A Passing Fury (Searching for Justice at the End of World War II)

Any trial is an act of theater. After the horror of World War II, the Nuremberg Tribunal became a symbol of the "free world’s" choice of justice in the face of tyranny, aggression and atrocity. But it was only a fragment of retribution as, with their Allies, the British embarked on the largest program of war crimes investigations and trials in history. This book exposes the deeper truth of this controlled scheme of vengeance. Moving from the scripted trial of Göring, Hess and von Ribbentrop, to the makeshift courtrooms where "minor" war criminals (the psychotic SS officers, the brutal guards, the executioners) were prosecuted, A Passing Fury tells the story of the extraordinary enterprise, the investigators, the lawyers and the perpetrators and asks the question: was justice done? This book reassesses the value and flaws of the attempt to do justice in clear, engaging prose, bringing it to life for a new generation and demonstrating its contemporary relevance in responding to "evil."