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Robert H. Jackson Center Opens New ‘Flags’ Exhibit

The Robert H. Jackson Center has opened a new exhibit, “Flags at Nuremburg.”

On June 20, the Robert H. Jackson Center debuted the exhibit depicting a scene from Jackson’s chambers in the Supreme Court. In the display, the flags of the allied nations of World War II; the United States, France, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, flank a photograph of these national flags flying at half staff outside the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945. Below the display, on the desk Jackson used during the Nuremberg Trial, rests a photograph of a nearly identical display in his Supreme Court chambers in Washington, D.C. The significance of this display goes far beyond aesthetics.

In 1949, Alan Y. Cole, a World War II veteran and law clerk to Justice Jackson, remarked to Jackson that the flags at Nuremberg flew at half staff to mark the death of U.S. General George S. Patton. Jackson insisted that Cole must have been mistaken. He did not recall the flags outside the Palace of Justice, in which he spent so much time, ever being lowered. He was furthermore confident that, “The Russians would never lower their flag to honor an American General.”

Cole, however, was certain that his memory served him well; and, after some searching, located a photograph proving it. Justice Jackson was silent when Cole presented the framed photograph to him, but later had it hung in his chambers at the Supreme Court with the flags of the allied nations arrayed above it. This backstory strongly suggests that Jackson hung the picture as a reminder that even he, a Supreme Court Justice, was capable of error.

Visit the Jackson Center to view this exhibit and examine the enduring impact of Jamestown’s U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Tour the Jackson Center’s exclusive collections, exhibits, and facilities housed in an iconic 1858 mansion. The center, 305 E. Fourth St., Jamestown, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during summer months, and otherwise by appointment. Admission is free, though donations are appreciated.

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