[2] Anthropologists, historians, and psychologists are among those who have made contributions to the field.
Researchers have also explored the "processes through which genocide took shape" that have contributed to what scholars view as a phenomenon of mostly "ordinary people" becoming highly motivated to commit collective atrocities.
[4] Despite an inherent intrigue about the perpetrators of international violence, the post-World War II Nuremberg Trials sparked significant interest in perpetrator studies as an academic field.
The Nuremberg Trials, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany,[5] set an international precedent for trying individuals charged of committing genocide and other serious international crimes.
Following the trials and conviction of several defendants, such as Martin Bormann and Karl Dönitz,[5] researchers Douglas Kelley, Gustave Gilbert, and Leon Goldensohn had open and extensive conversations with prisoners held at Nuremberg, subsequently publishing works on those prisoners' experiences and perceived mental health states.