Editing Denazification

{{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>

==Overview==
[[File:Amtsdokument Paul Fischer 1948 Zivilist Entlastungs-Zeugnis Clearance Certificate Entnazifizierungsausschuß Stadtkreis Wattenscheid.jpg|thumb|A 1948 [[Denazification certificate|denazification clearance certificate]] from [[Wattenscheid]] in the [[Allied-occupied Germany|British Zone]]]]

About 8{{nbsp}}million Germans, or 10% of the population, had been members of the Nazi Party. Nazi-related organizations also had huge memberships, such as the [[German Labor Front]] (25{{nbsp}}million), the [[National Socialist People's Welfare]] organization (17{{nbsp}}million), the [[National Socialist Women's League|League of German Women]], and others.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=226}} It was through the Party and these organizations that the Nazi state was run, involving as many as 45{{nbsp}}million Germans in total.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=255}} In addition, Nazism found significant support among industrialists, who produced weapons or used slave labor, and large landowners, especially the [[Junker (Prussia)|Junker]]s in Prussia. Denazification after the surrender of Germany was thus an enormous undertaking, fraught with many difficulties.

The first difficulty was the enormous number of Germans who might have to be first investigated, then penalized if found to have supported the Nazi state to an unacceptable degree. In the early months of denazification there was a great desire to be utterly thorough, to investigate every suspect and hold every supporter of Nazism accountable; however, it was decided that the numbers simply made this goal impractical. The [[Morgenthau Plan]] had recommended that the Allies create a post-war Germany with all its industrial capacity destroyed, reduced to a level of subsistence farming; however, that plan was soon abandoned as unrealistic and, because of its excessive punitive measures, liable to give rise to German anger and aggression.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=119-123}} As time went on, another consideration that moderated the denazification effort in the West was the concern to keep enough good will of the German population to prevent the growth of communism.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=97-98}}

The denazification process was often completely disregarded by both the Soviets and the Western powers for German rocket scientists and other technical experts, who were taken out of Germany to work on projects in the victors' own countries or simply seized in order to prevent the other side from taking them. The US took 785 scientists and engineers from Germany to the United States, some of whom formed the backbone of the US space program (see [[Operation Paperclip]]).<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=258}}

In the case of the top-ranking Nazis, such as [[Hermann Göring|Göring]], [[Rudolf Hess|Hess]], [[Joachim von Ribbentrop|Ribbentrop]], [[Julius Streicher|Streicher]], and [[Albert Speer|Speer]], the initial proposal by the British was simply to arrest them and shoot them,<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=230}} but that course of action was replaced by putting them on trial for war crimes at the [[Nuremberg Trials]] in order to publicize their crimes while demonstrating, especially to the German people, that the trials and the sentences were just. However, the legal foundations of the trials were questioned, and many Germans were not convinced that the trials were anything more than "[[victors' justice]]".<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=231}}

Many refugees from Nazism were Germans and Austrians, and some had fought for Britain in the Second World War. Some were transferred into the [[Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)|Intelligence Corps]] and sent back to Germany and Austria in British uniform. However, German-speakers were small in number in the British zone, which was hampered by the language deficit. Due to its large [[German-American]] population, the US authorities were able to bring a larger number of German-speakers to the task of working in the [[Allied Military Government]], although many were poorly trained.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=267, 300}} They were assigned to all aspects of military administration, the interrogation of [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]], collecting evidence for the War Crimes Investigation Unit, and the search for [[war criminal]]s.

==Application==
{{Campaignbox Campaign of Germany (WW2)}}

===American zone===
[[File:Adler, Robert-Piloty-Gebäude, TU Darmstadt.jpg|thumb|Eagle above the rear main entry to the Robert-Piloty building, department of Computer Science, [[Darmstadt University of Technology]]. Note the effaced [[Swastika]] under the eagle.]]

The [[Morgenthau plan#JCS 1067|Joint Chiefs of Staff Directive 1067]] directed [[US Army]] General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]'s policy of denazification. A report of the Institute on Re-education of the Axis Countries in June 1945 recommended: "Only an inflexible long-term occupation authority will be able to lead the Germans to a fundamental revision of their recent political philosophy." The [[United States military]] pursued denazification in a zealous and bureaucratic fashion, especially during the first months of the occupation.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=253}} It had been agreed among the Allies that denazification would begin by requiring Germans to fill in a questionnaire ({{langx|de|link=no|Fragebögen}}) about their activities and memberships during Nazi rule. Five categories were established: ''Major Offenders'', ''Offenders'', ''Lesser Offenders'', ''[[Mitläufer|Followers]]'', and ''Exonerated Persons''. The Americans, unlike the British, French, and Soviets, interpreted this to apply to every German over the age of eighteen in their zone.<ref name="Adam, pg 274">Adam, p. 274</ref> Eisenhower initially estimated that the denazification process would take 50 years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eisenhower Claims 50 Years Needed to Re-Educate Nazis |author= Norgaard, Noland.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1206197/eisenhower_50_years_for_denazification/|newspaper=The Oregon Statesman|date=October 13, 1945|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = November 9, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

When the nearly complete list of Nazi Party memberships was turned over to the Allies (by a German anti-Nazi who had rescued it from destruction in April 1945 as American troops advanced on Munich), it became possible to verify claims about participation or non-participation in the Party.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=249-252}} The 1.5{{nbsp}}million Germans who had joined before Hitler came to power were deemed to be hard-core Nazis.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=255}}

Progress was slowed by the overwhelming numbers of Germans to be processed, but also by difficulties such as incompatible power systems and power outages, as with the [[Tabulating machine|Hollerith IBM data machine]] that held the American vetting list in Paris. As many as 40,000 forms could arrive in a single day to await processing. By December 1945, even though a full 500,000 forms had been processed, there remained a backlog of 4,000,000 forms from POWs and a potential case load of 7,000,000.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=261-262}} The ''Fragebögen'' were, of course, filled out in German. The number of Americans working on denazification was inadequate to handle the workload, partly as a result of the demand in the US by families to have soldiers returned home.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=266}} Replacements were mostly unskilled and poorly trained.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=267}} In addition, there was too much work to be done to complete the process of denazification by 1947, the year American troops were expected to be completely withdrawn from Europe.

Pressure also came from the need to find Germans to run their own country. In January 1946 a directive came from the Control Council entitled "Removal from Office and from Positions of Responsibility of Nazis and Persons Hostile to Allied Purposes". One of the punishments for Nazi involvement was to be barred from public office and/or restricted to manual labor or "simple work". At the end of 1945, 3.5{{nbsp}}million former Nazis awaited classification, many of them barred from work in the meantime.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=268}} By the end of the winter of 1945–1946, 42% of public officials had been dismissed.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=278}} Malnutrition was widespread, and the economy needed leaders and workers to help clear away debris, rebuild infrastructure, and get foreign exchange to buy food and other essential resources.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=255}}

Another concern leading to the Americans relinquishing responsibility for denazification and handing it over to the Germans arose from the fact that many of the American denazifiers were German Jews, former refugees returning to administer justice against the tormentors and killers of their relatives. It was felt, both among Germans and top American officials, that their objectivity might be contaminated by a desire for revenge.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=271-273}}

As a result of these various pressures, and following a January 15, 1946, report of the Military Government decrying the efficiency of denazification, saying, "The present procedure fails in practice to reach a substantial number of persons who supported or assisted the Nazis", it was decided to involve Germans in the process. In March 1946 the Law for Liberation from National Socialism and Militarism ({{langx|de|link=no|Befreiungsgesetz}}) came into effect, turning over responsibility for denazification to the Germans.<ref name="Junker, pg 68">Junker, p. 68</ref> Each zone had a Minister of Denazification. On April 1, 1946, a special law established 545 civilian tribunals under German administration ({{langx|de|link=no|Spruchkammern}}), with a staff of 22,000 of mostly lay judges, enough, perhaps, to start to work but too many for all the staff themselves to be thoroughly investigated and cleared.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=281}} They had a case load of 900,000. Several new regulations came into effect in the setting up of the German-run tribunals, including the idea that the aim of denazification was now rehabilitation rather than merely punishment, and that someone whose guilt might meet the formal criteria could also have their specific actions taken into consideration for mitigation.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=282}} Efficiency thus improved, while rigor declined.

Many people had to fill in a new background form, called a ''Meldebogen'' (replacing the widely disliked ''Fragebogen''), and were given over to justice under a ''Spruchkammer'',<ref name="Adam, pg 274" /> which assigned them to one of five categories:<ref name="Junker, pg 68"/><ref>Adam, p. 275</ref><ref>Control Council Directive No. 38, Articles 7–13 (October 12, 1946)</ref>
* {{anchor|ListAnchor}}V. Persons Exonerated ({{langx|de|link=no|Entlastete}}). No sanctions.
* IV. Followers ({{langx|de|link=no|[[Mitläufer]]}}). Possible restrictions on travel, employment, political rights, plus fines.
* III. Lesser Offenders ({{langx|de|link=no|Minderbelastete}}). Placed on probation for two–three years with a list of restrictions. No internment.
* II. Offenders: Activists, Militants, and Profiteers, or Incriminated Persons ({{langx|de|link=no|Belastete}}). Subject to immediate arrest and imprisonment up to ten years performing reparation or reconstruction work plus a list of other restrictions.
* I. Major Offenders ({{langx|de|link=no|Hauptschuldige}}). Subject to immediate arrest, death, imprisonment with or without hard labor, plus a list of lesser sanctions.
Again because the caseload was impossibly large, the German tribunals began to look for ways to speed up the process. Unless their crimes were serious, members of the Nazi Party born after 1919 were exempted on the grounds that they had been [[Brainwashing|brainwashed]]. Disabled veterans were also exempted. To avoid the necessity of a slow trial in open court, which was required for those belonging to the most serious categories, more than 90% of cases were judged not to belong to the serious categories and therefore were dealt with more quickly.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=283}} More "efficiencies" followed. The tribunals accepted statements from other people regarding the accused's involvement in Nazism. These statements earned the nickname of ''[[Persilschein]]e'', after advertisements for the laundry and whitening detergent [[Persil]].<ref>Adam, p. 275. Also see Katrin Himmler's book "The Brothers Himmler", about the Himmler family</ref> There was corruption in the system, with Nazis buying and selling denazification certificates on the black market. Nazis who were found guilty were often punished with fines assessed in [[Reichsmark]]s, which had become nearly worthless.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=290}} In Bavaria, the Denazification Minister, Anton Pfeiffer, bridled under the "victor's justice", and presided over a system that reinstated 75% of officials the Americans had dismissed and reclassified 60% of senior Nazis.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=284}} The denazification process lost a great deal of credibility, and there was often local hostility against Germans who helped administer the tribunals. Threats and even violence against tribunal members had become fairly commonplace.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=285-288}}

By early 1947, the Allies held 90,000 Nazis in [[detention (imprisonment)|detention]]; another 1,900,000 were forbidden to work as anything but manual laborers.<ref>[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=4&documentid=24&documentdate=1947-02-28&studycollectionid=mp&nav=OK Herbert Hoover's press release of The President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Report No. 1: German Agriculture and Food Requirements] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184912/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=4&documentid=24&documentdate=1947-02-28&studycollectionid=mp&nav=OK |date=September 30, 2007 }}, February 28, 1947. p. 2</ref> From 1945 to 1950, the Allied powers detained over 400,000 Germans in internment camps in the name of denazification.{{sfn|Beattie|2019}}

By 1948, the [[Cold War]] was clearly in progress and the US began to worry more about a threat from the [[Eastern Bloc]] rather than the latent Nazism within occupied Germany.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=277}}

The delicate task of distinguishing those truly complicit in or responsible for Nazi activities from mere "followers" made the work of the courts yet more difficult. US President [[Harry S. Truman]] alluded to this problem: "though all Germans might not be guilty for the war, it would be too difficult to try to single out for better treatment those who had nothing to do with the Nazi regime and its crimes."<ref>Steven Bela Vardy and T. Hunt Tooley, eds. [http://hungarianhistory.com/lib/vardy/vardy.doc ''Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201112320/http://hungarianhistory.com/lib/vardy/vardy.doc |date=December 1, 2007 }} {{ISBN|0-88033-995-0}}. Subsection by Richard Dominic Wiggers, "The United States and the Refusal to Feed German Civilians after World War II" p. 281</ref> Denazification was from then on supervised by special German ministers, like the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrat]] Gottlob Kamm in Baden-Württemberg, with the support of the US occupation forces.

Contemporary American critics of denazification denounced it as a "counterproductive [[witch hunt]]" and a failure; in 1951 the provisional West German government granted amnesties to lesser offenders and ended the program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_11_02_03_payne.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615231451/http://independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_11_02_03_payne.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-15 |url-status=live|author= JAMES L. PAYNE|title=Did the United States Create Democracy in Germany?|access-date=January 14, 2014}}</ref>

====Censorship====
While judicial efforts were handed over to German authorities, the US Army continued its efforts to denazify Germany through control of German media. The [[Information Control Division]] of the US Army had by July 1946 taken control of 37 German newspapers, six radio stations, 314 theaters, 642 cinemas, 101 magazines, 237 book publishers, and 7,384 book dealers and printers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.psywarrior.com/mcclure.html |title=McClure article |access-date=October 22, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115053715/http://www.psywarrior.com/mcclure.html |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its main mission was democratization but part of the agenda was also the prohibition of any criticism of the Allied occupation forces.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/interviews/episode-4/lochner2.html| title = Lochner interview}}</ref> In addition, on May 13, 1946, the Allied Control Council issued a directive for the confiscation of all media that could contribute to Nazism or [[militarism]]. As a consequence a list was drawn up of over 30,000 book titles, ranging from school textbooks to poetry, which were then banned. All the millions of copies of these books were to be confiscated and destroyed; the possession of a book on the list was made a punishable offense. The representative of the Military Directorate admitted that the order was in principle no different from the [[Nazi book burnings]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 27, 1946 |title=Germany: Read No Evil |location=New York |magazine=Time |url= https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,776847,00.html |access-date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>

The censorship in the US zone was regulated by the occupation directive [[JCS 1067]] (valid until July 1947) and in the May 1946 order valid for all zones (rescinded in 1950), Allied Control Authority Order No. 4, "No. 4 – Confiscation of Literature and Material of a Nazi and Militarist Nature". All confiscated literature was reduced to pulp instead of burning.<ref group="Notes">In August 1946 the order was amended so that "In the interest of research and scholarship, the Zone Commanders (in Berlin the Komendantura) may preserve a limited number of documents prohibited in paragraph 1. These documents will be kept in special accommodation where they may be used by German scholars and other German persons who have received permission to do so from the Allies only under strict supervision by the Allied Control Authority."</ref> It was also directed by Directive No. 30, "Liquidation of German Military and Nazi Memorials and Museums". An exception was made for tombstones "erected at the places where members of regular formations died on the field of battle".

Artworks were under the same censorship as other media: "all collections of works of art related or dedicated to the perpetuation of German militarism or Nazism will be closed permanently and taken into custody." The directives were very broadly interpreted, leading to the destruction of thousands of paintings and thousands more were shipped to deposits in the US. Those confiscated paintings still surviving in US custody include for example a painting "depicting a couple of middle aged women talking in a sunlit street in a small town".<ref name="URL at Wayback machine">Cora Goldstein "PURGES, EXCLUSIONS, AND LIMITS: ART POLICIES IN GERMANY 1933–1949, {{cite web |url=http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/workshop/goldstein.html |title=Cultural Policy Program |access-date=2007-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223153732/http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/workshop/goldstein.html |archive-date=December 23, 2007 }}</ref> Artists were also restricted in which new art they were allowed to create; "[[OMGUS]] was setting explicit political limits on art and representation".<ref name="URL at Wayback machine"/>

The publication ''[[Der Ruf (newspaper)|Der Ruf]]'' (''The Call'') was a popular [[literary magazine]] first published in 1945 by [[Alfred Andersch]] and edited by [[Hans Werner Richter]]. ''Der Ruf'', also called ''Independent Pages of the New Generation'', claimed to have the aim of educating the German people about democracy. In 1947 its publication was blocked by the American forces for being overly critical of occupational government.<ref>{{cite news
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/12/19/specials/grass-meeting.html
|title = Historical Analogy
|access-date = November 4, 2007
|author = Theodore Ziolkowski
|date = May 17, 1981
|newspaper = New York Times
}}</ref> Richter attempted to print many of the controversial pieces in a volume entitled ''Der Skorpion'' (''The Scorpion''). The occupational government blocked publication of ''Der Skorpion'' before it began, saying that the volume was too "nihilistic".<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=5863&ausgabe=200304
|title = Geburt als Skorpion, Tod als Papiertiger
|access-date = November 1, 2007
|author = Doris Betzl
|date = April 3, 2003
|work = Rezensionsforum Literaturkritik, No. 4
|publisher = Literaturkritik DE
|language = de
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060114061453/http://literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=5863&ausgabe=200304
|archive-date = January 14, 2006
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

Publication of ''Der Ruf'' resumed in 1948 under a new publisher, but ''Der Skorpion'' was blocked and not widely distributed. Unable to publish his works, Richter founded [[Group 47]].

The Allied costs for occupation were charged to the German people. A newspaper which revealed the charges (including, among other things, thirty thousand [[bra]]s) was banned by the occupation authorities for revealing this information.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Did the United States Create Democracy in Germany? - James L. Payne |url=http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=47&articleID=599 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116190202/http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=47&articleID=599 |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=The Independent Institute |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== {{lang|de|Fragebogen}} ====
In 1946, the U.S. zone implemented a comprehensive survey known as the {{lang|de|Fragebogen}} (questionnaire).<ref>{{Cite web |title=GHDI - Image |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1012 |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=ghdi.ghi-dc.org}}</ref> The survey was used to identify the level of involvement post-war Germans had had with the Nazi regime. It was the initial tool in the process of identifying and purging Nazi influence from positions of power and public life. The survey consisted of 131 questions that asked about personal information, political affiliation, military service, professional activities, financial and social status, and cultural and educational activities. The vast variety of questions gave the Allies an ability to assess, categorize, and determine eligibility for positions in government, education, and business. 

An early version was created in 1944 by the [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF).<ref name="StaffStudy1944">Staff Study, "Measures for Identifying and Determining Disposition of Nazi Public Officials in Germany," May 28, 1944, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), RG 331, SHAEF, GS, G-5, IB, HS, Box 104, p. 7, Doc. 9959/181.</ref> This original version of the {{lang|de|Fragebögen}} set the foundation of later questionnaires that were created by the Allies in the different occupation zones. The early version consisted of 78 questions and asked about one's profession. In comparison, the 131 question survey asked more personal questions and gave respondents the ability to write comments and explanations for any responses that may need clarification. 

The inspiration for both variations of the questionnaire came from the {{lang|it|[[Scheda Personale]]}}, which was created in 1943 by political scientist Aldo L. Raffa.<ref name="RaffaFile">Aldo L. Raffa, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), RG 331, SHAEF, GS, G-5, IB, HS, Box 119, Doc. 5601/620; Personnel File, "Rafta, Aldo L.," NARA, RG 226, OSS, Box 630.</ref> The goal of the document was similar to the denazification questionnaire but was aimed at the defascization of Italy from the former fascists under [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]].<ref name="Dack2023">Dack, Mikkel. ''Everyday Denazification in Postwar Germany: The Fragebogen and Political Screening during the Allied Occupation''. Cambridge University Press, 2023, p. 70.</ref>

In addition to the removal of Nazis from influential positions in government, education and business, Mikkel Dack argues that the Fragebogen had the effect of forcing a large part of Germany's postwar population to confront their relationship to the Nazi regime. Moreover, the Fragebogen gave many Germans the opportunity to rewrite their past and construct a new anti-Nazi identity, further helping to distance the country from National Socialism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dack |first=Mikkel |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009216326/type/book |title=Everyday Denazification in Postwar Germany: The Fragebogen and Political Screening during the Allied Occupation |date=2023-03-31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-21632-6 |edition=1 |pages=227–238 |doi=10.1017/9781009216326}}</ref>

===Soviet zone===
From the beginning, denazification in the Soviet zone was considered a critical element of the transformation into a socialist society and was quickly and effectively put into practice.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite book |last=Sperk |first=Alexander |title=Entnazifizierung und Personalpolitik in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone Köthen/Anhalt. Eine Vergleichsstudie (1945–1948). |publisher=Verlag Janos Stekovics |year=2003 |isbn=3-89923-027-2 |location=Dößel |language=de |trans-title=Denazification and personal politics in the Soviet Occupied Zone of Köthen/Anhalt. A comparative study (1945–1948).}}</ref> Members of the [[Nazi Party]] and its organizations were often brutally beaten before being arrested and interned.<ref name="DS">Dieter Schenk: ''Auf dem rechten Auge blind.'' Köln 2001.</ref> The [[NKVD]] was directly in charge of this process, and oversaw the camps. In 1948, the camps were placed under the same administration as the [[gulag]] in the Soviet government. According to official records, 122,600 people were interned. 34,700 of those interned in this process were considered to be Soviet citizens, with the rest being German.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Das Speziallager Nr. 2 1945–1950. Katalog zur ständigen historischen Ausstellung|last=Ritscher|first=Bodo|publisher=Wallstein Verlag|year=1999|isbn=3-89244-284-3|trans-title=Special Camp No. 2 1945–1950. A catalog of the historical site.}}</ref> This process happened at the same time as the expropriation of large landowners and [[Junker]]s, who were also often former Nazi supporters.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=236-241}}

Because part of the intended goal of denazification in the Soviet zone was also the removal of anti-socialist sentiment, the committees in charge of the process were politically skewed. A typical panel would have one member from the [[Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]], one from the [[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany]], one from the [[Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany]], one from the [[National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)]], three from the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]], three from the [[National People's Army]] and three from political mass organizations (who were typically also supportive of the Socialist Unity Party).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Entnazifizierung in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Herrschaft und Verwaltung 1945–1948|last=van Mells|first=Damian|year=1999|isbn=3-486-56390-4|pages=208|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH |trans-title=Denazification in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Rule and Administration 1945–1948}}</ref>

[[File:Propaganda gegen Altnazis im Westen, Berlin 1957.jpg|thumb|East German propaganda poster in 1957]]
Former Nazi officials quickly realized that they would face fewer obstacles and investigations in the zones controlled by the Western Allies. Many of them saw a chance to defect to the West on the pretext of [[anti-communism]].<ref name="RG">Ralph Giordano ''Die zweite Schuld.'' Köln 2000.</ref> Conditions in the internment camps were terrible, and between 42,000 and 80,000 prisoners died. When the camps were closed in 1950, prisoners were handed over to the [[East Germany|East German]] government.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Entnazifizierung, Politische Säuberung unter alliierter Herrschaft.|last=Vollnhals|first=Clemens|year=1995|isbn=3-492-12056-3|location=Munich|pages=377|trans-title=Denazification, Political cleansing under Allied administration}}</ref>

Because many of the functionaries of the Soviet occupation zone were themselves formerly prosecuted by the Nazi regime, mere former membership in the NSDAP was initially judged as a crime.<ref name="DS"/>

Even before denazification was officially abandoned in [[West Germany]], East German propaganda frequently portrayed itself as the only true [[anti-fascist]] state, and argued that the West German state was simply a continuation of the Nazi regime, employing the same officials that had administered the government during the Nazi dictatorship. From the 1950s, reasoning for these accusations focused on the fact that many former functionaries of Nazi regime were employed in positions in the West German government. However, East German propaganda also attempted to denounce as Nazis even politicians such as [[Kurt Schumacher]], who had been imprisoned by the Nazi regime himself.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Der große Plan - Alltag und Herrschaft in der DDR 1949–1961|last=Wolle|first=Stefan|publisher=Ch. Links Verlag|year=2013|isbn=978-3-86153-738-0|pages=205–207|trans-title=The Greatest Plan: Everyday life and governance in the GDR 1949–1961}}</ref> Such allegations appeared frequently in the official [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] newspaper, the ''[[Neues Deutschland]]''. The [[East German uprising of 1953]] in Berlin was officially blamed on Nazi ''[[agents provocateurs]]'' from [[West Berlin]], who the ''Neues Deutschland'' alleged were then working in collaboration with the Western government with the ultimate aim of restoring Nazi rule throughout Germany. The [[Berlin Wall]] was officially called the Anti-Fascist Security Wall ({{langx|de|link=no|Antifaschistischer Schutzwall}}) by the East German government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/rare-east-german-photographs-the-other-side-of-the-berlin-wall-a-774232.html|title=Rare East German Photographs: The Other Side of the Berlin Wall|year=2011|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref> As part of the propagandistic campaign against West Germany, [[Theodor Oberländer]] and [[Hans Globke]], both former Nazi leaders involved in genocide, were among the first federal politicians to be denounced in the GDR. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia by the GDR in April 1960, and in July 1963.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weinke |first=Annette |title=Die Verfolgung von NS-Tätern im geteilten Deutschland |publisher=Schöningh |year=2002 |isbn=978-3506797247 |pages=157}}</ref> The president of West Germany [[Heinrich Lübke]], in particular, was denounced during the official commemorations of the liberation of the concentration camps of [[Buchenwald concentration camp|Buchenwald]] and [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp|Sachsenhausen]] held at the GDR's National Memorials.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tillack-Graf |first=Anne-Kathleen |title=Erinnerungspolitik der DDR. Dargestellt an der Berichterstattung der Tageszeitung "Neues Deutschland" über die Nationalen Mahn- und Gedenkstätten Buchenwald, Ravensbrück und Sachsenhausen. |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-631-63678-7 |location=Frankfurt am Main |pages=49–50}}</ref>

However, in reality substantial numbers of former Nazis rose to senior levels in East Germany. For example, those who had collaborated after the war with the Soviet occupation forces could protect Nazi members from prosecution, enabling them to continue working.<ref name="auto">Kai Cornelius, ''Vom spurlosen Verschwindenlassen zur Benachrichtigungspflicht bei Festnahmen'', BWV Verlag, 2004, pp. 126ff, {{ISBN|3-8305-1165-5}}</ref> Having special connections with the occupiers in order to have someone vouch for them could also shield a person from the denazification laws.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=256}} In particular, the districts of [[Gera]], [[Erfurt]], and [[Suhl]] had significant amounts of former Nazi Party members in their government,<ref name=":0" /> whilst 13.6% of senior [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]] officials in Thuringia were former members of the Nazi Party. Notable ex-Nazis who eventually became prominent East German politicians included {{ill|Kurt Nier|de}}, a deputy minister for foreign affairs, and [[Arno von Lenski|Arno Von Lenski]], a parliamentarian and major-general in the East German army who had worked in [[Roland Freisler]]'s notorious Volksgerichthof trying opponents of the Nazi government as an effective "kangaroo court". Von Lenski was a member of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)|NPPD]], a political party set up by East German authorities upon the encouragement of [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] explicitly to appeal to former Nazi members and sympathisers, and which functioned as a loyal satellite of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Socialist Unity Party]].<ref>[[Vladislav Zubok|Zubok, Vladislav]]. ''A failed empire: the Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev.'' The University of North Carolina Press, 2007, p. 89.</ref>

===British zone===
[[File:KAS-Entnazifizierung-Bild-5866-1.jpg|thumb|A poster from the [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] state elections 1947, with the slogan "For a quick and just denazification vote [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]]"]]

The British prepared a plan from 1942 onwards, assigning a number of quite junior civil servants to head the administration of liberated territory in the rear of the Armies, with draconian powers to remove from their post, in both public and private domains, anyone suspected, usually on behavioral grounds, of harboring Nazi sympathies. For the British government, the rebuilding of German economic power was more important than the imprisonment of Nazi criminals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wierskalla |first=Sven |title=Die Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes (VVN) in der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone und in Berlin 1945 bis 1948 |publisher=Grin Verlag |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-638-71696-3 |page=103}}</ref> Economically hard pressed at home after the war, Britain did not want the burden of feeding and otherwise administering Germany.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=299}}

In October 1945, in order to constitute a working legal system, and given that 90% of German lawyers had been members of the Nazi Party, the British decided that 50% of the German Legal Civil Service could be staffed by "nominal" Nazis. Similar pressures caused them to relax the restriction even further in April 1946.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=256}} In industry, especially in the economically crucial Ruhr area, the British began by being lenient about who owned or operated businesses, turning stricter by autumn of 1945. To reduce the power of industrialists, the British expanded the role of trade unions, giving them some decision-making powers.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=307-308}}

They were, however, especially zealous during the early months of occupation in bringing to justice anyone, soldiers or civilians, who had committed war crimes against POWs or captured Allied aircrew.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=293-295}} In June 1945 an [[Bad Nenndorf interrogation centre|interrogation center at Bad Nenndorf]] was opened, where detainees were tortured with exposure to cold, beatings, sleep deprivation, denial of food, etc. A public scandal ensued, with the center eventually being closed down.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=305-306}}

The British to some extent avoided being overwhelmed by the potential numbers of denazification investigations by requiring that no one need fill in the ''Fragebogen'' unless they were applying for an official or responsible position. This difference between American and British policy was decried by the Americans and caused some Nazis to seek shelter in the British zone.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=302-303,310}}

In January 1946, the British started introducing German involvement in the denazification process, establishing denazification panels and an appeal body. Denazification was formally handed over to the zone's Land governments in October 1947.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=303,312}}

===French zone===
The French were less vigorous, for a number of reasons, than the other Western powers, not even using the term "denazification", instead calling it "épuration" (purification). At the same time, some French occupational commanders had served in the collaborationist [[Vichy regime]] during the war where they had formed friendly relationships with Germans. As a result, in the French zone mere membership in the Nazi Party was much less important than in the other zones.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=317-321}}

Because teachers had been strongly Nazified, the French began by removing three-quarters of all teachers from their jobs. However, finding that the schools could not be run without them, they were soon rehired, although subject to easy dismissal. A similar process governed technical experts.<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=321}} The French were the first to turn over the vetting process to Germans, while maintaining French power to reverse any German decision. Overall, the business of denazification in the French zone was considered a "golden mean between an excessive degree of severity and an inadequate standard of leniency", laying the groundwork for an enduring reconciliation between France and Germany. In the French zone only thirteen Germans were categorized as "major offenders".<ref name=taylor11/>{{rp|p=322}}

==Brown book==
{{Main|Braunbuch}}
[[Image:Braunbuch.jpg|thumb|''Braunbuch'']]
''Braunbuch – Kriegs- und Naziverbrecher in der Bundesrepublik: Staat – Wirtschaft – Verwaltung – Armee – Justiz – Wissenschaft'' (English title: ''Brown Book – War and Nazi Criminals in the Federal Republic: State, Economy, Administration, Army, Justice, Science'') is a book written by [[Albert Norden]] in 1965. In this book, Norden detailed 1,800 Nazis who maintained high-ranking positions in postwar [[West Germany]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Norden | first = Albert | title = Braunbuch.Kriegs-und Naziverbrecher in der Bundesrepublik | publisher = Staatsverlag der DDR | year = 1965 | url = https://archive.org/details/brownbook1965}}</ref>

Altogether 1,800 West German persons and their past were covered: especially 15 [[Minister (government)|Ministers]] and state secretaries, 100 admirals and generals, 828 judges or state lawyers and high law officers, 245 officials of the [[Foreign Office]] and of embassies and consulates in leading position, 297 high police officers and officers of the [[Verfassungsschutz]]. The first brown book was seized in West Germany – on [[Frankfurt Book Fair]] – by judicial resolution.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Ditfurth | first = Jutta | title = Ulrike Meinhof: Die Biography | publisher = Ullstein | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-3-550-08728-8 }} pp. 274–275 (Greek version)</ref>

The contents of this book received substantial attention in West Germany and other countries. The West German government stated, at that time, that it was "all falsification".<ref>Dieter Schenk, ''Auf dem rechten Auge blind. Die braunen Wurzeln des BKA'' (Kiepenheuer & Witsck, Köln 2001)</ref> Later on, however, it became clear that the data of the book were largely correct. [[Hanns Martin Schleyer]], for example, really had been a member of the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]]. The book was translated into 10 languages.  Amongst the reactions to it was also a similar West German book of the same name, covering the topic of Nazis re-emerging in high-level positions in the GDR.<ref>Olaf Kappelt: Braunbuch DDR. Nazis in der DDR. Reichmann Verlag, Berlin (West) 1981. {{ISBN|3-923137-00-1}}</ref>

In addition to the ''Braunbuch'' the educational booklet ''Das ganze System ist braun'' (''The whole system is brown'') was published in the GDR.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tillack-Graf |first=Anne-Kathleen |title=Erinnerungspolitik der DDR. Dargestellt an der Berichterstattung der Tageszeitung "Neues Deutschland" über die Nationalen Mahn- und Gedenkstätten Buchenwald, Ravensbrück und Sachsenhausen. |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-631-63678-7 |location=Frankfurt am Main |pages=48}}</ref>

==Responsibility and collective guilt==
{{main|German collective guilt}}
[[File:German woman reacts to exhumed victims of a death march in Nammering.jpg|thumb|After the defeat of Nazi Germany, German civilians were sometimes forced to tour concentration camps and in some cases to exhume mass graves of Nazi victims. {{Ill|Nammering|de}}, May 18, 1945]]
[[File:Eure Schuld.jpg|thumb|"Diese Schandtaten: Eure Schuld!" ("These atrocities: your fault!"), one of the propaganda posters distributed by US occupation authorities in the summer of 1945<ref>Jeffrey K. Olick, "In the house of the hangman: the agonies of German defeat, 1943–1949",

 p. 98, footnote 12([https://books.google.com/books?id=eBzJvmrOSL0C&pg=PA98 books google])</ref>]]

The ideas of [[collective guilt]] and [[collective punishment]] originated not with the US and British people, but on higher policy levels.<ref name="Francis R. Nicosia pp. 130, 131">{{Cite book|last1=Nicosia|first1=Francis R.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1x76ff3|title=Business and Industry in Nazi Germany|last2=Huener|first2=Jonathan|date=2004|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-57181-653-5|edition=1|pages=130–131|jstor=j.ctt1x76ff3|author-link=Francis R. Nicosia}}</ref> Not until late in the war did the US public assign collective responsibility to the German people.<ref name="Francis R. Nicosia pp. 130, 131"/> The most notable policy document containing elements of collective guilt and collective punishment is [[JCS 1067]] from early 1945.<ref name="Francis R. Nicosia pp. 130, 131"/> Eventually horrific footage from the concentration camps would serve to harden public opinion and bring it more in line with that of policymakers.<ref name="Francis R. Nicosia pp. 130, 131"/>

As early as 1944, prominent US opinion makers had initiated a domestic propaganda campaign (which was to continue until 1948) arguing for a harsh peace for Germany, with a particular aim to end the apparent habit in the US of viewing the Nazis and the German people as separate entities.<ref>Steven Casey, (2005), The Campaign to sell a harsh peace for Germany to the American public, 1944–1948, [online]. London: LSE Research Online. [Available online at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/archive/00000736 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105134203/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/archive/00000736/ |date=January 5, 2007 }}] Originally published in History, 90 (297). pp. 62–92 (2005) Blackwell Publishing, "Indeed, in 1944 their main motive for launching a propaganda campaign was to try to put an end to the persistent American habit 'of setting the Nazis apart from the German people{{'"}}.</ref>

Statements made by the British and US governments, both before and immediately after Germany's [[Surrender (military)|surrender]], indicate that the German nation as a whole was to be held [[moral responsibility|responsible]] for the actions of the Nazi regime, often using the terms "collective guilt" and "[[collective responsibility]]".<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Balfour|first1=Michael Leonard Graham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiyHJ8MiR1gC&q=collective+responsibility+german&pg=PA262|title=Withstanding Hitler in Germany, 1933-45|last2=Balfour|first2=Michael|date=1988|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-00617-0|pages=264|language=en}}</ref>

To that end, as the Allies began their post-war denazification efforts, the [[Psychological Warfare Division]] (PWD) of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] undertook a psychological propaganda [[Political campaign|campaign]] for the purpose of developing a German sense of collective responsibility.<ref name="janowitz1946">{{Cite journal|last=Janowitz|first=Morris|date=1946|title=German Reactions to Nazi Atrocities|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2770938|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=52|issue=2|pages=141–146|doi=10.1086/219961|jstor=2770938|pmid=20994277|s2cid=44356394|issn=0002-9602|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1945, the Public Relations and Information Services Control Group of the [[Control Commission for Germany – British Element|British Element (CCG/BE)]] of the [[Allied Commission|Allied Control Commission for Germany]] began to issue directives to officers in charge of producing newspapers and radio broadcasts for the German population to emphasize "the moral responsibility of all Germans for Nazi crimes".<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FiyHJ8MiR1gC&dq=collective+responsibility+german&pg=PA262| title = Balfour, p. 263| isbn = 9780415006170| last1 = Balfour| first1 = Michael Leonard Graham| last2 = Balfour| first2 = Michael| year = 1988| publisher = Routledge}}</ref> Similarly, among US authorities, such a sense of collective guilt was "considered a prerequisite to any long-term education of the German people".<ref name="janowitz1946" />

Using the German press, which was under Allied control, as well as posters and pamphlets, a program was conducted which was intended to acquaint ordinary Germans with what had taken place in the concentration camps. An example of this was the use of posters with images of concentration camp victims coupled to text such as "YOU ARE GUILTY OF THIS!"<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WOD9ncsixssC&dq=%22You+are+guilty!!%22+Dachau&pg=PA61| title = Marcuse, p. 61| isbn = 9780521552042| last1 = Marcuse| first1 = Harold| date = March 22, 2001| publisher = Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=NEVER AGAIN!: A review of David Goldhagen, Hitlers Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust (London, 1997)|url=http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj77/maitles.htm|url-status=live|access-date=August 25, 2021|website=pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030822133901/http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk:80/isj77/maitles.htm |archive-date=August 22, 2003 }}</ref> or "These atrocities: your fault!"<ref group="Notes">Eric Voegelin, Brenden Purcell "Hitler and the Germans", Footnote 12, p. 5 "In the summer of 1945, the Allies publicly displayed horrifying posters and reports from the Dachau and Belsen concentration camps with the accusatory headline 'Diese Schandtaten: Eure Schuld!' ('These atrocities: Your fault!')." See Christoph Klessmann, Die doppelte Staatsgrundung: ''Deutsche Geschichte, 1945–1955''., p. 308</ref>

English writer [[James Stern (writer)|James Stern]] recounted an example in a German town soon after the German surrender:

{{Blockquote|[a] crowd is gathered around a series of photographs which though initially seeming to depict garbage instead reveal dead human bodies. Each photograph has a heading "WHO IS GUILTY?". The spectators are silent, appearing hypnotised and eventually retreat one by one. The placards are later replaced with clearer photographs and placards proclaiming "THIS TOWN IS GUILTY! YOU ARE GUILTY!"<ref>Therese O'Donnell ''[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/legstd25&div=37&id=&page= Executioners, bystanders and victims: collective guilt, the legacy of denazification and the birth of twentieth-century transitional justice]'', Legal Studies Volume 25 Issue 4, pp. 627–667</ref>}}

The introduction text of one pamphlet published in 1945 by the American War Information Unit (Amerikanischen Kriegsinformationsamt) entitled ''Bildbericht aus fünf Konzentrationslagern'' (''Photo Report from Five Concentration Camps'') contained this explanation of the pamphlet's purpose:<ref name="marcuse_p127">{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WOD9ncsixssC&pg=RA2-PA426| title = Marcuse, p. 426, footnote 77| isbn = 9780521552042| last1 = Marcuse| first1 = Harold| date = March 22, 2001| publisher = Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |year=1945 |title=Bildbericht aus fünf Konzentrationslagern |publisher=Amerikanischen Kriegsinformationsamt |trans-title=Photo Report from Five Concentration Camps |language=de|type=pamphlet}}, 32 pages.  [https://nrw.vvn-bda.de/bilder/kz.pdf 2006 reconstruction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205925/http://www.nrw.vvn-bda.de/bilder/kz.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103080723/http://www.nrw.vvn-bda.de/bilder/kz.pdf |archive-date=2007-01-03 |url-status=live |date=March 4, 2016 }} available online by the [[Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime|Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime/Federation of Antifascists]] of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] (''Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten Nordrhein-Westfalen'') (VVN-BdA)</ref>

{{Blockquote|Thousands of Germans who live near these places were led through the camps to see with their own eyes which crimes were committed in their name.  But it is not possible for most Germans to view a KZ. This pictorial report is intended for them.<ref>Original {{langx|de|"Tausende von Deutschen, die in der Nähe dieser Orte leben, wurden durch die Lager geführt, um mit eigenen Augen zu sehen, welche Verbrechen dort in ihrem Namen begangen worden sind. Aber für die meisten Deutschen ist es nicht möglich, ein K.Z. zu besichtigen. Für sie ist dieser Bildbericht bestimmt."}}</ref>}}

[[File:NaziConcentrationCamp.gif|thumb|US Army soldiers show the German civilians of [[Weimar]] the corpses found in [[Buchenwald concentration camp]], April 16, 1945.]]
A number of films showing the concentration camps were made and screened to the German public, such as ''[[Death Mills|Die Todesmühlen]]'', released in the US zone in January 1946, and ''[[Welt im Film No. 5]]'' in June 1945. A film that was never finished due partly to delays and the existence of the other films was ''[[German Concentration Camps Factual Survey|Memory of the Camps]]''. According to Sidney Bernstein, chief of [[Psychological Warfare Division]], the objective of the film was:

{{Blockquote|To shake and humiliate the Germans and prove to them beyond any possible challenge that these German crimes against humanity were committed and that the German people – and not just the Nazis and SS – bore responsibility.<ref name="PBS">{{Cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions {{!}} Memory Of The Camps {{!}} FRONTLINE {{!}} PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/camp/faqs.html|access-date=August 25, 2021|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>}}

Immediately upon the liberation of the concentration camps, many German civilians were forced to see the conditions in the camps, bury rotting corpses and exhume mass graves.<ref name="marcuse_p128">{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WOD9ncsixssC&dq=vansittartist&pg=RA2-PA427| title = Marcuse, p. 128| isbn = 9780521552042| last1 = Marcuse| first1 = Harold| date = March 22, 2001| publisher = Cambridge University Press}}</ref> In some instances, civilians were also made to provide items for former concentration camp inmates.<ref name="marcuse_p128" />

==Surveys==
The US conducted opinion surveys in the American zone of occupied Germany.<ref name=Judt58>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aU8laRbSvrMC&q=%22Nazism+was+a+good+idea,+badly+applied%22&pg=PA58 |page=58|last1=Judt|first1=Tony|title=Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945|publisher=Pimlico|date=2007|isbn=978-1446418024}}</ref> Tony Judt, in his book ''[[Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945|Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945]]'', extracted and used some of them.<ref>[http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/books/judt-postwar.php Judt Book Review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712090627/http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/books/judt-postwar.php |date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref>
* A majority in the years 1945–1949 stated Nazism to have been a good idea but badly applied.<ref name=Judt58/>
* In 1946, 6% of Germans said the [[Nuremberg trials]] had been unfair.<ref name=Judt58/>
* In 1946, 37% in the US occupation zone answered "no" to the statement "the extermination of the Jews and Poles and other non-Aryans was not necessary for the security of Germans".<ref name=Judt58/>{{efn|1= [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification#:~:text=Gordon%20singles%20out%20the%20question See below] for further discussion of this finding.}}
* In 1946, 1 in 3 in the US occupation zone said that Jews should not have the same rights as those belonging to the Aryan race.<ref name=Judt58/>
* In 1950, 1 in 3 said the Nuremberg trials had been unfair.<ref name=Judt58/>
* In 1952, 37% said Germany was better off without the Jews on its territory.<ref name=Judt58/>
* In 1952, 25% had a good opinion of Hitler.<ref name=Judt58/>

British historian [[Ian Kershaw]] in his book ''[[The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich]]''<ref>{{cite book|author=Ian Kershaw|title=The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0192802062|pages=264–66}}</ref> writes about the various surveys carried out at the German population:
* In 1945, 42% of young Germans and 22% of adult Germans thought that the [[reconstruction of Germany]] would be best applied by a "strong new [[Führer]]".
* In 1952, 10% of Germans thought that Hitler was the greatest statesman and that his greatness would only be realized at a later date; and 22% thought he had made "some mistakes" but was still an excellent leader.
* In 1953, 14% of Germans said they would vote for someone like Hitler again.

However, in ''Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question"'', Sarah Ann Gordon notes the difficulty of drawing conclusions from the surveys. For example, respondents were given three alternatives from which to choose, as in question 1:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:5px;"
|-
! Statement 
! style=width:5em |Percentage agreeing
|-
| Hitler was right in his treatment of the Jews:||{{right|0}}
|-
| Hitler went too far in his treatment of the Jews, but something had to be done to keep them in bounds:||{{right|19}}
|-
| The actions against the Jews were in no way justified:||{{right|77}}
|}

To the question of whether an Aryan who marries a Jew should be condemned, 91% responded "No". To the question of whether "All those who ordered the murder of civilians or participated in the murdering should be made to stand trial", 94% responded "Yes".<ref name=gordon2>{{cite book | last = Gordon | first = Sarah Ann | title = Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question" | publisher = Princeton University Press | date = March 1, 1984 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/hitlergermansjew0000gord/page/202 202–205] | url = https://archive.org/details/hitlergermansjew0000gord/page/202 | isbn = 0-691-10162-0 }}</ref>

Consequently, the implications of these alarming results have been questioned and rationalized; as another example, Gordon singles out the question "Extermination of the Jews and Poles and other non-Aryans was not necessary for the security of the Germans", which included an implicit double negative to which the response was either yes or no. She concludes that this question was confusingly phrased (given that in the German language the affirmative answer to a question containing a negative statement is "no"): "Some interviewees may have responded 'no' they did not agree with the statement, when they actually did agree that the extermination was not necessary."<ref name=gordon>{{cite book | last =Gordon | first =Sarah Ann | title =Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question" | publisher =Princeton University Press | date =March 1, 1984 | pages =[https://archive.org/details/hitlergermansjew0000gord/page/199 199–200] | url =https://archive.org/details/hitlergermansjew0000gord/page/199 | isbn =0-691-10162-0 }}</ref> She further highlights the discrepancy between the antisemitic implications of the survey results (such as those later identified by Judt) with the 77% percent of interviewees who responded that actions against Jews were in no way justified.<ref name=gordon/>

==End==
[[File:President Johnson (USA) had besprekingen met Kiesinger te Bonn, Johnson en Kiesi, Bestanddeelnr 920-2595.jpg|thumb|German Chancellor [[Kurt Georg Kiesinger]] (right) was a former member of the [[Nazi Party]].]]
The West German political system, as it emerged from the occupation, was increasingly opposed to the Allied denazification policy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Frei |first=Norbert |date=1996 |title=Vergangenheitspolitik: Die Anfänge der Bundesrepublik und die NS-Vergangenheit |publisher=C.H.Beck |isbn=978-3-406-63661-5 }}</ref> As denazification was deemed ineffective and counterproductive by the Americans, they did not oppose the plans of the West German chancellor, [[Konrad Adenauer]], to end the denazification efforts. Adenauer's intention was to switch government policy to reparations and compensation for the victims of Nazi rule (''[[Wiedergutmachung]]''), stating that the main culprits had been prosecuted.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Steinweis |editor1-first=Alan E. |editor2-last=Rogers |editor2-first=Daniel E. |date=2003 |title=The Impact of Nazism: New Perspectives on the Third Reich and Its Legacy |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=235 |isbn=978-0803222397 }}</ref> In 1951 several laws were passed, ending the denazification. Officials were allowed to retake jobs in the civil service, and hiring quotas were established for these previously-excluded individuals,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gassert |first1=Philipp |title=Coping with the Nazi Past: West German Debates on Nazism and Generational Conflict, 1955-1975 |date=2006 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=1845450868 |page=98}}</ref> with the exception of people assigned to Group I (Major Offenders) and II (Offenders) during the denazification review process. These individuals were referred to as "131-ers", after Article 131 of Federal Republic's Basic Law.<ref>{{cite book |last=Art  |first=David  |date=2005 |title=The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsnazipast00artd|url-access=limited  |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsnazipast00artd/page/n68 53]–55 |isbn=978-0521673242 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bgbl.de/Xaver/media.xav?SID=anonymous3113862832518&tocf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_tocFrame&tf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&qmf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&hlf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&bk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&name=bgbl%2FBundesgesetzblatt%20Teil%20I%2F1951%2FNr.%2022%20vom%2013.05.1951%2Fbgbl151s0307.pdf |title=''Gesetz zur Regelung der Rechtsverhältnisse der unter Artikel 131 des Grundgesetzes fallenden Personen'' – 11 May 1951 (Bundesgesetzblatt I 22/1951, p. 307 ff.) |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406203057/https://www.bgbl.de/Xaver/media.xav?SID=anonymous3113862832518&tocf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_tocFrame&tf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&qmf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&hlf=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl_mainFrame&bk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&name=bgbl%2FBundesgesetzblatt%20Teil%20I%2F1951%2FNr.%2022%20vom%2013.05.1951%2Fbgbl151s0307.pdf |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Several amnesty laws were also passed which affected an estimated 792,176 people. Those pardoned included people with six-month sentences, 35,000 people with sentences of up to one year and include more than 3,000 functionaries of the SA, the SS, and the Nazi Party who participated in dragging victims to jails and camps; 20,000 other Nazis sentenced for "deeds against life" (presumably murder); 30,000 sentenced for causing bodily injury, and 5,200 who committed "crimes and misdemeanors in office".<ref name="TNR">{{Cite magazine|last=Herf|first=Jeffrey|date=March 10, 2003|title=Amnesty and Amnesia|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/66780/amnesty-and-amnesia|access-date=August 25, 2021|issn=0028-6583}}</ref> As a result, many people with a former Nazi past ended up again in the political apparatus of West Germany. In 1957, 77% of the [[Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection|German Ministry of Justice]]'s senior officials were former Nazi Party members.<ref>{{cite news |title=Germany's post-war justice ministry was infested with Nazis protecting former comrades, study reveals |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/10/germanys-post-war-justice-ministry-was-infested-with-nazis-prote/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/10/germanys-post-war-justice-ministry-was-infested-with-nazis-prote/ |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 10, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Included in this ministry was Franz Massfeller, a former Nazi official who had participated in the meetings which followed the [[Wannsee Conference]], in which the extermination of Jews was planned.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Postwar West German ministry 'burdened' by ex-Nazis, study says |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3b5abe60-8efc-11e6-a72e-b428cb934b78 |access-date=2024-05-24 |newspaper=Financial Times|date=October 10, 2016 |last1=Wagstyl |first1=Stefan }}</ref>

==Hiding one's Nazi past==
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F015051-0001, Hans Globke.jpg|thumb|Adenauer's State Secretary [[Hans Globke]] had played a major role in drafting antisemitic [[Nuremberg Laws|Nuremberg Race Laws]].]]
Membership in Nazi organizations is still not an open topic of discussion. German President [[Walter Scheel]] and Chancellor [[Kurt Georg Kiesinger]] were both former members of the [[Nazi Party]]. In 1950, a major controversy broke out when it emerged that [[Konrad Adenauer]]'s State Secretary [[Hans Globke]] had played a major role in drafting antisemitic [[Nuremberg Laws|Nuremberg Race Laws]] in Nazi Germany.<ref>Tetens, T.H. ''The New Germany and the Old Nazis'', New York: Random House, 1961 pp. 37–40.</ref> In the 1980s former UN Secretary General and President of Austria [[Kurt Waldheim]] was confronted with allegations he had lied about his wartime record in the Balkans.

It was not until 2006 that famous German writer [[Günter Grass]], occasionally viewed as a spokesman of "the nation's moral conscience", spoke publicly about the fact that he had been a member of the [[Waffen-SS]]{{snd}}he was conscripted into the Waffen-SS while barely seventeen years old and his duties were military in nature. Statistically, it was likely that there were many more Germans of Grass's generation (also called the "[[Flakhelfer]]-Generation") with biographies similar to his.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de/debatte/kommentare/tom-cruise |first=Karen |last=Margolis |title=Who wasn't a Nazi? |date=November 4, 2007 |work=Mut gegen rechte Gewalt |publisher= [[Stern (magazine)|Stern]]}}</ref>

Joseph Ratzinger (later [[Pope Benedict XVI]]), on the other hand, was open about his membership at the age of fourteen of the [[Hitler Youth]], when his church youth group was forced to merge with them.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Richard |last2=Landler |first2=Mark |date=April 21, 2005 |title=POPE BENEDICT XVI: THE NAZI YEARS; Few See Taint in Service By Pope in Hitler Youth |work=The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/21/world/worldspecial2/pope-benedict-xvi-the-nazi-years-few-see-taint-in.html |access-date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>

==In other countries==
{{See also|Fascist (insult)}}
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2011}}
In practice, denazification was not limited to Germany and Austria. In several European countries with a vigorous Nazi or fascist party, measures of denazification were carried out. In France the process was called [[épuration légale]] (''legal cleansing''). [[Prisoners of war]] held in [[Detention (imprisonment)|detention]] in Allied countries were also subject to denazification qualifications before being returned to their countries of origin.

Denazification was also practiced in many countries which came under German occupation, including Belgium, Norway, Greece and [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], because [[Satellite state|satellite regimes]] had been established in these countries with the support of local collaborators.

In Greece, for instance, [[Pursuit of Nazi collaborators#Greece|Special Courts of Collaborators]] were created after 1945 to try former collaborators. The three Greek "[[quisling]]" prime ministers were convicted and [[capital punishment|sentenced to death]] or [[life imprisonment]]. Other Greek collaborators after German withdrawal underwent repression and public humiliation, besides being tried (mostly on treason charges). In the context of the emerging [[Greek Civil War]], however, most wartime figures from the civil service, the [[Greek Gendarmerie]] and the notorious [[Security Battalions]] were quickly integrated into the strongly anti-Communist postwar establishment.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

An attempt to ban the [[swastika]] across the EU in early 2005 failed after objections from the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] and others. In early 2007, while Germany held the European Union presidency, Berlin proposed that the European Union should follow German Criminal Law and criminalize the [[Holocaust denial|denial of the Holocaust]] and the display of Nazi symbols including the swastika, which is based on the Ban on the Symbols of Unconstitutional Organizations Act ([[Strafgesetzbuch section 86a]]). This led to an opposition campaign by Hindu groups across Europe against a ban on the swastika. They pointed out that the swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hindus opposing EU swastika ban |date=2007-01-17 |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6269627.stm |access-date=2022-04-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hindus Against Proposed EU Swastika Ban |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=2007-01-17 |location= Hamburg, Germany |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,460259,00.html |access-date=2022-04-11}}</ref> The proposal to ban the swastika was dropped by the German government from the proposed [[Fundamental Rights Agency|European Union wide anti-racism laws]] on January 29, 2007.<ref name="EthanMcNern_2011">{{cite news |title=Swastika ban left out of EU's racism law |work=The Scotsman |date=January 30, 2007 |location=Edinburgh |author-first=Ethan |author-last=McNern |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Swastika-ban-left-out-of.3342365.jp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805064029/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Swastika-ban-left-out-of.3342365.jp |archive-date=August 5, 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Germany|Austria}}
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|* [[Catharsis]]
* [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|Collaboration with the Axis powers]]
* [[Damnatio memoriae]]
* [[De-Ba'athification]]
* [[Decommunization]]
* [[Symbols of Francoism#Removal of symbols|De-Francoization]]
* [[De-Stalinization]]
* [[Fascist (insult)]]
* [[German resistance to Nazism]]
* ''[[Gleichschaltung]]'', the "Nazification" of Germany in the 1930s
* [[Historical Memory Law]]
* [[Holocaust trivialization]]
* [[List of streets named after Adolf Hitler]]
<!-- NEEDS ARTICLE BEFORE LISTING IN SEE ALSO * [[List of former Nazi Party members]] -->
* [[Lustration]]
* [[Neulehrer]]
* [[Pursuit of Nazi collaborators]]
* [[Secondary antisemitism]]
* [[Street name controversy]]
* [[Transitional justice]]
* ''[[Vergangenheitsbewältigung]]''
* [[Japanese People's Anti-war Alliance]]
* [[Japanese People's Emancipation League]]
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Notes|60em}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|60em}}
* {{cite book |title=Germany and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: A Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia |author=Adam, Thomas |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |isbn=1-85109-628-0}}
* {{cite book |title=Withstanding Hitler in Germany, 1933–45 |author=Balfour, Michael Leonard Graham |publisher=Routledge |year=1988 |isbn=0-415-00617-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiyHJ8MiR1gC}}
* {{cite book |last=Beattie |first=Andrew H. |title=Allied Internment Camps in Occupied Germany: Extrajudicial Detention in the Name of Denazification, 1945–1950 |year=2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=[[Cambridge]] |isbn=978-1108487634}}
* {{cite book |title=The Denazification of Germany 1945–48 |author=Biddiscombe, Perry |publisher=The History Press Ltd |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7524-2346-3}}
* {{cite book |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=16324321&er=accept&er=deny |title=Germany 1947–1949: The Story In Documents |author=The [[Department of State]] |work=Publication 3556 |year=1950 |publisher=US Government Printing Office |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420055859/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |title=Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust |first=Daniel J. |last=Goldhagen |author-link=Daniel Goldhagen |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1997 |isbn=0-679-77268-5 |title-link=Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust}}
* {{cite book |author=Hentschel, Klaus |others=Ann M. Hentschel as translator |title=The Mental Aftermath: The Mentality of German Physicists 1945–1949 |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-920566-0}}
* {{cite web |author=Howard, Lawrence E. ([[United States Army Reserve]]) |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a469098.pdf |title=Lessons Learned from Denazification and de-Ba'athification (strategy research project for a master of strategic studies degree) |publisher=[[US Army War College]] |date=March 30, 2007 |access-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730085346/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a469098.pdf |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |title=German Reactions to Nazi Atrocities |author=Janowitz, Morris |s2cid=44356394 |journal=[[The American Journal of Sociology]] |volume=52 |issue=2 |date=September 1946 |pages=141–146 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |jstor=2770938 |doi=10.1086/219961 |pmid=20994277}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
* {{cite book |title=The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War: A Handbook |author=Junker, Detlef |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-79112-0}}
* Lewkowicz, N. The German Question and the Origins of the Cold War (IPOC:Milan) (2008)
* {{cite book |title=Legacies of Dachau: The Uses and Abuses of a Concentration Camp, 1933–2001 |author=Marcuse, Harold |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-521-55204-4}}
* {{cite book |title=Public opinion in semisovereign Germany : the HICOG surveys, 1949–1955 |author=Merritt, Anna J.; Merritt, Richard L.; United States. Office of High Commissioner for Germany. Reactions Analysis Staff |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=1980 |isbn=0-252-00731-X |url=https://archive.org/details/publicopinionins00merr}}
* {{cite book |title=Exorcising Hitler: The Occupation and Denazification of Germany |url=https://archive.org/details/exorcisinghitler0000tayl |url-access=registration |author=Taylor, Frederick |publisher=Bloomsbury Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60819-503-9}}
*{{Cite web |last=Benz |first=Wolfgang |date=2005 |title=Demokratisierung durch Entnazifizierung und Erziehung |url=https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/izpb/deutschland-1945-1949-259/10067/demokratisierung-durch-entnazifizierung-und-erziehung/}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquotes}}
* [http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=47&articleID=599 Did the United States Create Democracy in Germany?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225140755/http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?issueID=47&articleID=599 |date=February 25, 2017 }} (Analysis on Denazification effect)
* [http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/Denazification%202%20ENG.pdf Control Council Directive No. 38 (October 12, 1946)] Categories of offenders and sanctions.
* [http://vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=28304&sos=0 Example of a poster used by US forces to create "collective guilt"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005162052/http://vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=28304&sos=0 |date=October 5, 2011 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070710235843/https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/JAGCNETInternet/Homepages/AC/MilitaryLawReview.nsf/20a66345129fe3d885256e5b00571830/45582b2d6ca0611985256f230049850a/$FILE/Volume180Hudson.pdf THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNMENT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRATIC REFORM, FEDERALISM, AND CONSTITUTIONALISM DURING THE OCCUPATION OF BAVARIA, 1945–47]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060515094710/http://www.ccges.yorku.ca/The-Denazification-of-Austria-by.html The Denazification of Austria by France]
* [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History.Denazi Denazification, cumulative review. Report, 1 April 1947&nbsp;– 30 April 1948.]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/29/comment.secondworldwar East Germany did face up to its Nazi past]

{{NSDAP}}
{{Nazism}}
{{Fascism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Allied occupation of Austria]]
[[Category:Allied occupation of Germany]]
[[Category:Anti-fascism in Germany]]
[[Category:Anti-fascism in Austria]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Germany]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Austria]]
[[Category:Democratization]]
[[Category:Political and cultural purges]]
[[Category:Political repression in Germany]]
[[Category:Political terminology]]
[[Category:Political history of Germany]]
[[Category:Political history of Austria]]
[[Category:Political terminology in Germany]]