On historical and legal retribution and retribution
Analyzing the events before the Second World War and during the war itself, one can notice one feature. Many countries, nations, reaped the “fruits” of their own past.
Poland from its new birth, as a state, behaved very aggressively and stupidly. The Poles contributed to the collapse of the Russian Empire. Poland quarreled with almost all its neighbors - Western Belarus and Western Ukraine seized from Russia, Vilna from Lithuania, argued over border areas with Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Neighbors had two major powers - Germany and the USSR, with which there were major problems due to the seizure by Poland of large territories inhabited by Germans, Belarusians, Little Russians. And instead of going with one of them to a strategic alliance or trying to create a bloc of small states, they constantly “squabbled”, quarreled. As a result of its short independent historical existence - a complete rout, occupation, dismemberment, shameful flight of the “elite”. Poland has once again proved that it is not ready for independent existence.
Czechs and Slovaks during the First World War betrayed the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then revolted on the territory of Russia, which “warmed” them, betrayed the White movement, surrendered Kolchak, and stole part of the gold reserves of the Russian Empire. As a result, the shame of 1938-1939, they were already betrayed by their “allies” who created Czechoslovakia, England and France. The Czechs were so demoralized that they could not even defend their country, surrendering the Sudetenland without a fight, and then the Czech Republic itself. Interestingly, just before the “Munich Agreement”, the Czechs seemed to have “buried”, they announced a mobilization, the Prime Minister was solemnly girded with a sword in St. Witt's Cathedral. But the output is nothing. And the man who was given the sword was General Syrova, the one who commanded the Czechoslovakians in Siberia, the one who had passed Kolchak. Solid symbolism ...
France and England all 19 century (yes earlier) "dug" against the Russian Empire, inserted into it "sticks in the wheels", carried out subversive work. As a result, in alliance with other forces, they were able to destroy it. In addition, they entangled the empire with debts, including the First World War. They tried their best to oust Russia from the Balkan Peninsula, the Far East. What answered them story? In the 1940 year, they together could not contain the strike of the Wehrmacht, they received a shameful defeat, Paris, handed over without a fight, the occupation of France. They themselves are bogged down in debt to the United States of America. Were forced to give Moscow half of Europe, lost positions in the Far East. As a result, the collapse of their colonial empires - the French and British. They lost the leading positions of the world powers - the United States and the USSR, and then revived and united Germany returned to first place in Europe.
Germany participated in the "conspiracy" against the Russian empire, as a result, the collapse of Russia led to the disgrace, the devastation of Germany, the spiritual crisis. In the 20s of the early 30s, Germany actively cooperated with the USSR, both powers were rapidly growing, reviving. But then Germany again went in the wake of the “world backstage”, again went to fight with Russia-USSR, as a result - defeat, occupation of the whole territory, split of the country, territorial losses, mental crisis of the nation, which was appointed “extreme”. Currently in Germany there is a desire to cooperate with Russia, it would have a beneficial effect on her. New participation in the “war” against Russia will eventually lead to a new collapse. Historical lessons need to be remembered and not repeat old mistakes.
About legal retribution
As the end of world war was approaching, the question of retribution, the punishment of war criminals arose. Even at the Tehran Conference, Stalin said that "that all German war criminals should be brought to justice as soon as possible ... I think that there will be a lot of such Nazi criminals". Stalin estimated their number at about 50 thousand people and believed that they should be shot. Churchill protested: “Such a view is fundamentally contrary to our English sense of justice. The British will never tolerate such a massive punishment. " Roosevelt joked that, they say, can shoot instead of 50 thousand. - 49500?
At the Yalta Conference they decided to extradite the criminals to the countries where the crimes were committed, and for the most important criminals to create an International Court of Justice, where there will be judges and prosecutors from four powers: the USSR, the USA, England, France. In London, they gathered a conference where diplomats, lawyers of these powers worked out the statute of the Tribunal, procedural norms, and the collection of accusatory materials. Since the Western powers had a triple margin in votes, they were able to impose their own conditions. For the tribunal they chose a city in the American zone of occupation of Germany - Nuremberg, that is, the United States became the organizer, controller of the process. Anglo-American legal norms were adopted, the number of main criminals was limited to 20, from different structures of the Nazi state. The rest decided to judge separately. They introduced a clause on which it was forbidden to touch on issues that could discredit the states of the Anti-Hitler coalition.
The process took about a year, during which hundreds of witnesses were heard, thousands of documentary materials were examined, deliberate aggression was proved, horrible plans against enslaved peoples, systematic and targeted genocide against Slavs, Jews and other "inferior" nations was proved. The clause on “discrediting” acted clearly, as soon as the possibility of touching the “slippery” theme with the influence of the “backstage of the world” appeared, to the coming of the Nazis to power, it was immediately suppressed. Also, the topic of the connection of German industrial circles with the industrial and banking capital of the USA, including the period of the war, when cooperation was not interrupted, was not raised. The defendants also knew these "rules of the game."
The process in Nuremberg bypassed the occult side of the Nazis, their dark secrets, black magic, although there were enough facts. It seems like it was "uncomfortable" to touch, undignified. " It is interesting that even the press did not raise this topic, although it was clearly sensational and would be interesting to the general reader. It can be concluded that the owners of the press were part of the "financial international" and were not interested in advertising this topic.
The results of the court declared the triumph of justice. But is it? Goering and Ley (Reichsleiter, head of the organizational section of the NSDAP, from 1933, the leader of the German Labor Front) committed suicide, 10 people were hanged, another seven people were jailed for a term from 10 to life imprisonment. Three, despite the disagreement of the USSR, were acquitted: G. Fritsche - Goebbels staff, F. Papen - politician, friend of the banker Schroeder, with whom they built Hitler to power, J. Mine. They wanted to judge the new German authorities, they were waited by the German police, but the Americans did not extradite them and took patronage. Mine, the German authorities still tried, convicted for 8 years, but then the sentence was revised, softened, and then completely declared innocent and released.
At the tribunal was supposed to be judged in crimes against the world and the leaders of German concerns. They should have been represented at the trial of G. Krupp, but American doctors diagnosed him with brain sclerosis, and therefore he did not appear before the tribunal, he was released without trial. It was decided to judge the industrialists separately, then it was decided to judge the industrialists by a series of processes, separately by concerns and only by a US court, and not by an international one. An order followed from Washington: “Accept the sentence under which Shacht was acquitted as a precedent.” True, it was difficult to “justify” some of the defendants: for example, A. Krupp, G. Krupp's heir (his concern was directly related to the preparation of the war), had its own concentration camp, tens of thousands of people from Eastern Europe were killed at work. For this, A. Krupp was given 12 for years with confiscation of property and the dismemberment of the concern, but then the confiscation was canceled, Krupp was released already in 1951, the concern was also not dismembered. He only strengthened his position, buying enterprises that had collapsed after the war. Similarly, other cases of concerns and their managers were completed.
The court in Tokyo was a copy of Nuremberg - 6 people were executed, several were given time limits, that is, there was no real retribution here. Millions of killed, tortured, mutilated Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Vietnamese and others were not avenged.
True, some of the criminals of lower rank received a reward, but these processes did not receive international coverage. Criminals were extradited to Poland, Czechoslovakia, they did not stand on ceremony with them and quickly executed. But the majority of criminals fell into the hands of the British and Americans, and they also tried them, so very few people were punished with justice. There were few executed, others got off with different terms, then one amnesty went after another. For example, during the process of the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen (Einsatzgruppen, they were operational punitive detachments from special units of the SS and the police), they carried out mass executions in the USSR, Poland and other countries, 14 people were condemned to death, but only 4's were hanged, others were softened . One of them, Sixx, got 20 years, and was released in 1952 year. The head of the Reich Chancellery Lammers, who was involved in the orders for the massacres, received 20 years. Released already in 1951 year. Dr. Pokorny, “the process of doctors”, who developed the program of sterilization of people in Eastern Europe, who conducted experiments in concentration camps on people, was released - did not find the “corpus delicti”. Supervised by the secret police in France - Oberg and Knochen hid, caught and convicted in 1954 year, sentenced to death, pardoned, in 1962 year already at liberty.
Hitler’s chief banker, K. Schröder, “for crimes against humanity” received three (!) Months that he “served” under investigation. The wife of commandant Buchenwald, I. Koch, who received the nickname “Buchenwald Bitch”: this sadist, killing people, collected a collection of their tattoos, made lampshades from human skin, was put for life, then the term was reduced to 4 years, in 1951, this unclean came out to freedom. General Falkenhausen received Belgium for 12 years for crimes, but he was released after a week of 2.
He spent the entire term only R. Hess, apparently, knew a lot, and they considered that it was better for him to go to prison and die.
To summarize: legal retribution, fair punishment and Western civilization are incompatible concepts. Historical reward is a more reliable phenomenon, sooner or later it is experienced by all nations, countries, civilizations that have chosen the wrong path. One of the relatively recent examples is the death of a part of the Polish “elite” in Smolensk, Poland received another sign of the unrighteousness of its path ...
Sources:
Dyukov A. For what the Soviet people fought. M., 2007.
Poltorak A.I. Nuremberg epilogue. M., 1969.
Smirnov, L. I., Zaitsev, E. B. Court in Tokyo. M., 1978.
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