Two submarines, two war crimes - but only one war crimes trial

Was General Tomoyuki Yamashita guilty of the terrible war crimes he was charged with - or was he himself a victim?

Joachim Peiper was charged with murdering many Allied soldiers and civilians at Malmedy, during the Battle of the Bulge. He was tried after the War by the Americans, but the trial was a disaster. Let us see why.

Hilde Lisiewitz was a guard at Belsen and was found guilty of war crimes. But did her accuser commit perjury?

Irma Grese was a guard at Belsen. She was charged and convicted of war crimes, and then she was hanged. But did the court act properly?

Fritz Klein was a doctor at Auschwitz and Belsen and was singled out by the British for vicious treatment before being hanged. Was that fair?

The British liberated Belsen Concentration Camp on 15th April 1945 and were confronted by a human catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. They wanted to hold to account those responsible, and decided to hold a war crimes trial.

In this episode we examine the challenges which faced them: what law to apply, the charge to be preferred, the evidence. We shall see how they rose - or failed to rise - to meet those challenges.