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Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Narrative of a Quest for Justice

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I read this book cover to cover in one day. It is unique, fascinating from a historical perspective, moving for the beautiful love story it contains, and particularly relevant in light of the current environment in the United States. It is definitely one of the best books I have read in quite awhile. Although this book was authored and edited by a presidential candidate, it is in an entirely different realm from other politician's publications.

I loved what Senator Dodd had to say about how the U.S. gained the moral authority to lead by submitting to the rule of law at Nuremberg, extending rights and protections to some of the most despicable people in history because it was the just, moral action to take. Senator Dodd contrasts this to how the U.S. has walked away from guaranteeing these protections in recent years and the subsequent deterioration of the moral high ground we once occupied.

The letters are just an incredible find -- they are intimate and tender at times, while also a true first draft of history from someone who was a participant. No matter what your politics, the letters are fascinating.

I bought "Letters from Nuremberg" after hearing Senator Dodd's interview about the book and his presidential campaign on Charlie Rose's program. It was a great price on amazon and I have been enthusiastically recommending it to all my friends, as I do now.

As a young journalist, I knew Tom Dodd, and knew he'd been a prosecutor at Nuremberg -- but knew little else. His letters to his wife, compiled by his son Chris Dodd, have wonderful insights into the inchoate process with which the Nazi war-crimes trial began, and the evolution into a model for future dealings with brutal war behavior. Along the way I was fascinated to learn that Tom Dodd, whom I knew as a Cold War hawk, was deeply disturbed by what wars do.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a collection of letters from the number 2 prosecuter of the Nuremberg trials. Not only is it from his point of view, it also shows the lovingness that existed between him and his wife, that these letters were writen to.

It's a shame that someone can not critique a book on only it's content with out putting his/her opinion, let alone a political opinion.

Senator Dodd reminds us all, through the letters of his father, of our need to maintain a steady moral compass as we negotiate a difficult balance between the security of our nation and the civil rights that are the backbone our country was built upon.

At a recent book signing at "Politics and Prose" in Washington, DC, Senator Dodd was asked if his father's career influenced his decision to become a public servant. He told the story of his father, interviewed weeks before his death, being asked if he knew how his political career would end (censure and then failing to win re-election)would he do it again. Senator Thomas Dodd answered (and I am paraphrasing) "A lawyer can help only so many clients in his career - a doctor only so many patients but as a public servant one is able to help millions of people. I would do it again without hesitation." This book offers facinating insite into the dedication of this honorable man to his country, to his family and to the rule of law that makes us great.

(And as an aside, I-Man is wrong. Chris Dodd is not riding the coattails of his father. Anyone taking the time to familiarize themselves with the work that he has done in his 30 plus years as a public servant would know that he is exceptionally qualified to be the President of the United States.)

I didn't know that the father of the senior senator from Connecticut was one of the chief prosecutors at the Nurenburg trials. Dodd begins by giving us a background narrative of his family which I found very useful. The bulk of the book consists--as the title indicates--of letters written by Tom Dodd to his wife. The trials lasted much longer than Dodd had anticipated. The letters reveal a man with a keen eye for detail when describing the defendants and his description of Himmler is especially interesting. There is also a lot of speculation about his running for governor and we get to see some behind-the-scenes political maneuvering. On the negative side, his constant whining about how he misses his wife becomes tedious and it might have been useful for the author to have edited these letters a bit more judiciously. If you are looking for a true history of the trials, this is not the book for you. However, the book provides a true insider view of what really went on and is a valuable historical document as such.

If you are looking for information on the Nuremberg Trials you will not get it from this book. The historical information contained within this book and the atrocities committed during WW II.

There is also good insight into the inter-relationships of the people who were involved in the trial itself. One of the most surprising parts is concerning the great love this man portrays for his wife and children.

Also how he felt being away from home during this period of time. He lets us know what a great country we live in and not to forget the evil that still lurks in other parts of the world.

This is a great book that provides a unique perspective on the Nuremberg trials. Highly recommended.

ASIN:0307381161 Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Narrative of a Quest for Justice]
A COMPELLING DAY-TO-DAY ACCOUNT OF A LANDMARK TRIAL IN COLLABERATION WITH OUR ALLIES FOLLOWING WORLD WAR 2 . THIS JOURNAL GIVES AN INSIGHT INTO THE SOMETIMES PAINFUL AND FRUSTRATING SEARCH FOR FINAL JUSTICE WITHIN THE GUIDELINES OF THE LAW.

Dodd's letters truly present the allies (except the USSR) effort to insure that future generations would see the fairness and lawfullness of their deliberations.It comes at a time in history that individuals are being held by one of the allies without trial 5 years after their capture. Nuremburg 1 1/2 year Gitmo 6 years The Taylors, Jacksons and Dodds would be ashamed.Aside from the Legal?Historical perspective the book is an excellent example of a husbands love and devotion. Christopher Dodds has good genes.

This is a book that is personal as well as a message to the ages. It presents the lessons of international law and discusses historic and recent examples. It shows the importance that one has a duty to disobey an illegal order. What is important is defending human rights.

The author's father, Thomas Dodd, was the second ranking prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal held after World War II in Nuremberg. As a child, the author recalls rummaging through his father's boxes and seeing photographs of the horrors at Nazi concentration camps and of medical experiments. He found pictures his father held during the trial of a prisoner's shrunken head that had been made into a camp commander's paperweight.

The trials produced a record of the Nazi crimes against humanities. It also showed the Allies offered tolerance. Instead of summarily executing the Nazi leaders, they were given real trials. 12 were sentenced to death, three were acquitted, and the rest were given various prison sentences.

Thomas Dodd had worked in the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. He had prosecuted Ku Klux Klan leaders prior to being asked to prosecute at Nuremberg.

The author writes of the importance of universal judicial rights. He warns against attempts to reinterpret the Geneva Convention. He urges for continuing to defend human rights. He warns against allowing actions at Guantanomo Prison to weaken our commitment for human rights. No nation should regard treaties as Nazi leader Herman Goring did when he called treaties as "toilet paper". The Bush Administration criticized opponents to his plans to violate the Geneva Convention as being weak on terrorism, which the author states was a political move.

As U.S. Senator, the author opposed aiding any government just on the basis that they opposed communism, which was a major past factor. Some of these anti-communist governments violated human rights. Some had death squads. Over time, as these governments changed, the new leaders appreciated those who defended human rights and who stood up to the tyrants.

Tom Dodd noted the Nazis imprisoned victims without charges and provided them with no idea how long the imprisonment would last. Chris Dodd feared this repeating at Guantanamo. The U.S. Supreme Court would rule against President Bush with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor writing "a state of war is not a blank check for the President."

Chris Dodd also notes that violating international law lessens our ability to insist that others should obey it. Further, our violating human rights increases resentment in other countries against our government.

Robert Johnson was the lead Nuremberg prosecutor. Walter Cronkite, who reported on the trials, told Chris Dodd that Tom Dodd was not always happy with Jackson's court presentations. He especially thought Jackson was a weak cross examiner.

The Nazi leaders were changed with planning and implementing mistreatment and the murder of prisoners, forcing civilian labor, plundering property, destroying cities, and acting inhumanely in persecuting people on grounds of race, religion, and politics. Elie Wiesel noted Hitler was more concerned with killing Jews than with the war effort. Hitler gave trains taking Jews to death camps priority over military trains.

During the trials, Dodd showed a movie presenting the emaciated concentration camp survivors as well as the horrible conditions of these camps. This film silences the courtroom and was considered an effective move towards showing Nazu guilt. Tom Dodd also produced documents where Himmler and other Nazi leaders wrote about exterminating the Jewish race. Dodd presented evidence of ornaments and lamp shades made from the skins of murdered Jews. Also entered into evidence were records kept of concentration camp murders, with one book having 35.318 names.

Tom Dodd sent his wife Grace over 300 letters during the Nuremberg trials. He wrote from a city, Nuremberg, where the drinking water was contaminated due to the effects of dead bodies as 80,0000 had been killed in air raids and the results of battle.

During Dodd's interviews of witnesses, he learned military aides found Hitler ran the war full of many ideas and there was often confusion over which of his ideas were to be implemented.

German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel tried to tell Tom Dodd that Germany attacked Czechoslovakia and France in 1938 because Germany feared they were joining to attack Germany. Dodd produced a letter Hitler wrote stating Germany should pretend they were being provoked to attack. This left Keitel flustered.

Keitel admitted ordering killings and burning cities, admitting he demanded "the most brutal measures even against women and children". He stated he did so because of attacks on German soldiers.

Thomas Dodd was very distrustful of the Soviets. They also committed atrocities. Dodd believed the Soviets executed thousands of Polish army officers in 1943. Russia finally admitted, in 1989, that this happened.

Thomas Dodd believed the evidence showing the human impact of the defendants' horrors would be the most effective courtroom strategy. He felt the documentary evidence was less forceful. Dodd had to prove that the defendants military and financially planned and implemented an aggressive war. In addition to these trials, there were 12 other trials at Nuremberg of people charged with lesser crimes.

The accused claimed to have no knowledge of mistreatment in concentration camps. These statements were torn apart during cross examination. Goring admitted many of the charges. Dodd's cross examination got Nazi Minister of Occupied Territories Alfred Rosenberg to admit to allowing slave labor.

Thomas Dodd got Keitel to admit that it was his duty as a professional soldier not to carry out an illegal order, and that Keitel has obeyed criminal orders. Rudolph Hoss, the Commandant at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, admitted that 2.5 million were executed and 500,000 killed from starvation and disease at his camp. May these horrors never be forgotten.