Eighty years ago today, on October 18, 1945 (September 13, 1945 in the lunar calendar), the first Nuremberg trial of fascist Germany began. The Nuremberg trial refers to the trial of the main war criminals of fascist Germany by the European International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany from 1945 to 1946. The indictment consists of four points: crimes against peace, namely the violation of international treaties and agreements and the planning, initiation and conduct of wars of aggression; crimes against humanity, namely the crime of killing, deportation and genocide; war crimes, namely the crime of violating the laws of war; and the crime of "conspiracy or conspiracy" to commit the above three crimes. The European International Military Tribunal was established in accordance with the Charter of the European International Military Tribunal in the agreement signed in London on August 8, 1945 by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and France. Later, 19 countries participated in this agreement. The International Military Tribunal is composed of one judge and one reserve judge each from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and France. The first trial was held in Berlin on October 18, 1945, presided over by the representative of the Soviet Union, General Nikichenko. Twenty-four former Nazi leaders were accused of war crimes, and some groups (such as the Gestapo) were accused of being criminal organizations. From November 20, 1945, each session was held in Nuremberg, presided over by the British representative, Justice Lawrence. After 216 hearings, on October 1, 1946, judgments were handed down on 22 of the 24 defendants: 12 defendants, including Goering, were sentenced to hang; 3 were sentenced to life imprisonment; 4 were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment; the tribunal, run by the United States and Britain, acquitted three Nazi leaders, including Schacht, Baben, and Fritz, despite the objections of the representatives of the Soviet Union. The tribunal convicted the Nazi Party leadership, the secret police, and the SS, among others, as criminal organizations. In delivering the above sentence, the tribunal rejected the main defenses put forward by the defendants: First, the tribunal rejected the argument that only states and not individuals could be accused of war crimes. The tribunal held that crimes against international law were committed by humans, and that the provisions of international law could only be upheld by punishing individuals who committed such crimes. Second, the court rejected the argument that the trial and sentencing were "past culpability," arguing that these acts had been criminalized before World War II.