Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgments : Canadian War Crimes Prosecutions, 1944-1948

Patrick Brode has produced a fascinating study of government hesistancy surrounding war crime prosecutionsin__Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements__, a history of Canada’s prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War.

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)

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) 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 Judgments, a history of Canada's prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War. 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 demonstrate Canada's willingness to overcome its colonial past to defend its own interests on the international stage Contents 5 Foreword 7 Abbreviations 9 Preface 11 Introduction 15 1. Rumours of Murder 31 2. Murder Division 47 3. Indifference to the 'War Crimes Business7 60 4. Questions of Partiality 84 5. Brigadeführer on Trial 97 6. But for the Grace of God 132 7. Shot like Wild Animals 146 8. Opladen: The Forgotten Case 166 9. Hong Kong: The Law of the Imperial Japanese Army 187 10. The Japanese Trials: Camp Guards and the Architects of War 208 11. 'Siegergericht′ 230 12. Canadian War Crimes and the Consequences 247 Appendix. Charge Sheet of Kurt Meyer 261 Notes 263 Photo Credits 305 Index 307 Patrick Brode has produced a fascinating study of government hesistancy surrounding war crime prosecutionsin Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements , a history of Canada’s prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War. Patrick Brode has produced a fascinating study of government hesistancy surrounding war crime prosecutions in Casual Slaughters and Accidental Judgements, a history of Canada's prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War