Editing Denazification (section)

{{Short description|Allied initiative to remove Nazism}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2020}}
{{For|Russian use of the term during the invasion of Ukraine|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine#Allegations of Nazism}}
{{Infobox project
| abbreviation = 
| name = Denazification
| native_name = {{lang|de|Entnazifizierung}}
| image = Denazification-street.jpg
| caption = Workers removing the signage from a former "Adolf Hitler-Straße" (today "Bahnhofstraße") in [[Trier]], May 12, 1945
| type = [[Anti-fascism]]
| location = {{Bulleted list|
[[Allied-occupied Germany|Germany]] (until 1949)|
[[Allied-occupied Austria|Austria]]|
[[Saar Protectorate]] (from 1947)|
[[West Germany]] (from 1949)|
[[East Germany]] (from 1949)
}}
| key_people =
| established = {{Start date|1943|df=y}}
| disestablished = {{End date|1951|df=y}} 
}}
{{Nazism sidebar|expanded=History}}
{{Fascism sidebar}}

'''Denazification''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Entnazifizierung}}) was an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the [[Nazism|Nazi ideology]] following the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Griffith |first=William E. |date=1950 |title=Denazification in the United States Zone of Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1026728 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=267 |pages=68–76 |doi=10.1177/000271625026700108 |jstor=1026728 |issn=0002-7162|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It was carried out by removing those who had been [[Nazi Party]] or [[SS]] members from positions of power and influence, by disbanding or rendering impotent the organizations associated with Nazism, and by trying prominent Nazis for [[war crime]]s in the [[Nuremberg trials]] of 1946. The program of denazification was launched after the end of the war and was solidified by the [[Potsdam Agreement]] in August 1945. The term ''denazification'' was first coined in 1943 by [[the Pentagon]],{{Nvb|date=April 2025}} intended to be applied in a narrow sense with reference to the post-war German legal system. However, it later took on a broader meaning.<ref name=taylor11>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Frederick |date=2011 |title=Exorcising Hitler: The Occupation and Denazification of Germany |url=https://archive.org/details/exorcisinghitler0000tayl|url-access=registration |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1408822128 }}</ref>{{rp|p=253-254}}

In late 1945 and early 1946, the emergence of the [[Cold War]] and the economic importance of Germany caused the United States in particular to lose interest in the program, somewhat mirroring the [[Reverse Course]] in [[Occupation of Japan|American-occupied Japan]]. [[British occupation zone in Germany|The British occupation]] handed over denazification panels to the Germans in January 1946, while [[American occupation zone in Germany|the American occupation]] did likewise in March 1946. [[French occupation zone in Germany|The French occupation]] ran the mildest denazification effort. Denazification was carried out in an increasingly lenient and lukewarm way until being officially abolished in 1951. Additionally, the program was hugely unpopular in [[West Germany]], where many Nazis maintained positions of power. Denazification was opposed by the new West German government of [[Konrad Adenauer]],<ref>{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Goda|2007}}|author=Goda, Norman J. W.|title=Tales from Spandau: Nazi Criminals and the Cold War|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-521-86720-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/talesfromspandau00goda/page/101 101–149]|url=https://archive.org/details/talesfromspandau00goda/page/101|author-link=Norman J.W. Goda}}</ref> who declared that ending the process was necessary for [[West German rearmament]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

On the other hand, in the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany|Soviet occupation zone]] and later [[East Germany]], denazification was considered as a critical element of the transformation into a [[Culture of East Germany|socialist society]], and the country was stricter in opposing Nazism than its counterpart.

Not all former Nazis faced judgment. Performing special tasks for the occupation governments could protect Nazi members from prosecution, enabling them to continue working and in some cases reach prominence, as did special connections with the occupiers.<ref name="taylor11" />{{rp|page=256}} One of the most notable cases involved [[Wernher von Braun]], who was among other German scientists recruited by the United States through [[Operation Paperclip]] and later occupied key positions in the [[Space policy of the United States|American space program]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Annie |url=https://archive.org/details/annie-jacobsen-operation-paperclip.-the-secret-intelligence-program-that-brought |title=Operation Paperclip: the secret intelligence program that brought Nazi scientists to America |date=2014 |publisher=Back Bay Books, Little Brown and Company |isbn=978-0-316-22104-7 |edition= |location=New York Boston London}}</ref>