After nearly 75 years since the sentencing of World War II criminals, a new drama from BBC Radio 4 follows the dash to hunt down Nazis, the station reported. Nuremberg begins as Nazi commanders are arrested and held in a former luxurious but now stripped-out Luxembourg hotel in May 1945.Documenting the accused awaiting trial, on suicide watch and at risk of reprisals, the series tracks how the trial was strung together, grappling with the legal systems of Britain, America, France and Russia, and how the monumental sentencing nearly didn't happen, stretched between the preferences of Truman, Churchill and Stalin.Written by Jonathan Myerson, the drama tells the story from the lesser-heard perspectives of those amongst the thousands of individuals tasked with fighting what became the last battle of World War II - an interpreter, psychologist, reporter, court officer and others who helped it happen, also while giving listeners an inside scoop of Nazi testimony based on court transcripts. The BBC noted that the the audio provides the first-ever hearing of distressing evidence of the Holocaust, with the trial effectively originating the word ‘genocide’ to describe crimes inflicted upon Jews, and other persecuted minorities.The note-worthy cast of Nuremberg includes Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer and The Pianist star Ed Stoppard.
75 years since Nuremberg Trials, BBC radio releases harrowing audio series
Written by Jonathan Myerson, the drama tells the story from the lesser-heard perspectives of those amongst thousands of individuals tasked with fighting what became the last battle of World War II.
The eight-part performance is slated to release on August 27, with an extended 16-part podcast only on BBC Sounds featuring additional detail about the historic events.