„The Trial of the Emperor“ | The planning of the first international tribunal

Welcome and introduction
PD Dr Irmtrud Wojak (Fritz Bauer Forum)
Wolfgang Dominik (Friedensplenum Bochum and DFG-VK)
Prof Dr Sabine Swoboda (Ruhr University Bochum)

Lecture on the book
„The trial against the emperor“
Prof Dr William Schabas (Middlesex University, London)

Commentary
Andreas Zumach (Freelance Correspondent, Berlin)

Followed by a discussion with the panellists and questions from the audience.

Following Germany’s defeat in the First World War, Kaiser Wilhelm II was the first head of state to be called to account on the basis of a new interpretation of international law. For „a serious offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties“ – as stated in Article 227 of the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany signed.

Professor William A. Schabas, an expert in international law and recognised expert on human rights, traces one of the fundamental chapters of the 20th century in fascinating detail. It was to be the first international criminal trial for a criminal war of aggression.

In 1919, delegates to the Paris Peace Conference debated whether a head of state could be prosecuted for launching a war of aggression. A century later, the issue could not be more relevant. As Mark Twain once said, „history doesn’t repeat itself, but often it rhymes.“
⏤ William A. Schabas

The war in Ukraine has once again made it clear how urgently necessary, but also how difficult, it is to prosecute those responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and the crime of war of aggression.
⏤ Andreas Zumach

William A. Schabas
(Canada) is Professor of International Law at Middlesex University in London, Professor of International Criminal Law and Human Rights at Leiden University and Professor Emeritus of Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway.

Andreas Zumach
(Germany) is a journalist and publicist. From 1988 to 2020, he was Switzerland and UN correspondent for the tageszeitung (taz) in Geneva. He works as a freelance correspondent for German and English-language print and broadcast media.