Judgment at Nuremberg

I saw Judgment at Nuremberg last night. It was a great movie in its day. Maximillian Schell, who won an Oscar playing the Defense Attorney, was present. He spoke about his role as the attorney for the famous judge on trial (played by Burt Lancaster). Max had flown all the way from Austria to be present at the screening. Larry King interviewed him onstage before the movie was shown. Rabbi Marvin Hier and Stanley Kramer's wife were also present. The movie was sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (they give the Oscars). It was the fiftieth anniversary of the movie, a movie which has relevance even today, as there is a resurgence of fascism in Europe and America.

The movie's central theme was whether the Nazi judges were alone responsible for the injustice that Hitler brought or if all the German people and culture were responsible. In the end, the American judge presiding over the trial (played by Spencer Tracy), gave a summation of the case before he pronounced each of the Nazi judges guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

It was a controversial sentence in its day, apparently, because the Russians were starting another war, the Cold War, against the US at the time, and although they had been Allies, they were now the new enemy of the West and the Germans were becoming the new Allies of the West. It seems confusing now, but ultimately that's how it ended up being. The judge didn't care about the new developments in American policy; he went ahead and pronounced his harsh sentence. The final movie titles said that none of the German judges condemned served their sentence. So the movie was just a reminder that policies change, but the victimization of an entire people can no longer be tolerated by the civilized world. And screening the movie now has a significant lesson for us to bear in mind.

For me, sitting there and wondering about how all this conforms with the teachings of Eashoa (Jesus), there was another issue (the movie's central theme): were only the Nazi leaders responsible for the genocide of six million Jews or were all the German people responsible for the atrocity?

The German defense attorney, played by Max, argued that if the court should decide that the four judges were responsible for the genocide (because they knew what was happening and went along), then all the German people were responsible, and, therefore, all the German people should be given the same sentence. This, he protested vehemently, could not be the case; and if you were to forgive these judges, then all the people should be forgiven.

So the subject of forgiveness comes up -- although not in the movie. However, the subject of forgiveness was very relevant to the case. The case encompassed the issue of how much did the judges know, the extent of the horrors, the details of the atrocities committed, and, ultimately, the extent of that knowledge. How much did the judges know? If they knew too little then they could be forgiven, because Germany was at war and there was no way of finding out, it was a time for survival, each man for himself.

Finally, the German judge, played by Lancaster, owns up to his guilt and pretty much condemns himself. The American judge (Spencer Tracy) is fascinated and almost wishes to forgive him (sentence him to a few years in prison, perhaps.) But then the issue of how much did he know comes into play. Lancaster admits that he knew everything that was happening; maybe not in detail, but in essence.

Spencer Tracy goes around Nuremberg in the off hours and plays tourist. He finds out some interesting facts. Everybody in Germany knew, so what? It was war; people died. Everybody died. Life must go on, and Marlene Dietrich (playing the widow of a Nazi general) even suggested that the war was over and people have to go on with their lives. Spence was somewhat sympathetic, as he was a widower (in the story) himself, and being a red-blooded American, he kind of decided to go along himself -- until Richard Widmark (playing the American prosecutor) showed the court a collection of stills and movie clips documenting the Nazi concentration camp horrors.

Then in the finale, the American judge condemns the German judges to life imprisonment; but he finds the German people not guilty, because he realizes that you can't find everybody guilty (then everybody, including the Americans are guilty of committing some atrocities in the war,) but the principle (the Nazi doctrine) represented by certain individuals must be held to account, otherwise there is no justice. So even the fact that the German judge, played by Lancaster, atones for his sins, he cannot be forgiven. Individuals can't be forgiven, only the nation as a whole can be forgiven. It's not important if a thousand guilty men go free, as long as one innocent man is spared. Isn't this the key issue of American Justice?

Burt sends a message to Spence that he wants to see him before he leaves. Spence goes over to the jail and meets Burt. Burt gives Spence all his famous cases and admits his guilt in the atrocities; but adds one telling remark, "We didn't know the extent of the horror! We didn't know!" And Spence says to him, "You knew with the first innocent man you ever convicted." And the German judge is astounded. He had failed to understand that Americans can never forgive anyone, even if they confess their sins.

Finally, Judgment at Nuremberg emerges as a confusing portrayal of the guilt over the genocide of six million Jews; the Jews can never forgive what the Nazis did to them. Certain types of crimes against humanity can never be forgiven. Yet, the movie begs the question, can this happen again? This is the reason why Stanley Kramer produced and directed this movie. As a Jew, with a family member who had died in the Concentration Camp, Stanley was trying to do his share so that this kind of atrocity should never happen again.

Although the movie was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, it received only two Oscars. This was strange, because there should have been more appreciation for this movie's message in those days. Maximillian Shell won for best actor (beating Spencer Tracy, who was also nominated for "best actor", and Abby Mann won for best "screenplay adaptation." The Academy ignored great performances by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Judy Garland.

Larry King asked, "Can this happen again?" Max answered right away, "Yes." Rabbi Marvin Hier concurred, "Yes, it can."

What does it mean when Jews say, "Never again!" One doesn't hear that anymore. Is the slogan out of fashion? Well, it better not be, because what happened to the Jews was not just a genocide, it happened in a very short time. Most of the murders were committed when the war was about to end and the Nazis wanted to "cover up" the evidence of the Concentration Camps, the fact that the Jews were gathered from all over Europe, so it wasn't only the German Jews that were murdered but everyone who was deemed "undesirable" by the Nazis. The horror went deeper. Two thirds of the Jewish nation perished in this genocide.

Murder will be with us forever, that's why "thou shalt not kill" was the first commandment; however, the genocide of a small group of people killed in a brief span of time cannot be tolerated again. As such, nations can be forgiven some atrocities, but those individuals who instigated the atrocities cannot be forgiven their maniacal tendencies. That's why we have the death penalty; certain types of murders cannot be forgiven.

Eashoa (Jesus) came to the world to forgive sins. We all sin, but repentance is required. Anyone can repent, except for the son of perdition and the purely evil; they can't be forgiven, because they will never repent. Evil cannot repent. That's why Satan will never repent. That's not what he's about. How can he repent? He chose to rebel and took one third of the angels with him. They can't ever repent, nor can those who followed Satan later, such men as Hitler, and others who continue to follow Satan.

Therefore, we must forgive all those who repent, because if we don't, how can we expect to be forgiven ourselves? Hitler never repented, nor did other monsters of history -- all those men who sold their souls to the devil and continue to kill people on account of their faith. So we can't forgive them. And how do we know who they are? We know. They're the ones who never ask for forgiveness to the very end.

Look at them today; you can tell who they are. Avoid them like the plague. Run for your life. This is were these expressions come from. This is why the Lord taught us to pray, "Deliver us from evil..." Evil cannot be redeemed. Eashoa came for the sinners, to heal the afflicted, to edify the children; He didn't come for the incorrigible. He said to His disciples, "Love one another as I have loved you."

When Eashoa said, "you will be hated by the world on account of my name," He didn't mean that they would be hated by everyone. "By the world" He meant the purely evil and the unrepentant of the world. And when He said, "on account of my name," He meant that those who believed in him would be hated because they were His followers. His name is, therefore, important. His name is Eashoa (Jesus). He is the only one who holds all the glorious titles that the Scriptures speak of. There is no other name so glorified as the name of Eashoa. There is no one else.

When the day of judgment arrives, He will be the only one who judges. Therefore, Judgment at the Last Resurrection is the final word of the Creator of the Universe. The trial will last but a second. All those who are in the Book of Life shall be saved. All the others shall lose their eternal life.

The time to forgive is while we're alive and ticking. The time for repentance is now. We can postpone it and procrastinate as long as we wish, but it better be before we draw our last breath. So say it -- it's hard to say, "I'm sorry" -- so ask for forgiveness while you still can.

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