Comment by eschulz

The Nuremberg Trials were fascinating. While I think many of the individuals leading the tribunal were trying to do a good job in the tradition of their respective nations' legal frameworks, the victorious allies could really not see eye to eye on what was a fair measure of retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, etc. So my take is that largely all legal norms were discarded or violated, and the tribunal had to reach sentences and conclusions that were politically and diplomatically acceptable for the US, UK, France, and the USSR (not to mention a dozen or more other nations relying on the four victorious major powers in the immediate aftermath of the war).