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2 - Allied Policy toward German Courts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2020

Devin O. Pendas
Affiliation:
Boston College, Massachusetts
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Summary

This chapter examines the development of Allied policy toward German courts in all four occupation zones. The chapter begins by analyzing the limitations in the denazification of the German legal profession. It then turns to the policies adopted by the four occupying powers toward granting German courts jurisdiction over Nazi crimes. Allied Control Council Law No. 10 of December 1945 allowed the occupation authorities to grant German courts jurisdiction over Nazi crimes against humanity, which included crimes against German citizens. In the British and French Zones, German courts were granted general jurisdiction over Nazi crimes against humanity. In the American zone, fears of German pushback led the Americans to authorize the Germans to prosecute Nazi crimes only under domestic law, not as crimes against humanity. In the Soviet Occupation Zone, a complex process of politicization took place. At first the Soviets allowed Germans to proseucte Nazi crimes against humanity in criminal courts. They the folded crimes against humanity prosecutions into the broader program of denazification. This led to an increased politicization of these trials, though they did not become complete sham trials until the so-called Waldheim Trials of 1950.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Allied Policy toward German Courts
  • Devin O. Pendas, Boston College, Massachusetts
  • Book: Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021074.003
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  • Allied Policy toward German Courts
  • Devin O. Pendas, Boston College, Massachusetts
  • Book: Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021074.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Allied Policy toward German Courts
  • Devin O. Pendas, Boston College, Massachusetts
  • Book: Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950
  • Online publication: 11 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021074.003
Available formats
×