Truman Appoints A Prosecutor
Harry S Truman (1884-1972)
Executive Order, May 2, 1945
Typewritten copy
Manuscript Division (77.5)
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On May 2, 1945, President Harry S Truman issued Executive Order
9547, appointing Robert H. Jackson, an Associate Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court, as Chief of Counsel before an International
Military Tribunal. This unprecedented court was to try prominent
Nazi leaders for serious offenses committed both before and during
World War II: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity. Given broad powers to act on behalf of
the United States in conjunction with America's major allies, Jackson
later observed that he had never before been compelled to establish
a court and then find a courthouse in which to try his case.
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