AHC: Make A Miniseries About Hitler Being Tried in Nuremberg

Plot out a television miniseries in which Adolf Hitler is captured alive by the Allies and tried at Nuremberg successfully.
 
I could actually see History Channel doing this. Despite what they have become when they actually want to focus on history, historical documentaries and historical miniseries they actually still do really damn good.
 
I could actually see History Channel doing this. Despite what they have become when they actually want to focus on history, historical documentaries and historical miniseries they actually still do really damn good.

...except for the Nazi B-17s in the Battle of Britain, right? (The World Wars)

As for OP... I would have Hitler manage to escape and hide for a little while, so that the major trial is over and done with. He would be by far the most famous face, but if he's tried with the other major defendants, he's a face in the crowd.

You also need him able to stand trial. There's not going to be much drama if a senile, drugged, Parkinson's ravaged wreck of a man is put on trial.
 
...except for the Nazi B-17s in the Battle of Britain, right? (The World Wars)

As for OP... I would have Hitler manage to escape and hide for a little while, so that the major trial is over and done with. He would be by far the most famous face, but if he's tried with the other major defendants, he's a face in the crowd.

You also need him able to stand trial. There's not going to be much drama if a senile, drugged, Parkinson's ravaged wreck of a man is put on trial.

That's the one gripe I have with them. They always seem to make one major mistake. First time I ever noticed it was in the Men who built America and them using European trains instead of American.
 
In terms of an actual plot, could the rationale behind Hitler surviving be that the Allies (Soviets or otherwise) get to Berlin at a faster pace than they managed in OTL and in turn mean that Hitler has less time (after finding out that the cause is hopeless) to be able to make the decision to commit suicide.

What this means is by the time Allied forces enter his bunker, he is still alive. Now the biggest questions about such a POD is how can this be done and more importantly would Hitler's survival be more likely if either the Soviets or the Americans end up doing the honour.

Likewise if he does end up standing trial, what exactly would be Hitler's grounds for defence or does his defence lawyers (I do wonder who exactly would be willing to be part of such a team, that would make a interesting film in itself) make a plea based on insanity. Certainly he would be unable to use the "I was only following orders" defence...:rolleyes:
 
Actually depending on how it's portrayed, Hitler really could get off on insanity. In that case I would have the miniseries focus on his defense lawyer. But also have Hitler actually be crazy and when it ends he's such a wreck that you're kind of okay with letting him live out the rest of his crazy life in some kind of asylum.
 
Actually depending on how it's portrayed, Hitler really could get off on insanity. In that case I would have the miniseries focus on his defense lawyer. But also have Hitler actually be crazy and when it ends he's such a wreck that you're kind of okay with letting him live out the rest of his crazy life in some kind of asylum.

The defendent has to agree to an insanity plea though. I don't think Hitler thought of himself as insane. I think his defence would similar to Saddam Hussein's, repeating ad nauseam "I don't recognize this Judeo-Bolshevik sham court!" He might be held in contempt several times and slow down the trial. After that he gets executed.
 
The defendent has to agree to an insanity plea though. I don't think Hitler thought of himself as insane. I think his defence would similar to Saddam Hussein's, repeating ad nauseam "I don't recognize this Judeo-Bolshevik sham court!" He might be held in contempt several times and slow down the trial. After that he gets executed.
Really? If someone is too insane to stand trial how can they expect to reliably "agree" to anything?
 
Really? If someone is too insane to stand trial how can they expect to reliably "agree" to anything?

Hitler could just fire his lawyer, couldn't he? Besides that, I'm not sure Hitler meets the legal definition of insanity. He knew what he was doing when he made his decisions.
 
Hitler could just fire his lawyer, couldn't he? Besides that, I'm not sure Hitler meets the legal definition of insanity. He knew what he was doing when he made his decisions.
I'm not here to be his lawyer. I'm just saying that it could make a good movie.
 
The defendent has to agree to an insanity plea though. I don't think Hitler thought of himself as insane. I think his defence would similar to Saddam Hussein's, repeating ad nauseam "I don't recognize this Judeo-Bolshevik sham court!" He might be held in contempt several times and slow down the trial. After that he gets executed.

Well, it depends at least to an extent, on who captures him. If he falls in American/British/Canadian hands, he will definitely live to stand trial, after which he will be executed. If he falls into Soviet hands, he probably lives long enough for a show trial, and it will be one hell of a show at the end of which he will be executed. Having said that however, given what the Soviets went through at the hands of the SS, I'm sure there would be lots of Russians who would be perfectly OK with skipping the trial and putting a pistol bullet in his forehead, but either way the outcome is the same. If Hitler falls into Allied hands alive, he will die. His crimes are simply too monstrous for any other outcome to be possible. The only potential caveats to that end are when, where and how.
 
Hitler could just fire his lawyer, couldn't he?

Yes, he could, at least in theory, and most likely in practice. Defendants at Nuremberg were allowed counsel of their own selection, provided they were available. The record of the IMT was actually quite good in this regard.
 

Nick P

Donor
In early May 1945 Hitler and Eva decide to make a break for it away from the Battle of Berlin and the constant bombing raids. They make a quick getaway during a lull in the fighting in a Storch from a road outside the bunker to a nearby Luftwaffe base. There they transfer to a JU-52 and head for the Eagles Nest in the Alps to lead a supposed final stand in the Alpine Fortress.

Unfortunately for him the US Army get there first and Adolf is driven into Berchtesgaden to be greeted by the boys of Easy Company... :)
 
Plot out a television miniseries in which Adolf Hitler is captured alive by the Allies and tried at Nuremberg successfully.

There is a German television movie "After the truth" from 1999 about than 88 year old Joseph Mengele returning from Chile to Germany to be put on trial.

https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi95ITagenKAhWCHpoKHbU5BxQQFggfMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAfter_the_Truth&usg=AFQjCNH3ogciQIN5P58fOBZ5t-j47AGQsA&bvm=bv.113370389,d.bGs

https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=...a742N_zJzAugA443DDjoMA&bvm=bv.113370389,d.bGs
 
The POD would require the Western Allies reaching Berlin (doable) first, or at least being the ones to get Hitler in Berlin, AND Hitler misjudging the situation so that he can't commit suicide in time (poison would be preferred, but I'm sure he'll use a bullet if necessary). Being dragged before a court was exactly the thing he feared most.

So we'd need a better 1944. Say the Allies seize a large intact port or clears the Schedlt Estuary that supports a drive across the Rhine in September 1944. Western Allies cross the Elbe and reach Berlin. There Eisenhower waits until the Soviets arrive, not wanting to take the heavy casualties alone, and not willing to ruffle feathers with Stalin. Instead, forces instead move into Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary, while Stalin pushes the Red Army to push onto Berlin regardless of costs.

Then the Battle of Berlin begins with all Allies converging. Morale breaks in the West allowing British and American troops easier access to the city center, and a night time commando/ranger raid infiltrates the lines and takes Hitler unaware when he is not inside the Bunker itself, so he has no time to shoot himself. At that point, the Germans give up.

Hitler is put under 24 hour watch to make sure he cannot kill himself. He is watched like a hawk.

As for the trial itself, I don't see Hitler being anything other than belligerent. He can also reveal a lot of bad things about Stalin. I honestly cannot see the Soviets allowing Hitler any amount of time, or the West allowing him to disrupt the trial in general. Hitler will want one last opportunity to denounce the Jews. He simply will not be allowed to address the court directly.
 
Let's say Hitler was captured alive.

But here's a question: how healthy was Adolf Hitler around March-April 1945? Between the "quack" medications given to him by Theodor Morell, Hitler's personal doctor and the fact Hitler was likely suffering from advanced stages of the effects of syphilis and Parkinson's Disease, if he had bee captured alive would he even be healthy enough to stand trial at the time the Nuremberg Trials started in November 1945?
 
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