Crimes of State Past and Present

<p>War Crimes and acts of genocide are as old as history itself, but particularly during the 20th century. Yet what are war crimes and acts of genocide? And why did it take the world so long to define these crimes and develop legal institutions to bring to justice individuals and nations responsible such crimes? Part of the answer lies in the nature of the major wars fought in the 20th century and in the changing nature of warfare itself.</p><p>This study looks at war crimes committed during the Second World War in the USSR, Yugoslavia, Germany, and efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. This led to successful postwar efforts to define and outlaw such crimes and, more recently, the creation of two international courts to bring war criminals to justice. This did not prevent the commitment of war crimes and acts of genocide throughout the world, particularly in Asia and Africa. And while efforts to bring war criminals to justice has been enhanced by the work of these courts, the problems associated with civil wars, command responsibility, and other issues have created new challenges for the international legal community in terms of the successful adjudication of such crimes.</p><p>This book was based on a special issue of <em>Nationalities Papers.</em></p> <p>Introduction <em>David M. Crowe </em>1. War Crimes and Genocide in History, and the Evolution of Responsive International Law <em>David M. Crowe </em>2. The Last Bullet for the Last Serb? The Ustasa Genocide against Serbs: 1941-1945 <em>Michele Frucht Levy </em>3. Hitler’s Rassenkampf in the East: The Forgotten Genocide of Soviet POWs <em>Thomas Earl Porter </em>4. 'Only the National Socialist': Postwar US and West German Approaches to Nazi ‘Euthanasia’ Crimes <em>Michael Bryant </em>5. Justice 30 Years Later? The Cambodian Special Tribunal for the Punishment of Crimes against Humanity by the Khmer Rouge <em>Wolfgang Form</em>, <em>translated by</em> <em>Michael Bryant </em>6. Adjudication Deferred: Command Responsibility for War Crimes and US Military Justice from My Lai to Haditha and Beyond <em>William C. Peters</em></p>