For a little global-history refresh, the Nuremberg Trials were a series of legal trials held from November 1945 to October 1946 by the Allied powers — the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France — against high commanders of defeated Nazi Germany, convicting representatives of the latter of crimes against peace, crimes against humanity and other wartime atrocities.
Given the real-world inspiration behind the legal drama, Nuremburg audiences will surely be curious about which details the movie gets right and which are fictionalized for dramatic effect. Here's your fact vs. fiction breakdown on the upcoming WWII drama Nuremberg.
Is the movie Nuremberg based on a true story?
Yes, Nuremberg is centered on the real-life Nuremberg Trials, which were held by the International Military Tribunal from 1945 to 1946 and tried 22 of the most prominent surviving leaders of Nazi Germany, including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (played by Russell Crowe in the film). Along with seeking justice for the Nazi Party's crimes on a global scale, the groundbreaking case also marked the true beginnings of international criminal law.
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Russell Crowe and Rami Malek in NurembergSony Pictures Classics
How was Hermann Göring captured?
That's largely how things go in Nuremberg the film; however, they Hollywood-ize the event by having Crowe's character dramatically rip the lace off his young daughter's dress to wave as a white flag out of his car window in surrender.
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Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in NurembergSony Pictures Classics
Later, in the 1930s, he developed a dependency on paracodeine, a mild morphine derivative he took in pill form. When he was captured by the Allied powers in 1945, the politician reportedly had more than 20,000 paracodeine pills with him.
Who does Michael Shannon play in Nuremberg?
In Nuremberg, Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Nocturnal Animals) portrays lawyer Robert H. Jackson, who was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. Jackson had been appointed by President Truman to act as U.S. Chief of Counsel for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and gave both opening and closing arguments before the Nuremberg court.
In the film, Shannon's character is aided in the courtroom by his British contemporary, prosecutor David Maxwell Fyfe, played by Richard E. Grant; as in real life, it is Fyfe's cross-examination of Göring that helps clinch the Allies' legal triumph.
Rami Malek and Leo Woodall in NurembergSony Pictures Classics
Like most of the characters in the drama, Woodall's young soldier existed in real life; Triest's remarkable true story (which we won't spoil for you here!) was also chronicled in the acclaimed 2006 documentary Journey to Justice.
Why did Nuremberg defendants wear sunglasses?
Throughout several Nuremberg court scenes, Crowe's character can be seen donning large black sunglasses, which initially could be interpreted as Göring's lack of respect for the legal proceedings. However, in real life, several Nuremberg defendants wore eyewear during the trial for a more practical reason: to shield their eyes from the bright floodlights used for filming and photography inside the courtroom. They also utilized headphones so that they could listen along to the proceedings in their native languages.
Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in NurembergSony Pictures Classic
How did Hermann Göring die?
Unlike his Nazi comrades, Göring was not executed by hanging on October 16, 1946; rather, the evening before his execution was scheduled to take place, the onetime Reichsmarschall committed suicide using a potassium cyanide capsule hidden inside his cell.
Tragically, in both the movie and in real life, Kelley — who suffered from alcoholism and despondence in the post-Nuremberg years — himself would go on to die by suicide on New Year's Day 1958, ingesting potassium cyanide just as Nazi leader Hermann Göring had.
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