American Experience

The Nuremberg Trials

A gripping study of the groundbreaking prosecution, which began Nov. 20, 1945, as Nazi Germany's leaders were held accountable for war crimes, infamously blamed on "following orders." Profiled are Hermann Goering, the lead defendant, and Robert Jackson, the U.S. prosecutor. Also: comments from Walter Cronkite, who covered the proceedings; events leading to the trial, which had 21 defendants and eight judges; footage of concentration camps.