Nuremburg

[David Freshman1982]

Just saw this thread. Donitz was shifty and self-promoting like Keitel was with the Army. He was a Nazi because being one furthered his own interests. He was an "old school" German Navy guy when it was to his advantage as well. In the end he stood for everything, and nothing. Hitler appointed him as successor at the very end because there were literally no other senior leaders available (or alive/not on the run) to use instead. No one on the Allied side thought much of Donitz, and the Nuremburg prosecutors didn't even want to waste time on his case.

 

[Kinch]

I wonder. How many Japanese got zapped by A-bombs? Over half a million, counting the radiation sickness that followed. Shouldn't that have been enough retribution?

About 250,000 it is estimated. From 1937 to 1945, Japan killed 15 million Chinese and Vietnamese, that is the equivalent of one Hiroshima and one Nagasaki. every month for a decade. I’d say Japan got off pretty easy IMHO.

 

[FarmerCy1]

Seth Paridon, former staff historian at the World War II museum, makes a convincing case that it was a huge mistake that Hirohito wasn’t held accountable. He listed several problems that we still deal with in the pacific from that failure. True, it was believed that he needed to be there in some capacity after the war to help hold Japan together. But that may have been overstated.

I think the Allies thought after the war they could turn Hirohito into George VI through their postwar constitution and with some guidance, but he should have been held accountable beyond renouncing his own divinity. The emperorship was never going to turn in to a constitutional monarchy like the British Crown.

 

[Kinch]

And after the war, the U.S. fed the Japanese to prevent a mass starvation. Some estimate that the U.S. saved 6 million Japanese that would have certainly starved to death by the end of 1945 and beginning of 1946.

 

[FLYINGCYCLONE]

And after the war, the U.S. fed the Japanese to prevent a mass starvation. Some estimate that the U.S. saved 6 million Japanese that would have certainly starved to death by the end of 1945 and beginning of 1946.

Similar to Europe. Think Berlin airlift. Farm subsidies in parts of Europe were, are , very large. They want to keep their farms going so they aren’t needing to import to much of their food.

 

[20eyes]

Just saw this thread. Donitz was shifty and self-promoting like Keitel was with the Army. He was a Nazi because being one furthered his own interests. He was an "old school" German Navy guy when it was to his advantage as well. In the end he stood for everything, and nothing. Hitler appointed him as successor at the very end because there were literally no other senior leaders available (or alive/not on the run) to use instead. No one on the Allied side thought much of Donitz, and the Nuremburg prosecutors didn't even want to waste time on his case.

I watched the 1947 documentary about the trials two nights ago. It answered my question about what made him a war criminal since to me he could've plausibly not known about the camps.

He green-lighted attacking hospital ships. Kissing Hitler's ass and being a Nazi doesn't necessarily make you a war criminal but that does. He also green lighted sinking merchant vessels regardless of where they were while the "official" Kriegsmarine policy was not to sink ships unless they were in US to GB supply lanes.