| Summary: | In The Midst of The Horrors of The Second World War, Some Canadian Soldiers, prisoners of war, and downed flyers were brutally murdered, in violation of international laws governing warfare. This is the story of how the Canadian government reluctantly set out to prosecute war criminals. The most famous case involved the Nazi Brigadefuhrer, Kurt Meyer, in December 1945, and others concern the torture and killing of Canadian soldiers by the Japanese after the fall of Hong Kong in 1941.<p>This was Canada's first attempt to apply international law after a conflict. The trials have never been examined, even though they say a great deal about the legal and diplomatic views that prevailed at the end of the war. The author argues that Ottawa's ambivalence towards prosecution arose not from any legal limitations, but rather from the sense that Canada, as a country just emerging from colonialism, would have limited influence on the world stage.<p>Brode reveals how the legal process used in the trials was part of the ongoing attempt to provide enforceable rules of war. He analyses issues about war crimes and national responsibility in the light of post-war conflicts, including Vietnam, Bosnia, and Somalia, showing how pertinent these concerns still are.
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