After the end of
World War II, Harris was selected to be part of the legal team led by U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Robert H. Jackson that began the prosecution of war criminals in
Nuremberg,
Germany. Harris led the team's case against
Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the highest-ranking leader of the
Nazi Security Police to face trial. He was successful in winning a conviction against Kaltenbrunner for war crimes and
crimes against humanity. He was also responsible for interrogating
Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Hoess, the former commander of the
Auschwitz concentration camp. He was a member of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute's International Council. During an Experts' Meeting of
The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative of the Institute in 2010 at the
Brookings Institution, Harris made a plea just prior to his death to the legal experts, members of civil society and diplomats who were present. He stated. "Following the trials, the Genocide Convention was adopted in 1948, criminalizing the Nazis' attempt to exterminate European Jewry. The Geneva Conventions were elaborated in 1949, codifying the laws of war. But crimes against humanity- one of the most revolutionary and important elements of the Nuremberg Charter itself - were never set out in a treaty until the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute in the summer of 1998. Practically speaking, what that means is that the words uttered after Nuremberg 'And never again' have but a hollow significance. My friends, this initiative of the Institute that bears my name is the first serious international effort to fill this gap, complete this work, and fulfill the Nuremberg legacy." Harris spoke of the institutional evil of the Nazi regime in Germany during an interview in 2008: "Society lays the groundwork, and we develop in that society... We become part of that society, we're captivated by it, and we might do evil, too. It makes you wonder about where is the future of mankind - is evil going to triumph ultimately, or is good going to triumph? You have to find the good instincts that are in all of us." == Personal life ==