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25 Crim. L.F. 133 (2014)
Shutting down the United Nations War Crimes Commission

handle is hein.journals/crimlfm25 and id is 133 raw text is: Criminal Law Forum (2014) 25:133-146 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 DOI 10.1007/s10609-014-9224-1 CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON* SHUTTING DOWN THE UNITED NATIONS WAR CRIMES COMMISSION ABSTRACT. This article presents the struggle between factions in the executive branch of the US government over post-war relations with Eurasia in general and Germany in particular. It argues that the legal and moral divide between the groups concerned interpretation of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the limits of national sovereignty. It discusses the discontent of members of the UNWCC over US and UK efforts to close the Commission and how the United Nations dealt with the remaining UNWCC cases and records. During World War II, there was a deep split in the executive branch of the United States (U.S.) government over post-war relations with Eurasia in general and Germany in particular. This debate was complex, but it has often been summarized as a factional battle be- tween Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr.1 against a group at the Department of State featuring the chief Legal Adviser Green Hackworth2 and assistant secretaries of state Breckinridge Long,3 * Christopher Simpson is a Professor in the School of Communication at Amer- ican University, Washington DC. Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1891-1967) was US Secretary of the Treasury (1934- 1945). He was a long-time personal confidant to Franklin Roosevelt and principal sponsor of the 'Morgenthau Plan' (1944) for post-war Germany. Morgenthau later became prominent in Jewish-American affairs. 2 Green Hackworth (1883-1973) was the first Legal Adviser to the US Department of State (1931-1946), then the first US judge at the International Court of Justice (1946-1962; president 1955-1958). He was author and editor of Digest of Interna- tional Law, eventually totalling 15 volumes. 3 Breckinridge Long (1881-1958) was Assistant US Secretary of State during World War II, and widely criticized for highly restrictive immigration policies and opposition to rescue efforts for Jewish refugees. Although both Morgenthau and Long were long-time allies of US President Franklin Roosevelt, Morgenthau regarded Long as anti-Semitic.

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