Massacre at Tambach: American War Criminals and the Limits of Military Justice,1945

Abstract

In April of 1945, members of the U.S. army massacred twenty unarmed prisoners near Tambach, Germany. This paper examines the army's response, and why despite abundant evidence and multiple confessions the military justice system failed to convict anyone for the crime. The system faltered due to an incomplete shift in the nature of military justice, one that sought to turn it from a disciplinary tool into one capable of punishing war criminals. The incident at Tambach was not unique, and instead shows a system in crisis – one unable to hold soldiers accountable for illegal violence on the battlefield.