Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Quest for Justice



In the summer of 1990, Senator Chris Dodd sat down in his Washington, D.C. apartment and began to read the letters his father, Senator Thomas J. Dodd had written home to his wife, Grace, during the momentous Nuremberg trials. He wept as he read them. Here, in the nightly missives his father penned on thin sheets of airmail paper, was a most eloquently told love story between his parents intertwined with Thomas Dodd's stunning details of the events at Nuremberg. In his prologue to the letters, Senator Dodd writes, "I thought of my father's service in the tribunal that sought not only to punish war criminals but also to demonstrate and uphold the rule of law even when a cry for vengeance was heard from all quarters: civilized countries would produce a fair trial even for mass murderers who didn't seem to deserve one." Thomas Dodd, a prosecutor at the trials, interrogated some of the most notorious Nazi criminals with extraordinary skill and, on occasion, drama. He knew it was important work and hoped that "Some day it will be a great landmark in the struggle of mankind for peace." As his son, our Senator, points out, in releasing the letters for publication, he and his siblings feel as if they "have contributed one more piece of persuasive and human evidence of the best and worst humans can do" and that there is an important message for us in the letters today.

Letters from Nuremberg  by Senator Chris Dodd with Lary Bloom is a book of enormous import and a powerful read. The talk and booksigning are free and open to the public. Please call the UConn Co-op to ensure seating. 860-486-5027.