Superior Orders, Nuclear Warfare, and the Dictates of Conscience: The Dilemma of Military Obedience in the Atomic Age

1961 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guenter Lewy
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Law ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
World War ◽  
The People ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes Trials ◽  
The Many ◽  
Nuclear Warfare ◽  
The Military

When Francis Gary Powers was asked by the presiding judge of the Soviet military tribunal trying him for espionage whether he had not considered the possibility that his U-2 flight might provoke armed conflict, the captured pilot answered, “The people who sent me should think of these things. My job was to carry out orders. I do not think it was my responsibility to make such decisions.” This article deals with a similar problem, a predicament which to this day, fortunately, has remained hypothetical, but which may become distressingly real at some time in the future. It concerns the unenviable position of the military subordinate commanded to use nuclear weapons, who may be punished today if he disobeys and prosecuted tomorrow if he obeys. The discussion initially evolves around three issues in international law: (1) the validity of the plea of superior orders as a defense in war crimes trials; (2) the question of the legality of using nuclear weapons; and (3) the present status and future of the law of war. That these problem areas are intimately related should become clear as we proceed.The disregard for humanitarian and moral considerations which has increasingly characterized the conduct of war in the twentieth century, and, more recently, the development of nuclear weapons—the tools of mass extermination par excellence—have led many students of international law to conclude that the laws of war are dead. Grotius' doctrine of the temperamenta belli, requiring belligerents to conduct hostilities with regard for the principles of humanity and chivalry, as well as the many conventions drawn up prior to World War I in order to regulate the use of violence, are said to have become largely obsolete.

scholarly journals Vilnius and the Vilnius Region in the Period of Evacuation of Russian Army and Authorities in 1915

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (31) ◽  
pp. 248-261
Author(s):  
Marek Przeniosło ◽  
Małgorzata Przeniosło
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
World War ◽  
Russian Army ◽  
The People ◽  
Executive Level ◽  
The Military ◽  
The City

Initially, the military operations during World War I were advancing at some distance from Vilnius. The offensive of the Central Powers directly threatened the city as late as in the summer of 1915. At that moment preparations started to evacuate important offices, economic and financial structures from Vilnius. Also, the people employed in these institutions, especially those of executive level, started to gradually leave the city (usually with their families). The intensification of this flight came in late August and September. The men of military age were being evacuated as well. A large number of the inhabitants of the Vilnius region sympathized with the Russians, which was understandable given the fact that their cousins and relatives served in the tsarist army. Some remained neutral. After the outbreak of the war the requisitions made by the Russian army were a serious problem for the population. They were especially acute for the farmers. The tactics of "burned land" used by the retreating Russian troops was an even greater threat to the residents of the Vilnius region and their property. Although the action did not much affect Vilnius, it had a serious impact on the rural areas in the region, including those located in the direct vicinity of the city. On 18 September 1915, the German troops entered Vilnius. The residents of the region responded calmly to the change of the situation, there were no cases of panic. The occupied lands, previously held by Russia, were treated by the Germans as a loot, hence they were exploited to the maximum extent. It was directly reflected in the quality of life of the civilian population.

Cinema's Military Industrial Complex

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
World War ◽  
Film Exhibition ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
The Military

Cinema’s Military Industrial Complex examines how the American military has used cinema and related visual, sonic, and mobile technologies to further its varied aims. The essays in this book address the way cinema was put to work for purposes of training, orientation, record keeping, internal and external communication, propaganda, research and development, tactical analysis, surveillance, physical and mental health, recreation, and morale. The contributors examine the technologies and types of films that were produced and used in collaboration among the military, film industry, and technology manufacturers. The essays also explore the goals of the American state, which deployed the military and its unique modes of filmmaking, film exhibition, and film viewing to various ends. Together, the essays reveal the military’s deep investment in cinema, which began around World War I, expanded during World War II, continued during the Cold War (including wars in Korea and Vietnam), and still continues in the ongoing War on Terror.

he designs of the Russian war memorials from the World War I in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Kingdom of Yugoslavia: Ideas, symbols, realization

2020 ◽  
pp. 204-227
Author(s):  
Milana Živanović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
World War ◽  
War Memorials ◽  
The World ◽  
The Will ◽  
Kingdom Of Yugoslavia ◽  
The Military

The paper deals with the actions undertaken by the Russian emigration aimed to commemorate the Russian soldiers who have been killed or died during the World War I in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The focus is on the erection of the memorials dedicated to the Russian soldiers. During the World War I the Russian soldiers and war prisoners were buried on the military plots in the local cemeteries or on the locations of their death. However, over the years the conditions of their graves have declined. That fact along with the will to honorably mark the locations of their burial places have become a catalyst for the actions undertaken by the Russian émigré, which have begun to arrive in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of SCS) starting from the 1919. Almost at once after their arrival to the Kingdom of SCS, the Russian refugees conducted the actions aimed at improving the conditions of the graves were in and at erecting memorials. Russian architects designed the monuments. As a result, several monuments were erected in the country, including one in the capital.

Transition of the Rusins of Austria-Hungary to the bosom of Orthodoxy in the end of 19th - beginning of 20th century: Lost perspective for Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10-4) ◽  
pp. 196-205
Author(s):  
Vadim Mikhailov ◽  
Konstantin Losev
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
World War ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Military ◽  
Church Policy

The article is devoted to the issue of Church policy in relation to the Rusyn population of Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire. In the second half of the 19th century, the policy of the Austro-Hungarian administration towards the Rusyn Uniate population of the Empire underwent changes. Russia’s victories in the wars of 1849 and 1877-1878 aroused the desire of the educated part of the Rusyns to return to the bosom of the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, even during the World War I, when the Russian army captured part of the territories inhabited by Rusyns, the military and officials of the Russian Empire were too cautious about the issue of converting Uniates to Orthodoxy, which had obvious negative consequences both for the Rusyns, who were forced to choose a Ukrainophile orientation to protect their national and cultural identity, and for the future of Russia as the leader of the Slavic and Orthodox world.

Desertie naar de vijand in het Belgische frontleger tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Deel 2

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-175
Author(s):  
Jos Monballyu
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
World War ◽  
Criminal Records ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Military Security ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Military ◽  
First World ◽  
Front Movement

Over de motieven waarom Belgische militairen tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog naar de Duitse vijand deserteerden is al veel geschreven. Volgens de Franstalige patriottische pers en literatuur van kort na de Eerste Wereldoorlog was die desertie uitsluitend te wijten aan de defaitistische ingesteldheid van de Vlaamse Frontbeweging en de talrijke aansporingen waarmee hun vier afgezanten naar de Duitsers (Jules Charpentier, Karel De Schaepdrijver, Vital Haesaert en Carlos Van Sante) de Vlaamse soldaten aan het IJzerfront bestookten. De Vlaamse historici probeerden die beschuldiging op allerlei manieren te weerleggen of schoven de verantwoordelijkheid voor die desertie in de schoenen van Antoon Pira en zijn Algemeen Vlaamsch Democratische Verbond. Geen enkele historicus ging daarbij na wat de deserteurs zelf over hun desertie naar de vijand te vertellen hadden. Dit deden zij nochtans uitvoerig tijdens de verschillende gerechtelijke ondervragingen waaraan zij na de oorlog werden onderworpen wanneer zij konden worden aangehouden. Het feit dat zij daarbij al strafbaar waren van zodra zij wetens en willens deserteerden ongeacht hun eigenlijke motief, liet hen daarbij toe om dit motief vrij complexloos mee te delen. Geen enkele van de overlopers van wie het strafdossier bewaard is, gaf echter toe dat hij omwille van de Vlaamse kwestie was overgelopen. Oorlogsmoeheid en de behoefte om zijn familieleden terug te zien waren, zoals in alle legers, de voornaamste motieven waarom zij naar de vijand deserteerden. Ook de Belgische Militaire Veiligheid en de krijgsauditeurs slaagden er trouwens niet in om een verband te leggen tussen de Vlaamse Frontbeweging en de Belgische deserties naar de vijand.________Desertion to the enemy in the Belgian front army during the First World War (part 2)Much has already been written about the reasons why Belgian soldiers deserted to the German enemy during the First World War. According to the French language patriotic press and literature dating from shortly after the First World War that desertion was exclusively due to the defeatist attitude of the Flemish Front Movement and the many exhortations with which their four representatives to the Germans (Jules Charpentier, Karel De Schaepdrijver, Vital Haesaert and Carlos Van Sante) bombarded the Flemish soldiers at the Yser Front. Flemish historians attempted in a variety of ways to refute that accusation or they shifted the responsibility for the desertion on to Antoon Pira and his Algemeen Vlaamsch Democratische Verbond (General Flemish Democratic Union). Not a single historian investigated what the deserters themselves had to say about their desertion to the enemy. However, the deserters gave extensive explanations during the detailed investigation that took place during the various judicial interrogations, to which they were submitted after the war if it was possible to arrest them. The fact that they were considered to have committed a criminal offence for having knowingly deserted whatever their actual motive, allowed them to communicate this motive without too many complexes. However, none of the defectors whose criminal records have been preserved admitted that he had defected for the sake of the Flemish Question.  As is the case in all armies, the main reasons for desertion to the enemy were war-weariness and the longing to see members of their family. The Belgian Military Security and the military auditors were not able either to establish a causal link between the Flemish Front Movement and the Belgian desertions to the enemy.

scholarly journals History of the Military Nurse Corps and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Lessons for the 2019 Coronavirus Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A Talbot ◽  
E Jeffrey Metter ◽  
Heather King
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Primary Therapy ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Nursing ◽  
History Of ◽  
1918 Influenza ◽  
The Military

ABSTRACT During World War I, the 1918 influenza pandemic struck the fatigued combat troops serving on the Western Front. Medical treatment options were limited; thus, skilled military nursing care was the primary therapy and the best indicator of patient outcomes. This article examines the military nursing’s role in the care of the soldiers during the 1918 flu pandemic and compares this to the 2019 coronavirus pandemic.

Amnesties in the Light of Developments in International Law and the Establishment of the International Criminal Court

2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Gavron
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second World ◽  
First World

Amnesties presuppose a breach of law and provide immunity or protection from punishment. Historically amnesties were invoked in relation to breaches of the laws of war and were reciprocally implemented by opposing sides in an international armed conflict. The impact of the two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century, however, had considerable implications not only for the use of amnesties, but also for their legality under international law. The scale of the First World War precipitated a new phase of unilateral amnesty for the victors and prosecutions of war criminals for the defeated aggressor states.1 This precedent was followed after the Second World War,2 with the establishment of the first ‘international’3 criminal court, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. However, the horrors perpetrated during the Second World War also prompted the development of a branch of international law aimed at recognising and protecting human rights in an attempt to prevent such atrocities being repeated.

Dictatorship and Democracy, 1918–1939

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Mergel
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Social Commitment ◽  
The People ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Community People ◽  
The Many ◽  
Social Organism ◽  
German Parliament ◽  
Revolution Of 1848

Both dictatorship and democracy were essentially new concepts of political rule in Germany after World War I. It was true that suffrage had been increasingly extended after the revolution of 1848–1849, and more citizens (male citizens, that is) were entitled to vote in Imperial Germany than, for instance, in Great Britain. Dictatorship, too, was a new form of political control, at least in Germany. The term ‘people’ was to become a standard formula for the self-understanding of German politics after 1918. In its shades of meaning, it saw the people as a social organism, rather than as an ethnic community. ‘People’ referred to the many. It described the social commitment with which a good community was supposed to be built. An inquiry into Reichstag, and the German parliament and incidents and rebellions surrounding it concludes this article.

scholarly journals Constitutional law and international law at the turn of the century

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Frowein
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
World War ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitution Making

Constitutional law and international law operate in simultaneous conjunction and reciprocal tension. Both fields seem to have overcome the great challenges of destruction and neglect in the course of the 20th century. Both after World War I and World War II the world experienced new waves of constitution making. In both cases the current German constitutions (the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Grundgesetz of 1949) were influential. Characteristic of constitution-making in this century, is the final victory of liberal constitutions based on the rule of law, the Rechtsstaat, fundamental rights, meaningful control of public powers and the establishment of constitutional courts. Following the destruction of World War II, the notion of the Sozialstaat emerged strongly in Germany. In contrast to the Constitution of the United States of America, the principle of the responsibility of the state for social justice has emerged in almost all new constitutions, including Russia, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Where courts are given the mandate to interpret bills of rights, fundamental rights have been developed into foundation stones of the legal system. The presence in a Bill of Rights of restrictive clauses, is important for its analysis. Generally restrictive clauses in new constitutions try to limit the possibilities of restriction. The importance of constitutional rules establishing and legitimizing the political organs, must not be overlooked. Of particular importance is the degree of control over the head of state, a positive attitude among political actors towards the constitution and the protection of the interests of minorities in a democratic system. In the field of Public International Law much of Kant's ideal of an international confederation of peace has been realized. Since 1990 the United Nation's Security Council has shown the potential of becoming a directorate for the community ofnations. International law has also been instrumental in the worldwide recognition of human rights. Especially in Europe, Convention Law has had a strong impact. Furthermore, global and regional systems of regulation have tended to alter the legal attitude towards state sovereignty. It may be that the South African constitutional approach in terms of which international law is subject to constitutional and other national law, is not in line with international tendencies.

scholarly journals International Recognition and the International Law Status of Poland in the 20th Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-48
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Dynia
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
International Law ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
World War ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Recognition ◽  
The Status

The article concerns international recognition of the Polish state established after World War I in the year 1918, the Polish state and the status of Poland in terms of international law during World War II and after its conclusion until the birth of the Third Polish Republic in the year 1989. A study of related issues confirmed the thesis of the identity and continuity of the Polish state by international law since the year 1918, as solidified in Polish international law teachings, and showed that the Third Polish Republic is, under international law, not a new state, but a continuation of both the Second Polish Republic as well as the People’s Republic of Poland.

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