About

I Was Just Following Orders, also known as the Nuremberg Defence, refers to a plea in a court of law used by persons not to be held guilty for actions ordered by their superiors. Online, the caption "I was just following orders* has been utilized in ironic memes, particularly in those in which various characters are edited into the photographs of 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials.

Historical Context

While multiple documented uses of "superior orders" defence have existed prior, the plea is most commonly associated with the 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials, the military tribunals that followed World War II. ^[1] Before the trials, as the Allies suspected that "superior orders" defence could be used by the defendants, the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal was issued. The chapter stated that the "superior orders" is not a valid defense against charges of war crimes.

During the Nuremberg trials, German field marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German Generaloberst Alfred Jodl and other defendants unsuccessfully used the defense. During the trials, the "superior orders" defense gained such significant notoriety that it started being used interchangeably with "Nuremberg defense" and associated with the German phrase "Befehl ist Befehl" ("an order is an order" or "only following orders").

Origin

Both the phrase "I was just following orders" and the Nuremberg trials saw usage in memes prior to September 2019. For example, on February 8th, 2019, YouTube^[2] user Etheral Snake posted a humorous video titled "Thomas was only following orders" in which Thomas the Tank Engine, a defendant during the Nuremberg trials, recollects serving as a train delivering Jews to the Nazi concentration camps during the World War II. The video received over 1.6 million views in one year (shown below).

On September 2nd, 2019, Redditor^[3] TheFebrezeWizard posted a Lego Yoda meme in which they edited Lego Yoda into the black and white photograph of Hermann Göring during the Nuremberg trials (shown below; original post no longer available).

Spread

Starting in early September 2019, TheFebrezeWizard's post received viral spread online. For example, a September 3rd, 2019, repost^[4] of the meme by Redditor ElJeanMermoude received over 18,000 upvotes in /r/fakehistoryporn subreddit. A September 4th, 2019, repost^[5] by Redditor wasp12313 in /r/HistoryMemes received over 2,700 upvotes.

The post inspired similar edits featuring other popular characters, particularly in ironic meme communities. For example, on October 19th, 2019, Redditor^[6] k00ji posted a Rapper Mario meme which received over 11,000 upvotes in /r/okbuddyretard (shown below, left). A December 5th, 2019, Cheems meme posted by Redditor^[7] baconater419 received over 14,700 upvotes in /r/dogelore (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References