VOA标准英语2010-Nuremberg Prosecutor Dies at 97

There were 12 more trials of Nazis² in Nuremberg after the first (and most famous) international criminal trial. Whitney Harris was the last living courtroom prosecutor³ from that initial proceeding⁴.

The last surviving courtroom prosecutor from the first Nuremberg trial has died.

Whitney Harris died April 21 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 97.

'Tyranny on trial'

Harris knew the Nazis committed mass murder.

But like many others at the time, he had no idea of the scale. Soon, the 33-year-old lawyer and navy officer would learn every detail of those atrocities⁵ from the people who planned them.

In 1946, Harris opened the case against Ernst Kaltenbruner — a high-ranking member of the SS, the elite⁶ corps⁷ responsible for implementing⁸ Hitler's plans to exterminate⁹ Jews and other groups Nazis considered to be inferior or enemies of the state.

He told the court, "Kaltenbruner joined the SS and the Nazi¹ Party in Austria in 1932. He was party member 300179. And SS member 13039." He went on to draw wrenching¹⁰ testimony¹¹ from the commandant of the Auschwitz extermination¹² camp and other top Nazis, many of whom spoke¹³ unemotionally of their roles in atrocities.

Decades later, in 2004, Harris said the first Nuremberg trial had its lighter¹⁴ moments too… like when Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess tried to feign¹⁵ amnesia¹⁶. "We had Hess on the stand and Hess said something about Belgium being in the war. Aha! We got him! We said, 'Okay, Hess, if you can only remember things back two weeks, how did you remember that Belgium was in the war?'"

Hess, along with 17 other top Nazis, was convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Ten of the others, including Kaltenbruner, were hanged.

Nuremberg prosecutor Whitney Harris died April 21 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 97.

Vocal¹⁷ advocate for international justice

After Nuremberg, Harris wrote a book, taught law and went into private practice. Listening to Nazis testify day after day for an entire year had taken its toll¹⁸. He wanted to put the horror behind him, but didn't want the world to forget.

Harris became a leading advocate for bringing modern war criminals to justice.

Leila Sadat heads the Whitney Harris World Law Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.  She says Harris always emphasized the good that came out of Nuremberg.

"I never saw him become cynical," she says. "I think he had a truly undying faith in the ability of humankind to do better. And that's not true of all his compatriots. I think that was something about Whitney."

In 2008, Harris returned to Germany for the last time. In the same courtroom where he saw humanity at its worst 62 years earlier, Nurembergers gave him a hero's welcome.

Lasting¹⁹ legacy²⁰

Historian and legal scholar John Barrett says Harris was always humble²¹ about this ultimate triumph.

"What Whitney would always talk about, as we walked around Nuremberg — rebuilt, beautiful, humane²², progressive, human-rights-committed Nuremberg — is how marvelous and how amazing it was to see how this had all developed out of the wreckage²³ that he had known in 1945-46."

Leila Sadat says while international law is complex, Whitney Harris' legacy is simple.

"He and the other prosecutors²⁴ are very much the conscience of the world, saying to powerful government leaders 'you need to do the right thing.'"

When Whitney Harris died Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri, the world not only lost a powerful voice for justice, but also one that reminded us of Nuremberg — where, as Harris said, tyranny was put on trial.

 

1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

5 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

9 exterminate   

v.扑灭，消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• Some people exterminate garden insects by spraying poison on the plants.有些人在植物上喷撒毒剂以杀死花园内的昆虫。
• Woodpeckers can exterminate insect pests hiding in trees.啄木鸟能消灭躲在树里的害虫。

10 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

11 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 extermination   

n.消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子，所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
• In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

15 feign   

vt.假装，佯作

参考例句：

• He used to feign an excuse.他惯于伪造口实。
• She knew that her efforts to feign cheerfulness weren't convincing.她明白自己强作欢颜是瞒不了谁的。

16 amnesia   

n.健忘症，健忘

参考例句：

• People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
• Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。

17 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

18 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

19 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

20 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

21 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

22 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

23 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

24 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。