*justice, truth... and the value of a single human being!*
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Judge Dan Haywood: Janning, to be sure, is a tragic figure. We believe he *loathed* the evil he did. But compassion for the present torture of his soul must not beget forgetfulness of the torture and death of millions by the government of which he was a part. Janning's record and his fate illuminate the most shattering truth that has emerged from this trial. If he and the other defendants were all depraved perverts - if the leaders of the Third Reich were sadistic monsters and maniacs - these events would have no more moral significance than an earthquake or other natural catastrophes. But this trial has shown that under the stress of a national crisis, men - even able and extraordinary men - can delude themselves into the commission of crimes and atrocities so vast and heinous as to stagger the imagination. No one who has sat through this trial can ever forget. The sterilization of men because of their political beliefs... The murder of children... How *easily* that can happen! There are those in our country today, too, who speak of the "protection" of the country. Of "survival". The answer to that is: *survival as what*? A country isn't a rock. And it isn't an extension of one's self. *It's what it stands for, when standing for something is the most difficult!* Before the people of the world - let it now be noted in our decision here that this is what *we* stand for: *justice, truth... and the value of a single human being!*
Full Transcript
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Janning to be sure is a tragic figure
00:00:06.013 --> 00:00:09.724
We believe he loathed the evil he did
00:00:09.842 --> 00:00:13.223
But compassion for the present torture of his soul
00:00:13.345 --> 00:00:15.647
must not beget forgetfulness
00:00:15.765 --> 00:00:22.023
of the torture and the death of millions by the government of which he was part
00:00:22.354 --> 00:00:26.317
Janning's record and his fate illuminate the most shattering truth
00:00:26.442 --> 00:00:28.743
that has emerged from this trial
00:00:28.861 --> 00:00:34.211
If he and all of the other defendants had been degraded perverts
00:00:34.325 --> 00:00:40.625
if all of the leaders of the Third Reich had been sadistic monsters and maniacs
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then these events would have no more moral significance
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than an earthquake or any other natural catastrophe
00:00:48.672 --> 00:00:54.806
But this trial has shown that under a national crisis
00:00:54.929 --> 00:00:59.769
ordinary even able and extraordinary men
00:00:59.892 --> 00:01:03.819
can delude themselves into the commission of crimes
00:01:03.938 --> 00:01:07.236
so vast and heinous that they beggar the imagination
00:01:07.358 --> 00:01:10.062
No one who has sat through the trial can ever forget them
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Men sterilised because of political belief
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A mockery made of friendship and faith
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The murder of children
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How easily it can happen
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There are those in our own country too
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who today speak of the protection of country of survival
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation
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At the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat
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then it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy
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to rest survival upon what is expedient
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to look the other way
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Well the answer to that is survival as what
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A country isn't a rock
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It's not an extension of one's self
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It's what it stands for
00:02:04.001 --> 00:02:11.346
It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult
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Before the people of the world
00:02:16.999 --> 00:02:23.999
let it now be noted that here in our decision this is what we stand for
00:02:24.056 --> 00:02:27.001
justice truth
00:02:29.094 --> 00:02:33.012
and the value of a single human being
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Movie Summary
In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
