Nov 21, 2025 - History

Harvard digitizes Nuremberg Trials for 80th anniversary

Mike Deehan

Black and white photo of men in suits and military uniforms with headphones in a courtroom, guarded by soldiers wearing white helmets, during a formal trial or hearing. — Nazi defendants in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, including Hermann Goering, left, watch the trial. Photo: Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library

Harvard Law School Library is offering the first fully searchable digital collection of all 13 Nuremberg trials in time for the 80th anniversary of the proceedings.

Why it matters: More than 750,000 pages of transcripts, briefs and evidence exhibits from the Nazi trials in the aftermath of World War II are now available at nuremberg.law.harvard.edu.

Harvard is opening access to primary source materials for researchers to examine original testimonies and evidence while preserving historically accurate documentation of Nazi atrocities.
It's unprecedented public access to documents that shaped modern international law and established the legal basis behind crimes against humanity.

The big picture: The Nuremberg Trials prosecuted Nazi military and political leaders from Nov. 20, 1945, through 1949.

Flashback: Nineteen top Nazi leaders were tried in the first proceeding by the International Military Tribunal.

12 subsequent U.S.-convened cases prosecuted nearly 200 defendants associated with the Nazis.
Most defendants were convicted.

Zoom in: The digitization project preserved documents that were crumbling in storage boxes into keyword-searchable resources that draw 400-700 daily visitors, according to Harvard.

What's next: The Harvard Law School Library plans to digitize records from the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal.

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Harvard digitizes Nuremberg Trials for 80th anniversary

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