“World War II is over and large parts of Europe lie in ruins. Nuremberg is no exception. Only now is the full extent of the crimes committed by the Nazis becoming clear to everyone. Millions of people were displaced, persecuted, enslaved, and murdered. These atrocities sparked a desire among the international community to punish those responsible for the Nazi regime.” (Excerpt from the prologue to the game Tribunal 45)

Eighty years ago, the main war crimes trials began in Nuremberg. Twenty-four Nazis were charged. They were to be held accountable for their crimes. The trials are considered the birth of international criminal law. Tribunal 45 now brings them to life in a playful way.

As part of the French indictment

In this narrative serious game, players take on the role of lawyer Aline Chalufour, who works for the French prosecution during the first Nuremberg Trials. Players experience the tribunal in four phases: the first days of the trial, the hearing of evidence, the defense phase, and the preparation of the closing statement. Their task is to support the French prosecution throughout the entire trial. They do this, for example, by exploring the courthouse, talking to those involved in the trial, and negotiating important issues of the trial, organizing documents, or compiling chains of evidence and arguments. In doing so, they gain insights into the trial and collect arguments that they can use in difficult discussions. 

Experience history from a new perspective

While games and films have tended to reflect the American perspective, Tribunal 45 allows players to experience the trials from a French perspective. The female protagonist, Aline Chalufour, was chosen for her background as a lawyer and English scholar with years of experience in the North American legal system. She brings an insider's perspective, which in turn justifies encounters with other historical figures. In casual hallway conversations, she exchanges everyday pleasantries, while in discussions with other parties involved in the trial, she debates important issues related to the trial. In this way, different opinions and perspectives on the trial are made clear in passing.

On negotiation processes and compromises

The discussions are staged in Tribunal 45 as a strategic duel. Each one focuses on a specific aspect of the trials. Our opponent always has three core arguments, each of which is assigned a strength value. Players can now respond to these core arguments in the role of Aline using various tactics: persuading, distracting, or yielding. The goal is usually to convince the opponent of one's own position. 

Each of these actions costs arguments, which players can collect beforehand by completing small tasks (such as pre-sorting documents for translation or assisting in the creation of a chain of evidence) or through hallway conversations. The idea behind this is clear: good arguments do not come out of nowhere, but through preparation, research, and work. 

Players then choose their own position on the fundamental questions of international criminal law that were discussed earlier: Who should be charged? Who bears responsibility? In which language should witnesses be allowed to testify? With each decision, players gain a deeper understanding that justice is always negotiated and that the path to justice was not easy then, nor is it easy today.  Im Notizbuch können sie ihre Entscheidung mit denen anderer Spielenden vergleichen.

Playing with documents

The Nuremberg Trials faced an enormous challenge: vast amounts of documentary evidence, but too little time and too few translators. The game translates this historical chaos into an abstract matching puzzle.

Players sort different types of documents—in the example shown, these are perpetrator documents, lists, diaries, and photos—by finding two identical, unblocked symbols and moving them to the filing cabinet. The filing cabinet simulates historical prioritization: What needs to be translated first, what is urgent? 

The game shows how limited resources were at the time and how important it was to bring structure to this material. It also shows that even seemingly mundane activities such as sorting, filtering, and prioritizing were important in the process. Without this preparatory work, many key pieces of evidence could not have been presented in court at all. At the same time, it imparts knowledge about different types of evidence and rewards the sorting work with arguments for later discussions.

Blue court drawings and frayed icons

The illustration style is based on historical court drawings and captures the atmosphere of the trial. Blue is the dominant color throughout the design: calm, serious, and neutral. 

The quick strokes of the illustrations contrast with the solid UI design. which picks up on the 1940s pictograms of the US Office Chief of Counsel and combines it with modern readability.

Historical events in a fictional narrative

The content of the serious game Tribunal 45 – Working on Justice was developed based on various historical sources and current research literature. The actions of the protagonist Aline Chalufour are also documented. Based on this, the events of the various phases of the trial at the International Military Tribunal are recounted in the game and supplemented with fictional motifs. (More at https://www.tribunal45.de/ Section Historical Sources.)

Play Tribunal 45 in the Memorium app “Memorium Nuremberg Trials”

The game is available free of charge in the “Memorium Nuremberg Trials” app for Android and iOS It is aimed at media-savvy people aged 16 and over, especially visitors to the Nuremberg Trials Memorial who want to expand on their impressions of the museum through the game. However, anyone else who is interested is also welcome to download and play the game. The game takes between 20 and 40 minutes to complete. 

Tribunal 45 was developed in collaboration with the Nuremberg Trials Memorial and funded by the EVZ Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Finance as part of the educational agenda on Nazi injustice.

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