The JCRC had the honor to co-sponsor two screenings of the documentary "Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today."
The first screening was in conjunction with the University of North Dakota and its Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies on November 10 in Grand Forks with its Director, Professor Greg Gordon. Three hundred and fifty people attended.
The second screening was in conjunction with the Twin Cities Cardozo Society at the Sabes (Minneapolis) Jewish Community Center on November 11.
Sandra Schulberg – who restored the "Nuremberg" documentary in conjunction with Josh Waletzky – is the daughter of the documentarian, Stuart Schulberg.
As described by Sandra Schulberg at www.nurembergfilm.org, "Nuremberg" was the official U.S. documentary about the first Nuremberg trial that was widely shown in Germany as part of the Allies' de-Nazification campaign during 1948/1949. U.S. officials, however, decided not to release "Nuremberg" to American theaters for "political reasons."
In the question and answer sessions in Grand Forks and Minneapolis, Ms. Schulberg offered this reason for the non-release of "Nuremberg" in the United States:
- By 1948-1949, Cold War tensions were escalating with the Soviet blockade of Berlin, the continued Soviet domination of eastern Europe and Soviet detonation of its atomic bomb.
In the United States, the priority of exposing the crimes of Nazi Germany and the prosecution of war criminals was eclipsed by the need to create a foundation of friendship with Germany in light of the Cold War. Indeed, suspected Nazi war criminals were surreptitiously admitted to the United States to boost American scientific and technical capability.
There was also a question of Americans' tolerance for viewing the evidence of Nazi crimes. Sandra Schulberg found among her father's archives a letter from a Paramount Executive that the documentary could not be shown to an American audience seeking entertainment.
Journalists strictly covered the story of "Nuremberg" not being screened in the United States. The journalist Walter Winchell described the documentary's non-appearance in the United States as worthy of the "Hall of Shame." The Washington Post published a series of articles but could not find anyone willing to speak on the record according to Ms. Schulberg.
The origin of "Nuremberg" lies with a decision of the chief United States prosecutor Justice Robert Jackson (he took a leave from the United States Supreme Court to handle the prosecution in 1945-1946) to film the trial. (This was a dramatic departure from Anglo-American legal tradition of insulating the courtroom from distracting outside influences.) The United States Signal Corps was assigned the responsibility. Twenty-five hours of the trial were shot during the ten month trial. Stuart Schulberg, according to Sandra Schulberg, faced the dilemma of translating this 25 hour segment of footage into the narrative heart of the trial.
In addition to the filming of the trial, the use of "motion pictures" as evidence was a groundbreaking dimension of the first Nuremberg war crimes trial. Justice Jackson turned to William Donovan, the Director of the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA. The legendary director John Ford was the head of the OSS's film unit. John Ford then turned to Budd and Stuart Schulberg (the uncle and father of Sandra Schulberg) for assistance in producing the desired motion picture evidence. (The brothers had worked for Donovan during the war making OSS training films.)
The OSS scoured Germany for German film evidence of the war crimes committed by the Nuremberg defendants. The German conspiracy to wage "aggressive war" – the first count of the Nuremberg indictment – was chronicled in "The Nazi Plan" which was played in the courtroom on December 13, 1945.
The story of the German concentration camps was chronicled in "Nazi Concentration Camps" which was played in the courtroom on November 29, 1945. The film was culled from footage shot by American and British film units as the western allies liberated concentration camps in western Germany. Sandra Schulberg describes the concentration camp film as "galvanizing the courtroom and buttressing the specific courts of the Nuremberg indictment." These are a few of the interesting stories told by Sandra Schulberg in her remarks or during the Question and Answer period in Grand Forks and Minneapolis.
Early in February, 2011, the documentary will return to the Twin Cities for its formal Minnesota premiere at the Edina Theater. The JCRC will co-sponsor the premiere. The broader community will have a chance to see the documentary and participate in Question and Answer with Sandra Schulberg.
The JCRC is proud to have provided financial and logistical support making the Grand Forks and Minneapolis screenings possible. The JCRC received an anonymous contribution to support the Minneapolis screening.
Sandra Schulberg's narrative and slide shows of the North Dakota and Minneapolis screenings are outstanding.
