Pirate Radar posted:

I can see that things have gotten slightly off track from the original post here, but what the OP didn't mention was the long-term value of the Nuremberg trials in suppressing possible continuation of Nazi ideology. The trial and execution of major leaders--prominent and charismatic leaders, of which Goebbels was one--very arguably helped break the spirit of potential continued Nazi resistance and guerrilla warfare, which the Nazis were already making plans for during the fall of the Reich. Imagine the propaganda value to Nazi sympathizers if a major leader from Hitler's inner circle was still alive, and could be seen as a continuation of the regime. We have to consider the utility of the killings with a view towards establishing a stable postwar German state that soundly rejects Nazism as a viable ideology. That's what we got, so it may have been worth it to string up the people we did.