Chapter 4, Lemkin's Law Summary

When WWII ended and the Nazi death camps were liberated, Lemkin believed that the world might be ready to listen to ideas about punishing the perpetrators and about preventing further abuses. He sought to create international law. The Allies set up an international military tribunal in Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. The court; however, was only punishing individuals for the violation of another state's sovereignty or for those war crimes that were committed after Hitler crossed into other countries. This meant that individuals were still not punished for genocidal acts that they committed within their own borders. Lemkin lobbied hard to have the laws changed and he met with some success. In October 1945, the Nuremberg indictments all mentioned genocide in an international legal setting, although it would not be mentioned in the convictions.

Lemkin decided to lobby the UN General...