Denazification Policies Flashcards
1
Q
What is denazification?
A
- The agreement made at the Potsdam conference by the Soviet Union, the USA and Britain to prosecute leading Nazis
- It also sought to remove from positions of power or influence those who had contributed to the regime
2
Q
What was the initial process of denazification in post-war occupied Germany?
A
- The Nazi Party was banned
- The legal system was denazified
- Symbols of Nazi rule destroyed
3
Q
What happened to the camps?
A
- At the time of liberation of death camps such as Bergen Belsen, Allied soldiers often forced local populations to view the evidence of the atrocities committed by visiting the camps
- Sometimes, German civilians were compelled to assist with the buriel of the victims’ bodies
- This confrontation with the destruction and suffering associated with the Nazi regime was partly an attempt to denazify the German population
4
Q
What purpose did the Nuremberg war crimes trials serve?
A
- 1945-46
- Jurisdiction of 4 judges (one from each power)
- First trial: 10 of 23 executed
- Several organisations e.g. Gestapo and SS investigated and declared ‘criminal’
- Further trials followed including cases against judges and doctors who had been complicit with the regime
- Represented denazification in the sense of bringing those to justice who had been key figures in the regime’s implementation
- It also provided evidence to the world of Nazi criminality
5
Q
Denazification in culture and education
A
- Symbols of Nazi rule e.g. Swastika at the Nuremberg stadium were destroyed
- In education, efforts were made to retrain teachers
6
Q
What were the limitations of denazification policies?
A
- It did not continue after the election of Konrad Adenauer
- Announced a policy whereby former Nazis were to be integrated into post-war society
- Argued it was necessary to build a unified and harmonious country
- In 1951 a law was passed calling the process in West Germany to a halt
- By this stage, the allies did not oppose this move
