World War II: History On Trial

In November 1945, an unprecedented international tribunal at Nuremberg attempts to fairly try 22 senior Nazi leaders to hold history's greatest criminals accountable.

Following the war, nations turn to the courts to punish hundreds of thousands of accused collaborators, navigating the complicated reality of survival in occupied Europe.

The Nuremberg defense presents its case as Hermann Goring tries to derail proceedings, while a fractious sister tribunal in Tokyo tries 28 senior Japanese war criminals.

In 12 subsequent trials led solely by the US, the elite of Nazi society—including doctors and business leaders—are prosecuted to expose the depths of their criminality.

In the post-war world, the promise of Nuremberg is compromised as international justice is sacrificed to serve Cold War political narratives, propaganda, and national interests.

After decades of silence, the 1961 Eichmann trial sparks a new wave of global justice, ultimately reigniting the Nuremberg dream to establish a permanent international court.