Nurenburg defence 

"Just obeying orders". This means precisely what it says.Failure to obey orders for Germans in any of the armed forces meant the firing squad or punishment battalion.Incompetence also equalled failure to obey orders.A punishment battalion usually meant that your days were numbered.So strictly adhering to orders was the only option for Germans in WW2.And of course not all would have been "nazis" ie members of NSDAP.Putting the General Staff of a nation on trial is definitely a dangerous precedent.

Fight to the last man and the last bullet for Greater Germany.

Nurenburg defence by maiden July 5, 2004

yuppie-nuremberg defense

the "yuppie nuremberg" defense is when someone does something they know is wrong but tries justify it by simply saying they're doing it for the money. typically a lame excuse. . from the film, "thank you for smoking."

1; You know what your doing is wrong.
2; Everybody has a mortgage to pay.
1; Ah, the yuppie-nuremberg defense.

yuppie-nuremberg defense by markymark44 March 7, 2010

Nuremberg defense 

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.

Nuremberg defense by Vr June 9, 2005