Event Type: Branch

Takes Place: 10th March 2026

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Room 1.09, Park Building, King Henry I St, Portsmouth, PO1 2BZ

Description: In this lecture Professor Biddiss will consider the dilemmas faced by the victors at the end of the Second World War as they sought to reach inter-Allied consensus about prosecution and punishment of the defeated Nazi leadership. He will then discuss the proceedings eventually conducted at Nuremberg in 1945-6, described by one of the British judges as ‘the greatest trial in history’. After reviewing the positive achievements of the International Military Tribunal in condemning the Nazi regime he will highlight those weaknesses of planning and implementation that contributed to limiting the effectiveness of the longer-term aims which Nuremberg was also intended to fulfil. The second half of the talk will review the ways in which, across eighty years, the Trial’s legacies have remained relevant to international concerns over war crimes, including crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. Professor Biddiss will trace the tangled path that led towards the formation of a permanent International Criminal Court in 2002 and will also mention debates about the ICC’s subsequent record, concluding with reference to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as well as the legal status of Israel’s response to Hamas terrorism and other Palestinian issues. Michael Biddiss is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Reading, and a former Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. He has also been President of the Historical Association (1991-4) and a Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society (1995-9).

How to book: No need to book, just turn up.

Price: £4

Email: portsmouthhistorybranch@gmail.com

Organiser: Kate

Lecturer: Professor Michael Biddiss, University of Reading

Region: South-East England

Branch: Portsmouth