In Japan, even the dead get a say in how the nation’s war-machine should be run by the living.

Almost all nations field armies; fewer, even in 1943, retained a warrior caste who dominated nearly every facet of political and cultural life. In this incisive article, originally published in Christianity and Crisis on March 8, 1943, Robert E. Fitch argues that winning the War and achieving peace stems from breaking the feudal martial classes of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Tojo’s Imperial Japan.

During a hearing on Wednesday, judges upheld the war crimes conviction for Slobodan Praljak, an ex-commander of Bosnian Croat forces. Upon hearing the verdict, Praljak said he was not a criminal and then drank from a bottle containing poison. Here is what you should know about war crimes.