04134nam 2200637 450 991046030090332120200520144314.01-4426-3250-X10.3138/9781442632509(CKB)3710000000433169(EBL)3432132(OCoLC)929153306(MiAaPQ)EBC4669371(CEL)450001(OCoLC)918589172(CaBNVSL)thg00930924(DE-B1597)465794(OCoLC)944178762(DE-B1597)9781442632509(Au-PeEL)EBL4669371(CaPaEBR)ebr11255910(OCoLC)958557685(EXLCZ)99371000000043316920160919h19971997 uy 0engur|n|---|||||rdacontentrdamediardacarrierCasual slaughters and accidental judgments Canadian war crimes prosecutions, 1944-1948 /Patrick BrodeToronto, [Ontario] ;Buffalo, [New York] ;London, [England] :University of Toronto Press,1997.©19971 online resource (323 p.)Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal HistoryIncludes index.1-4426-5233-0 Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-273) and index.Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Abbreviations -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Rumours of Murder -- 2. Murder Division -- 3. Indifference to the 'War Crimes Business7 -- 4. Questions of Partiality -- 5. Brigadeführer on Trial -- 6. But for the Grace of God -- 7. Shot like Wild Animals -- 8. Opladen: The Forgotten Case -- 9. Hong Kong: The Law of the Imperial Japanese Army -- 10. The Japanese Trials: Camp Guards and the Architects of War -- 11. 'Siegergericht′ -- 12. Canadian War Crimes and the Consequences -- Appendix. Charge Sheet of Kurt Meyer -- Notes -- Photo Credits -- Index -- Backmatter War crimes prosecutions create unique difficulties as civilian standards of law are applied to the extraordinary circumstances of war. Governments are often surprisingly hesitant to pursue war criminals. Patrick Brode has produced a fascinating study of such issues in Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, a history of Canada’s prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War. It is a history that includes personalities such as Lt. Col. Bruce Macdonald, whose persistence overcame Ottawa’s reluctance to pursue the ‘war crimes business,’ and SS Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, whose last-minute reprieve from death by firing squad followed a trial reminiscent of a Hollywood melodrama. Brode illustrates the difficulties of applying law to a recently defeated enemy when the emotions and politics of war distort any sense of impartial justice. The trials also reveal much about the legal and diplomatic views that prevailed at the end of the war and democratic Canada’s willingness to overcome its colonial past to defend its own interests on the international stage.The objectivity of the trials is still subject to question and they have been condemned by some as retaliatory. Brode clearly shows that Canada’s war crimes trials of 1945 to 1948 were a part of a movement to apply humane standards of conduct to warfare. Recent events in places such as Vietnam, Bosnia, and Somalia show how pertinent these concerns remain.(The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)World War, 1939-1945AtrocitiesWar crime trialsCanadaWar criminalsGermanyElectronic books.World War, 1939-1945Atrocities.War crime trialsWar criminals940.5405Brode Patrick941942Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History.MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910460300903321Casual slaughters and accidental judgments2244567UNINA