The Law in Nazi Germany : : Ideology, Opportunism, and the Perversion of Justice / / ed. by Alan E. Steinweis, Robert D. Rachlin.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Berghahn Books Complete eBook-Package 2000-2013
• MitwirkendeR: Gross, Raphael,; Jarausch, Konrad H.,; Jasch, Hans-Christian,; Ledford, Kenneth F.,; Morris, Douglas G.,; Rachlin, Robert D.,; Reicher, Harry,; Steinweis, Alan E.,
• HerausgeberIn: Rachlin, Robert D.,; Steinweis, Alan E.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York; , Oxford : : Berghahn Books, , [2013]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Vermont Studies on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust ; 5
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.)

While we often tend to think of the Third Reich as a zone of lawlessness, the Nazi dictatorship and its policies of persecution rested on a legal foundation set in place and maintained by judges, lawyers, and civil servants trained in the law. This volume offers a concise and compelling account of how these intelligent and welleducated legal professionals lent their skills and knowledge to a system of oppression and domination. The chapters address why German lawyers and jurists were attracted to Nazism; how their support of the regime resulted from a combination of ideological conviction, careerist opportunism, and legalistic selfdelusion; and whether they were held accountable for their Nazi-era actions after 1945. This book also examines the experiences of Jewish lawyers who fell victim to anti-Semitic measures. The volume will appeal to scholars, students, and other readers with an interest in Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and the history of jurisprudence.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: The Law in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust -- 1. The Conundrum of Complicity: German Professionals and the Final Solution -- 2. Civil Service Lawyers and the Holocaust: The Case of Wilhelm Stuckart -- 3. Roland Freisler and the Volksgerichtshof: The Court as an Instrument of Terror -- 4. Guilt, Shame, Anger, Indignation: Nazi Law and Nazi Morals -- 5. Discrimination, Degradation, Defiance: Jewish Lawyers under Nazism -- 6. Evading Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity: Murderous Lawyers at Nuremberg -- 7. Judging German Judges in the Third Reich: Excusing and Confronting the Past -- Appendixes -- A. Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, 11 August 1919 -- B. Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State (Reichstag Fire Decree), 28 February 1933 -- C. Law to Remove the Distress of the People and the State (The Enabling Act), 23 March 1933 -- D. Hitler’s Call for a Nazi Lawyers’ League, 12 September 1928 -- E. Circular No. 8/1938 from Dr. Karl Leitmeyer, League of National Socialist Guardians of the Law, 4 March 1938 -- F. Law Amending Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (Excerpts), 24 April 1934 -- G. White Rose - Leaflet 5, February 1943 -- H. The Sentencing of Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, 22 February 1943 -- I. The Fate of Markus Luftglass: Excerpt from the Record of the Nuremberg Justice Case, October 1941 -- J. Opinion and Sentence of the Nuremberg Special Court in the Case of Leo Katzenberger, 13 March 1942 -- K. Testimony of Curt Rothenberger at the Nuremberg Justice Case (Excerpts), 1947 -- L. Gustav Radbruch, “Statutory Lawlessness and Supra-Statutory Law” (excerpt), 1946 -- CONTRIBUTORS -- SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX