Seventy-nine years ago today, in a courtroom at Nuremberg, in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, the world set out to hold those responsible for unimaginable crimes accountable. It was November 20, 1945, and twenty-two former Nazi officials—the architects of genocide and systemic brutality—stood trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace.
The Nuremberg Trials weren’t just justice; they were the world’s loudest, most awkward group intervention. “Guys, what were you thinking?!” But to get to that moment, we need to rewind to how these men rose to power, sold their vision of hate, and turned it into a nightmare. Spoiler: it didn’t happen overnight, and the red flags were everywhere.
Act One: The Nazi Sales Pitch—Sounds Good, Hides Evil
Picture this: It’s 1920s Germany. The country is broke, humiliated, and basically sitting in the corner of a global party eating dry toast. Then along comes Adolf Hitler, a guy with a weird mustache and big promises. He tells people he’s going to fix the economy, restore Germany’s pride, and make everyone feel like winners again. Sounds great, right? What could go wrong?
Here’s the fine print: Hitler and his crew blame everything—and I mean everything—on Jews, Roma people, LGBTQ individuals, disabled people, and anyone who looks at them funny. The Nazi message starts small: national pride, jobs, unity. By the time people catch on to the whole purity of the race thing, the Nazis have power, and suddenly, questioning them feels like a one-way ticket to prison (or worse).
Act Two: From Propaganda to Genocide
The Holocaust didn’t start with gas chambers. It started with “innocent” things like speeches about cultural purity and making Germany great again, and newspaper cartoons that painted Jewish people as villains. Then came laws banning Jews from public life. Then ghettos. Then trains. Then Auschwitz.
And here’s the terrifying part: The Nazis didn’t just murder millions of people; they made it look like a corporate project. Memos, spreadsheets, logistics—these guys turned genocide into an office job. The Holocaust wasn’t chaotic; it was efficient. If you ever needed proof that bureaucracy is evil, here it is.
Act Three: Nuremberg—Time to Face the Music
By 1945, the Allies had a big problem. What do you do with the people responsible for this? You can’t just send them to a really long timeout. Enter the Nuremberg Trials: the moment the world said, “No, no, no—you don’t get to blame ‘following orders’ for crimes against humanity.”
The Nazi bigwigs tried every excuse in the book. “I didn’t know!” “I was just doing my job!” “It was Hans’s idea!” But the evidence was overwhelming—testimonies from survivors, haunting photographs, and yes, the Nazis’ own obsessively detailed paperwork. The Nuremberg Trials established that being a cog in the machine doesn’t make you less guilty when the machine is designed for genocide.
Act Four: Echoes of Nuremberg in 2024
Fast forward to today. Neo-Nazis are out here marching, Christian nationalism is trending, and Donald Trump just got re-elected. Trump, who has made “retribution” his entire vibe, is assembling a cabinet that looks like the cast of a bad dystopian TV show. Case in point: his Secretary of State nominee, who proudly flaunts a Jerusalem cross tattoo—a symbol that neo-Nazis have gleefully appropriated.
Fascism doesn’t burst onto the scene with fireworks. It creeps in through excuses, scapegoating, and moments when people shrug and say, “Well, that’s probably nothing.” Sound familiar? Because we’re living it right now.
Act Five: Why Nuremberg Still Matters
The Nuremberg Trials weren’t just about punishing the guilty. They were a flashing neon sign that said, This can happen anywhere. Hate doesn’t just go away; it waits for an opening. It grows in economic chaos, political instability, and leaders who make scapegoating sound patriotic.
Here’s the thing: The Holocaust didn’t start with gas chambers. It started with words. Words that divided people, stoked fear, and made hate sound normal. Words that made silence feel easier than speaking up. And those same words? They’re back.
Act Six: Pay Attention
Seventy-nine years ago, the world held evil accountable. But history isn’t something that just happens to other people in other times. It’s happening now. And the scary part? Fascism doesn’t thrive on power—it thrives on silence.
So here’s the deal: The question isn’t whether it could happen again. The question is whether we’re brave enough to stop it before it does. And frankly, we better be. Because if the Nazis taught us anything, it’s that red flags are a lot easier to deal with before they turn into disasters.
