On November 20, 1945, trials of 24 of former Nazi Party leaders and companions of Hitler were started at the court of the war victors in Nürnberg, Germany. These trials which were conducted in 1945-1946 after World War II in which several high-ranking Nazi leaders and war criminals were tried for crimes against humanity.

At the end of World War II, the International Military Tribunal was established by the U.S., Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to indict and try former Nazis as war criminals. The tribunal defined the offenses as crimes against peace (planning and waging of war in violation of treaties), crimes against humanity (extermination, deportation, and genocide), and war crimes. After 216 court sessions, 3 of the original 22 defendants were acquitted, 4 (including Karl Dönitz and Albert Speer) were sentenced to prison for terms of 10 to 20 years, 3 (including Rudolf Hess) were sentenced to life imprisonment, and 12 (including Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Julius Streicher) were sentenced to death by hanging. Hermann Göring committed suicide before he could be executed, and Martin Bormann was convicted in absentia.