National Archives to Display Original Nuremberg Laws October 6-18
Press Release · Thursday, September 23, 2010

Washington, DC

National Archives will display the original Nuremberg Laws from October 6-18, 2010, in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. This marks the first free public display of these laws ever. Related programs will emphasize the impact of these laws on the Third Reich, the Holocaust, and the historic post-war Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

Related Programs

FILM:  Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today
Wednesday, October 6, at 7 PM, William G. McGowan Theater
The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film welcomes producer Sandra Schulberg, who will introduce the first complete 35mm picture and sound restoration of the U.S. Government’s 1948 film about the first Nuremberg trial—the International Military Tribunal. Nuremberg: Its Lesson For Today shows how the four allied prosecution teams—from the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—built their case against the top Nazi leaders. The original film was written and directed by Stuart Schulberg, and edited by Joseph Zigman, under Pare Lorentz, chief of Film/Theatre/Music at the U.S. War Department. It was completed by Schulberg in 1948, under Eric Pommer, chief of the Motion Picture Branch of U.S. Military Government in Berlin. Please note—viewer discretion is advised.(78 minutes)

BOOK TALK AND SIGNING:  The Monuments Men
Wednesday, October 20, at 7 PM, William G. McGowan Theater
Beyond the familiar history lessons of World War II is an untold story of a Nazi plot to seize the world’s greatest cultural treasures—a plot thwarted by one tiny band of soldiers, detailed in The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. The National Archives Experience, in partnership with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, welcomes author Robert Edsel, who will discuss a story that remains relevant as irreplaceable historical artifacts are still missing, and restoration, search, and discovery continue. A book signing will follow the program, and the book is available at a discount from the Archives Shop (202-357-5271) before and during the event.

Background

The Nuremberg Laws, which were signed by Hitler in 1935, are considered to be the official blueprint of racial policies against Jews in Germany. Individuals were defined as Jews if three or four of their grandparents were Jewish. They were stripped of their German citizenship and prohibited from marrying German citizens.

On August 25, 2010, The Laws were transferred from The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens to the National Archives, joining millions of other documents in the National Archives World War II holdings relating to the Third Reich, the Holocaust, and the trials at Nuremberg. They include transcripts of proceedings, prosecution and defense exhibits, interrogation records, document books and court papers. They also include other items such as the war diaries of Joseph Goebbels and Gen. Alfred Jodl, as well as registers from concentration camps.

See the National Archives’ 3:49 minute “Inside the Vaults” video short highlighting the background of the Nuremberg Laws online [http://tiny.cc/Laws], on the National Archives YouTube Channel [www.youtube.com/user/usnationalarchives] and the Archives.gov web site [www.archives.gov]. This video is in the public domain and not subject to any copyright restrictions. The National Archives encourages its free distribution.

The National Archives Building in Washington, DC, is located on the National Mall and is fully accessible. National Archives Exhibit Hours are 10 AM – 5:30 PM daily, except Thanksgiving and December 25 (through March 14), and 10 AM-7 PM daily (through Labor Day).

To verify the date and times of the programs, the public should call the Public Programs Line at: (202) 357-5000, or view the Calendar of Events online. To request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program, e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 two weeks prior to the event. To contact the National Archives, please call 1-877-874-7616 or 1-86-NARA-NARA (TDD) 301-837-0482.