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Date with History to study 'Nuremberg and the Modern Laws of War' May 6

The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton continues its acclaimed "Date with History" series with a virtual program about the Nuremberg trials, held 75 years ago following World War II.

Guest speaker John M. Geiringer will put the event in historical context and discuss how it led to the laws of armed conflict that we have today.

Geiringer's presentation will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 6, CST, via Zoom. The program is free, but registration is required at FDMuseum.org.

The modern laws of war were developed in response to war crimes committed by the Nazi regime.

Those atrocities, among others against civilians, were brought to the world's attention at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1946.

The trials, conducted by the Allied forces, were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, judicial, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany, who planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in the Holocaust and other war crimes.

John Geiringer is a partner at Chicago's Barack Ferrazzano law firm and founding co-director of the Consortium for the Research and Study of Holocaust and the Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law's Center for National Security and Human Rights Law. He holds a bachelor's degree from American University and earned his graduate degree from DePaul University College of Law.

The First Division Museum is currently open Wednesday through Sunday.

Entry is included with Cantigny Park's $5 parking fee, but advance ticketing is required to enforce temporary visitation limits. Masks are required. More information is online FDMuseum.org.

The First Division Museum, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, promotes public learning about America's military heritage and affairs through the history of the "Big Red One" - the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum's main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID's history in more recent times.

The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum's library, archival and photo collections. Outside, tanks from every era are interpreted, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Solemn memorial markers and commemorative statuary also command visitors' attention. In 2020, the museum launched "Footsteps of The First," a travel program in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad. The program's inaugural trip is to Normandy and other key sites in Western Europe, Sept. 5-16, 2021. Full details, including registration, are on the museum website.

John M. Geiringer
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