Nuremberg Defense Edit Meaning

1.

To use the fact you were only following orders to escape prosecution. Used by Nazi Germany's military officers in Nuremberg when they were on trial for their treatment of the Jews, when they claimed to have nothing to do with it, only doing what they were told to do.

It is seen elsewhere in history... one example would be Oliver North's trial after the Watergate scandal, in which he claimed their illegal activity was just them following orders.

We're not ashamed of killing innocent civilians; we're just following orders.