The Problem of Punishment for Nazi Criminals in the Post-War Germany: History and Historiography

Building on Ralph Giordano's narrative of the Germans' “second guilt”, the author presents and analyses four patterns of treatment of Nazi criminals in post-war Germany and their reflection in historiography. With regard to the Soviet practice of their legal prosecution, the author critically examines the theses about its “propaganda orientation” and “excessive rigidity” of the sentences handed down, while the actions of the Western occupation authorities are characterised by an arbitrary and politically motivated approach. Much of the article is devoted to a comparative analysis of how the problem of punishment for Nazi crimes was, or was not, addressed in the two German states and in unified Germany. The consistent efforts of the GDR authorities to identify and prosecute Nazi criminals have been duly highlighted and recognised. The author traces the winding path of “mastering the [Nazi] past” in West Germany: from the first wave of (largely ineffective) trials in the 1940s to the complete stagnation in the mid-50s and the relative growth of war crimes and crimes against humanity cases opened in subsequent years. The shortcomings of this judicial practice and the acquittal patterns reflected in German historiography are discussed and evaluated drawing on a broad source base.