Language:
German
Year of publication:
1995
Titel der Quelle:
Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung
Angaben zur Quelle:
4 (1995) 226-253
Keywords:
Jews History 1939-1945
Abstract:
Describes cases taken from the files of German courts during the Nazi period, in which individuals were accused of expressing sympathy for Jews, spreading rumors about their fate, and making predictions about the punishment that awaited Germany. For such talk they could be punished with prison terms, or even death, under laws against "Heimtücke" (malicious subversion) or "demoralization of the Wehrmacht". In many cases they were in fact tried and sentenced in order to deter and silence others. In many other cases, however, the Ministry of Justice decided not to prosecute in order to avoid publicity; or it ordered part of what the accused had said deleted from the record. Notes that the rumors ranged from fairly accurate ones to distortions; many mentioned gas and shootings. They show that despite Nazi efforts to keep the killing secret, and the tendency of most of the public to close their eyes, Germans could and did know; however, it is impossible to say how many knew. The judges and the Ministry of Justice officials had many opportunities to know; by silencing rumors, they became accomplices to the Holocaust.
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