A different Germany?
By TOM SEGEV
It is generally estimated that after World War II, Allied military courts convicted about 5,000 Nazi criminals and executed about 800 - nearly all of them in Austria and Germany. The most famous trials were held in Nuremberg and Dachau. Individual countries, most notably the Soviet Union, held trials of their own. No one knows for certain how many people were convicted in them. A new study recently published has examined the judging of Nazi war criminals in their own country - Germany. The findings will embarrass anyone who has believed in "a different Germany." During the years that elapsed between 1945 and 2005, more than 36,000 cases were opened in West Germany against 172,000 suspects. While this seems to be quite an impressive number, nine out of 10 suspects were never brought to trial. Verdicts were handed down in the cases of only 14,000 of the accused. More than half were acquitted, usually for "lack of evidence." Only 6,656 Germans were convicted. Andreas Eichmueller, a researcher at the prestigious Institute of Contemporary History in Munich, has discovered that nine out of every 10 of those convicted were found guilty of crimes committed in the German Reich - that is, not in the territories that were occupied. Most were convicted for their part in the events of Kristallnacht and only 9 percent for their deeds in the concentration camps. Fewer than 500 Germans were convicted for their part in the slaughter of the Jews; only 204 of all those found guilty were convicted of murder.
Most of those who were found guilty got away with rather light punishments: One-third of them were sent to prison for less than one year. Only 9 percent of those convicted were sentenced to more than five years imprisonment, and only 166 were given life sentences. Sixteen were sentenced to death: Only four were executed and the punishment of the others was changed to life imprisonment; one escaped. Among the guilty were nearly 400 women. Most of them were convicted of relatively minor crimes, such as informing, and were thus given light punishments. Most of the trials took place during the first years after the war; West Germany was still reeling from the shock of the defeat and was trying to be accepted anew into the family of nations. In the 1950s there were fewer trials, in part because of the Cold War. At the start of the 1960s there was a slight increase, perhaps in part due to the influence of the Eichmann trial. The large number of suspects reflects a national willingness to accept responsibility for the crimes of the regime. The small number of those convicted testifies to the limited ability of the liberal justice system to deal with war crimes and crimes of tyranny. The Germans did not legislate any special laws to this end. The light sentences passed on those who were found guilty, and the statutes of limitations and amnesty that enabled many of the criminals to evade punishment, reflect the public atmosphere that accompanied these trials. The new statistical data indicate a tendency toward leniency in the punishment of Nazis, especially Jew-killers.
By TOM SEGEV
It is generally estimated that after World War II, Allied military courts convicted about 5,000 Nazi criminals and executed about 800 - nearly all of them in Austria and Germany. The most famous trials were held in Nuremberg and Dachau. Individual countries, most notably the Soviet Union, held trials of their own. No one knows for certain how many people were convicted in them. A new study recently published has examined the judging of Nazi war criminals in their own country - Germany. The findings will embarrass anyone who has believed in "a different Germany." During the years that elapsed between 1945 and 2005, more than 36,000 cases were opened in West Germany against 172,000 suspects. While this seems to be quite an impressive number, nine out of 10 suspects were never brought to trial. Verdicts were handed down in the cases of only 14,000 of the accused. More than half were acquitted, usually for "lack of evidence." Only 6,656 Germans were convicted. Andreas Eichmueller, a researcher at the prestigious Institute of Contemporary History in Munich, has discovered that nine out of every 10 of those convicted were found guilty of crimes committed in the German Reich - that is, not in the territories that were occupied. Most were convicted for their part in the events of Kristallnacht and only 9 percent for their deeds in the concentration camps. Fewer than 500 Germans were convicted for their part in the slaughter of the Jews; only 204 of all those found guilty were convicted of murder.
Most of those who were found guilty got away with rather light punishments: One-third of them were sent to prison for less than one year. Only 9 percent of those convicted were sentenced to more than five years imprisonment, and only 166 were given life sentences. Sixteen were sentenced to death: Only four were executed and the punishment of the others was changed to life imprisonment; one escaped. Among the guilty were nearly 400 women. Most of them were convicted of relatively minor crimes, such as informing, and were thus given light punishments. Most of the trials took place during the first years after the war; West Germany was still reeling from the shock of the defeat and was trying to be accepted anew into the family of nations. In the 1950s there were fewer trials, in part because of the Cold War. At the start of the 1960s there was a slight increase, perhaps in part due to the influence of the Eichmann trial. The large number of suspects reflects a national willingness to accept responsibility for the crimes of the regime. The small number of those convicted testifies to the limited ability of the liberal justice system to deal with war crimes and crimes of tyranny. The Germans did not legislate any special laws to this end. The light sentences passed on those who were found guilty, and the statutes of limitations and amnesty that enabled many of the criminals to evade punishment, reflect the public atmosphere that accompanied these trials. The new statistical data indicate a tendency toward leniency in the punishment of Nazis, especially Jew-killers.
