After World War II ended the retribution of major criminals in Germany was a primary concern of the Allied powers. How they would go about this was unclear, however. After careful speculation and recognizing varying opinions the Allies chose to conduct trials. The trials focused on every individual’s own responsibility in the actions committed.

On August 8, 1945 the Allies signed the International Military Tribunal in London. The Tribunal defined the Allies role in the judgment process in Nuremberg. Every Allied power would have four representatives, and one alternate, from every government. The trials were held with equal representation from every Allied government power.

The Tribunal divided the crimes into three sections, Crimes Against Peace, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes. Twenty-four perpetrators were tried. These twenty-four criminals were all of high government or social standing, and had a massive amount of influence over most of the crimes committed during WWII.