientation, and sexual violence against 'child soldiers'.

During a one-hundred-day period in 1994, Hutus murdered between half a million and a million Tutsi in Rwanda. The numbers are staggering; the methods of killing were unspeakable. Utilizing personal interviews with trauma survivors living in Rwandan cities, towns, and dusty villages, We Cannot Forget relates what happened during this period and what their lives were like both prior to and following the genocide.

Through powerful stories that are at once memorable, disturbing, and informative, readers gain a critical sense of the tensions and violence that preceded the genocide, how it erupted and was carried out, and what these people faced in the first sixteen years following the genocide.

This book explores the subject of genocide through key debates and case studies. It analyses the dynamics of genocide - the processes and mechanisms of acts committed with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, religious or racial group - in order to shed light upon its origins, characteristics and consequences. Debating Genocide begins with an introduction to the concept of genocide. It then examines the colonial genocides at the end of the 19th- and start of the 20th-centuries; the Armenian Genocide of 1915-16; the Nazi 'Final Solution'; the Nazi genocide of the Gypsies; mass murder in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge; the genocides in the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; and the genocide in Sudan in the early 21st century. It also includes a thematic chapter which covers gender and genocide, as well as issues of memory and memorialisation. Finally, the book considers how genocides end, as well as the questions of resolution and denial, with Lisa Pine examining the debates around prediction and prevention and the R2P (Responsibility to Protect) initiative. This book is crucial for any students wanting to understand why genocides have occurred, why they still occur and what the key historical discussions around this subject entail.

In this scholarly yet intensely personal history, author Edina Becirevic explores the widespread ethnic cleansing that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 through 1995, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Serbs against Bosnian Muslims that fully meet the criteria for genocide established after World War II by the Genocide Convention of 1948. An in-depth study of the devastating and dehumanizing effects of genocide on individual destinies and the mechanisms of its denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Becirevic's essential history contextualizes the East Bosnian program of atrocities with respect to broader scholarly debates about the nature of genocide.

This book analyses the debates on colonial genocide in the 21st century and introduces cases where states are reluctant to acknowledge genocides. The author departs from traditional studies of the work of Raphael Lemkin or U.N. definitions of genocide so that readers can examine genocide recognition as a political act that is bound up in partial perceptions and political motivations. The study looks at the Tasmanian genocide, Al-Nakba, and several other tragic events. It also looks at the ways that these historical and contemporary debates about colonial genocides are related to today's conversations about apologies and other restorative justice acts. This work will be of interest to a wide range of audiences including researchers, scholars, graduate students, and policy makers in the fields of political history, genocide studies, and political science.

This book examines the use of national and international law to prosecute Nazi crimes, the centerpiece of twentieth-century state-sponsored genocide and mass murder crimes, the paradigmatic instance of state-sponsored criminality and genocide in the twentieth century. Its various essays, the contributors reconstruct the historical historical setting of the crimes committed under the aegis of the Nazi regime and examine why postwar adjudication took place only within limits, within the national and international judicial forums responsible for prosecuting perpetrators. The topics discussed include the impact of the Nazi justice system on postwar justice, postwar legal proceedings against those who committed war crimes and genocide, the work of the Nuremberg tribunal and Allied trials, and judicial investigations and prosecutions in East Germany, West Germany, and Austria. They span the postwar period up to contemporary U.S. legal efforts to deport Nazi criminals within its borders and libel trials against Holocaust denials in London and Canadian courts and libel suits brought by Holocaust deniers in British and Canadian courts, and they reveal new perspectives on the present and future implications of these trials.