Jackson, Robert H. b. February 13, 1892; Spring Creek, Pennsylvania d. October 9, 1954;Washington, D.C.
Chief U.S. prosecutor before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg (November 1945—October 1946). Jackson began his legal career as a smalltown attorney in Jamestown, New York, but became a prominent legal figure during the presidency of Franklin D.
Roosevelt due to his courtroom success and devotion to the Democratic Party, eventually gaining appointment to the Supreme Court in July 1941. Following the outbreak of World War II, Jackson developed an interest in international law and publicly denounced aggressive warfare as a criminal offense against the international community. In May 1945 Roosevelt’s successor, Harry S. Truman, appointed Jackson chief of counsel for the prosecution of Axis criminality, a position from which he heavily influenced the development of the IMT charter for the prosecution of the Nazi hierarchy.During the summer of 1945 American, British, French, and Soviet representatives met in London for the negotiation of the IMT charter. As the representative from the United States, Jackson customarily made decisions regarding war crimes policy independently and rarely sought approval from his superiors in Washington. At the London Conference he maintained that the trial of the German leadership should be a legitimate legal proceeding, and not a forum for handing down predetermined political decisions. He also insisted that the proposed tribunal respect the freedom of any acquitted defendant. Jackson’s stance led to considerable disagreement between the American and Soviet delegations. In 1943 the Soviets had tried and convicted the Nazi leadership in absentia and saw the need only to pass individual sentences. Jackson refused to participate in such an undertaking and threatened to withdraw from the negotiations, suggesting instead that each country try separately the prisoners in its possession.
However, he considered this option a last resort and worked diligently toward a Four Power trial. After more than two months of negotiations, Allied representatives signed the IMT charter on August 8, 1945. From the beginning, Jackson and the American delegation had played a predominant role in the development of the IMT, and its charter reflected his commitment to legalism. Section IV of the charter protected the defendants’ right to a fair trial.On November 21, 1945, Jackson delivered the prosecution’s opening statement and received widespread acclaim for his summation of the Nazis’ crimes against the international community. His speech is frequently quoted and considered by many historians and legal authorities to be a judicial classic. Jackson’s reputation in Nuremberg was later damaged by his crossexamination of Adolf Hitler’s chosen successor, Hermann Goring (1893-1946). On the witness stand, Goring accepted responsibility for many of the charges brought against him and impressed the court with his demeanor and detailed recollection of events, often refuting Jackson’s assertions and responding with lengthy rhetoric. Jackson had limited experience with cross-examination, and he was greatly troubled by the tribunal’s failure to control Goring’s theatrics.
Jackson saw the IMT as an opportunity to secure a prominent position for international law in the management of global relations. He hoped to establish in Nuremberg the precedent that the initiation of aggressive war was a crime punishable under international law. Likewise, high-ranking government officials would not be exempt from prosecution. Accordingly, he focused his efforts on the prosecution of the conspiracy and aggressive war charges, counts one and two of the indictment against the IMT’s defendants. The tribunal’s verdicts confirmed Jackson’s vision, but critics cite the prosecution of counts one and two as examples of ex post facto law. Jackson returned to his Supreme Court duties prior to the IMT’s conclusion and declined to participate in the subsequent Nuremberg proceedings of 1946-1949.
Brian K. Feltman
See also Nuremberg Trials
References and Further Reading
Bloxham, Donald. Genocide on Trial: War Crimes Trials and the Formation of Holocaust History and Memory. New York: Oxford University, 2001.
Harris, Whitney R. Tyranny on Trial: The Evidence at Nuremberg. Dallas: Southern Methodist University, 1954.
Kochavi, Arieh J. Prelude to Nuremberg: Allied War Crimes Policy and the Question of Punishment. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1998.
Taylor, Telford. The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir. New York: Knopf, 1992.