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Wilson Center to Co-Sponsor Special Screening of "Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today"

On January 31, the Wilson Center and The George Washington University will screen "Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today." The film, a historic, powerful documentary, was made shortly after World War II for the U.S. War Department and the U.S. military government in Berlin but until recently was not shown in the United States.

The Woodrow Wilson Center is co-sponsoring a special screening of a historic and powerful documentary that was made more than 60 years ago but until recently was not shown in the United States.

"Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today" will be screened on Monday, January 31, at 6 p.m. at The George Washington University under the auspices of the University's Provost, Steven Lerman. It will be introduced by one of its producers and followed by a panel discussion that will include faculty experts from GW.

The film was made shortly after World War II for the U.S. War Department and the U.S. military government in Berlin. The producer, Stuart Schulberg, included footage used by the U.S. prosecutors at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg to support their indictments of Nazi leaders as well as footage of the trial itself. The film is not only riveting; it's also a compelling piece of history. It documents the consequences of Nazi Germany's unprecedented assaults on Europe and humanity; its attempt to murder all the Jews it could find as well as other civilians; and the ways in which the Allies dealt legally with German officials after the war. The film was shown to German audiences in 1948-49 as part of the Allies' de-Nazification program. It's significant that, during the late 1940s, U.S. authorities did not permit the film's release in the U.S.. This prompted a Washington Post reporter at the time to note that "there are those in authority in the United States who feel that Americans are so simple that they can hate only one enemy at a time. Forget the Nazis, they advise, and concentrate on the Reds."

Read an excellent, informative review of the film at The Washington Post.

The film will be introduced by Sandra Schulberg—the daughter of the film's producer—who, with Josh Waletzky, restored the original film. The panel discussion will include Provost Lerman as well as GW faculty experts on international law, human rights, the Holocaust and education, and will be followed by questions and comments by the audience.

This event is co-sponsored by GW's Law School, Elliott School of International Affairs, Honors Program, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Judaic Studies Program, Gelman Library and Rabin Chair Forum, as well as by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

"Nuremberg: Its Lessons for Today"
Monday, January 31, 6 p.m.
Funger Hall, Room 103
2201 G St. NW
Washington, DC 20052
For inquiries please contact Christopher Diaz, cdiaz@gwmail.gwu.edu

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History and Public Policy Program

The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs.  Read more