Editing Diffusion of responsibility (section)

===World War II===
The diffusion of responsibility for alleged war crimes during [[World War II]] was famously used as a legal defense by many of the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]] being tried at [[Nuremberg Trials|Nuremberg]]. A similar defense was mounted by the defendants accused in the [[My Lai massacre]]. Because of the displacement of responsibility, they did not feel the personal responsibility to help or at least not harm victims, but they felt like they were [[just following orders]], and they did not feel responsible or guilty for their own actions. They blamed those telling them to carry out the orders rather than blaming themselves for the atrocities they had committed. The diffusion of responsibility is a probable cause for many of their feelings and actions, but other possible contributing factors include the existing [[antisemitism]] of Germany at that time and the threats imposed by Nazi officials.<ref>Henry, Stuart. Recent Developments in Criminological Theory: Toward Disciplinary Diversity and Theoretical Integration. Routledge, 2017.</ref>