American Chief Counsel Justice Robert H. Jackson Begins Opening Speech at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, November 21, 1945
“… one of the most significant tributes that power has ever paid to reason.” - From Robert H. Jackson’s opening statement on November 21, 1945.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson was appointed by President Harry Truman to serve as U.S. Chief Counsel for the prosecution of Nazi war crimes before the four-nation International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg, which is often considered to be the genesis of international criminal law.
This audio recording contains the beginning of Jackson’s opening statement before the tribunal on November 21, 1945, the second day of the trial, which would last until the final sentencing of the defendants in October 1946.
in the ˹ֳ Catalog.. All audio recordings from the trial in NARA’s holdings are fully digitized and are available in the ˹ֳ Catalog.
The Moving Image and Sound Branch holds one of the largest and most accessible collections of Holocaust and World War II-era films and sound recordings in the world. You can explore more through the , through the Special Media Records Division blog, , on , or in person at our research room in College Park, MD.