Overview

From the 'show' trials of the 1920s and 1930s to the London Conference, this book examines the Soviet role in the Nuremberg IMT trial through the prism of the ideas and practices of earlier Soviet legal history, detailing the evolution of Stalin's ideas about the trail of Nazi war criminals. Stalin believed that an international trial for Nazi war criminals was the best way to show the world the sacrifices his country had made to defeat Hitler, and he, together with his legal mouthpiece Andrei Vyshinsky, maintained tight control over Soviet representatives during talks leading up to the creation of the Nuremberg IMT trial in 1945, and the trial itself. But Soviet prosecutors at Nuremberg were unable to deal comfortably with the complexities of an open, western-style legal proceeding, which undercut their effectiveness throughout the trial. However, they were able to present a significant body of evidence that underscored the brutal nature of Hitler’s racial war in Russia from 1941-45, a theme which became central to Stalin’s efforts to redefine international criminal law after the war. Stalin's Soviet Justice provides a nuanced analysis of the Soviet justice system at a crucial turning point in European history and it will be vital reading for scholars and advanced students of the legal history of the Soviet Union, the history of war crimes and the aftermath of the Second World War.

Full Product Details

Author:   Prof. David M. Crowe
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Weight:   0.540kg
ISBN:  

9781350083349

ISBN 10:   1350083348
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   13 June 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction, David M. Crowe (Elon University, USA) 1. Late Imperial and Soviet ‘Show’ Trials, 1878-1938, David M. Crowe (Elon University, USA) 2. Traitors or War Criminals: Collaboration on Trial in Soviet Courts in the 1940s, Alexander V. Prusin (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, USA) 3. 'Nikto ne zabyt': The Politicization of Soviet War Dead, Thomas Earl Porter (North Carolina A&T State University, USA) 4. The Human Face of Soviet Justice: Aron Trainin and the Origins of the Soviet Doctrine of International Criminal Law, Valentyna Polunina (Heidelberg University, Germany) 5. 'May Justice be Done!': The Soviet Union and the London Conference (1945), Irina Schulmeister-André (Independent Scholar, Germany) 6. The Soviet Union at the Palace of Justice: Law, Intrigue, and International Rivalry in the Nuremberg Trials, Francine Hirsch (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) 7. Soviet Journalists at Nuremberg: Establishing the Soviet War Narrative, Jeremy Hicks (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 8. From Geneva to Nuremberg to New York: Andrei Vyshinsky, Raphaël Lemkin, and the Struggle to Outlaw Revolutionary Violence, State Terror, and Genocide, Douglas Irvin-Erickson (George Mason University, USA) Select Bibliography Index

Reviews

This is no dry account of disputes over points of law; here, we learn of the conflicts, disappointments, and victories of real people that takes us beyond the stereotypes of the lawyers as puppets of the Kremlin or journalists churning out propaganda. The result is an intellectually-satisfying account both of the familiar story of the failed attempt of the USSR to use the Nuremburg trials to control the narrative of its role in the Second World War and of the lasting contribution that Soviet legal scholarship made to the development of international law. * Prof Judith Pallot, University of Oxford, UK * Stalin's Soviet Justice makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the theory and practice of criminal justice and political repression in the USSR, and also sheds valuable light on the important Soviet contributions to the development of international criminal law and legal institutions after World War II. * Prof Jonathan Daly, University of Illinois, USA *

This book is one of the rare things in academic publishing; a collection of interdisciplinary essays by an international cast of authors which makes a coherent and intellectually-satisfying whole. Each essay contributes to the book's mission which is to understand the Nuremburg process from the point of view of the varied Soviet actors involved in it, whether legal scholar, prosecutors, journalists or Stalin and his clique sitting in the kremlin. The result is a far more nuanced account both of the familiar story of the failed attempt of the USSR to use the Nuremburg trials to control the narrative of its role in the second world war and of the real and lasting contribution that Soviet legal scholarship made to the development of international law in relation to crimes against peace, war crimes and genocide. One of its particular strengths is that it gives insights into the diverse range of players involved in the trials; the lawyers, counsel, judges, witnesses, and journalists. This is no dry account of disputes over points of law; we learn of the inner conflicts, disappointments, small victories of real people that takes us beyond the familiar stereotypes of the lawyers as puppets of the kremlin or journalists churning out propaganda. Although its pivot is the Nuremburg trials, the book spans a long period from imperial Russia to 1950s, showing how the Soviet Union's engagement in the trials was shaped by the precursor show trials in Imperial Russia and the 1930s, and how it shaped the USSR's engagement with international legal institutions in the post-war world with echoes down to the present day. This collection helps us understand Moscow's deep and abiding sense of the perils of international law, despite the significant role in opening up its possibilities. * Prof Judith Pallot, University of Oxford, UK *

This is no dry account of disputes over points of law; here, we learn of the inner conflicts, disappointments, small victories of real people that takes us beyond the familiar stereotypes of the lawyers as puppets of the kremlin or journalists churning out propaganda. The result is a far more nuanced account both of the familiar story of the failed attempt of the USSR to use the Nuremburg trials to control the narrative of its role in the second world war and of the lasting contribution that Soviet legal scholarship made to the development of international law. This intellectually-satisfying collection will help all readers understand Moscow's deep and abiding sense of the perils of international law, despite the significant role in opening up its possibilities. * Prof Judith Pallot, University of Oxford, UK * Stalin's Soviet Justice makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the theory and practice of criminal justice and political repression in the USSR and also sheds valuable light on the important Soviet contributions to the development of international criminal law and legal institutions after World War II. * Prof Jonathan Daly, University of Illinois, USA *

Author Information

David M. Crowe is Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, USA and Professor Emeritus of History & Law at Elon University, USA. He is the author of numerous books, including War Crimes, Genocide, and Justice: A Global History (2013), The Holocaust: Roots, History, and Aftermath (2008), and Oskar Schindler: The Untold Story of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List (2004). David M. Crowe’s books have been translated into six languages.

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