“Say that I slew them not?” Nuremberg Trials and Shakespeare’s play



Robert Jackson in Nuremberg Trials

In order to fully appreciate what Justice Robert Jackson (also a U.S. Supreme Court Justice) said in Nuremberg Trials, one needs to know a bit history of Richard III and Shakespeare’s play with the same title.

In his demand of a guilty verdict, Jackson said toward the end of his speech:

It is against such a background that these defendants now ask this Tribunal to say that they are not guilty of planning, executing, or conspiring to commit this long list of crimes and wrongs. They stand before the record of this trial as bloodstained Gloucester stood by the body of his slain King. He begged of the widow, as they beg of you: “Say I slew them not.” And the Queen replied, “Then say they were not slain. But dead they are ....” If you were to say of these men that they are not guilty, it would be as true to say that there has been no war, there are no slain, there has been no crime.

Jackson was referring to a scene from Richard III, in which Duke of Gloucester (before he became Richard III) persuades Lady Anne (whose father-in-law, Henry VI, was killed by Richard III; Anne’s husband, Edward, was also killed during the Battle of Tewksburg, so “He begged of the widow”, who is Lady Anne) to marry him.

Richard of Gloucester: Say that I slew them not?
Lady Anne: Then say that they were not slain, But dead they are...
                 Richard III:  Act 1 Scene 2

NurembergTrials

It is of interest to see that Justice Jackson likened Duke of Gloucester (future Richard III) to the Nazi criminals.  “bloodstained Gloucester stood by the body of his slain King”.  I have tirelessly tried to defend for Richard III who is the most unfairly maligned England king in history.

The Act I Scene 2 is a very weird scene of love pursuit; many memorable, rhetoric lines:

Richard: Fairer than tongue can name thee.
Anne: Fouler than heart can think thee.

(When Richard says Anne’s beauty is beyond any word, Anne retorted that Richard is wicked beyond belief.)

When Anne looks scornfully at Richard, Richard says,

Teach not thy lip such scorn, for it were made
For kissing, lady, not for such contempt.

The following link is a YouTube of the Act I Scene 2 of Richard III, about 25 minutes long.  The soliloquy of Richard III that concludes this scene shows how Richard III’s fate in history is doomed by the Bard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzRBwiTJIg0