"If you don't remember history, you're doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past." It was the presence of Nazi hunters and their perseverance that enabled people to face up to Nazi behavior, learn from history, and avoid the recurrence of tragedies.
In the broader sense, the german trials of the Nazis after the war went through three periods, the initial period of punishment of the main Nazis by the victorious powers, the period of the nazi hunters hunting alone, the end of which was when the state re-emphasized Nazi prisoners, and the various countries exposed and tried ordinary German Nazis. In general, it shows us the change in people's attitudes toward Nazi prisoners and the change of thinking in the 20th century. In the process of gradually exposing the Nazi atrocities, the belated justice is better than the lack. It is not only necessary to give an account to the victims, but also to give an account to those who come after.
1. Court trials in the early post-war period
After the war, the victorious powers began to judge the Nazis, most notably the Nuremberg Trials and the Dachau Trials. The trials targeted the main "big fish," including 12 senior Nazi officials who were hanged after the Nuremberg trials. In the Dachau trial, prosecutor Denson used the charge of "co-ownership plan" to prosecute, without specifically addressing each person's crime, and the managers of the Dachau concentration camp, because the tragedy that occurred in the camp, were responsible and could not escape because they only carried out the order.
This practice caused much controversy, and during Ferenc's trial of the Eastern Front Einsatzque in Nuremberg, he used Nazi criminal records to prosecute prisoners and convict them for crimes they had actually committed. Subsequent trials of Nazi prisoners were based on specific crimes committed, which led to less annoying treatment of Nazis in countries such as West Germany. It wasn't until the 21st century that Demjanjuk's trials in Munich changed the rules for postwar convictions of Nazis, convicting him as an accessory to the Holocaust, rather than the previous convictions for specific murders, which also prompted the trial of other living Nazi prisoners.
2. Period of personal action
After the beginning of the Cold War, the United States and other countries paid more attention to the operation of the Soviet Union, lost interest in the pursuit of the Nazis, and even hired the Nazis (counter-espionage forces) to provide intelligence and help the Nazis flee to Latin American countries. Nazi hunters insisted on finding the prisoners, and Friedman and Wiesenthal established a documentation center in Austria to find intelligence on Nazi prisoners. The Klaasfelds in France opposed the election of Kissinger, who had nazi experience, as Chancellor of West Germany, helping german Nazis who committed crimes in France to stand trial.
These were all well-known Nazi hunters, and Wiesenthal's propaganda and boastful abilities made him recognized by many as the most famous Nazi hunters. Mrs. Krasfield's actions were even more wonderful, shouting "Nazis" at Kissinger in parliament, and even slapping him, through this dramatic means to attract the attention and reflection of west Germans. They worked over the years to get Klaus Babi, the Gestapo of Lyon, to return from Latin America to France for trial.
In addition to these Nazi hunters who acted in the foreground, there were some who insisted on acting behind the scenes. Such as Jan Zene of Poland and Fritz Bauer of West Germany. In Poland, Zell tried Auschwitz administrator Rudolf Hoss and encouraged him to write autobiographies to make people better understand the psychology of these "ordinary" Nazi prisoners. Bauer insisted that the German people reflect on their actions during the Third Reich and not simply abandon the past. He prompted the Frankfurt Trials, the first public trial of Nazi prisoners in West Germany, and the defendants were all "little people" who also prompted an exhibition about Auschwitz, and his insistence changed the minds of some Germans and were willing to face that history. When Bauer learned of Eichmann's whereabouts, he told the Israelis about it, prompting the Mossad to take Eichmann back to Israel for trial.
After the capture of Eichmann, there were many contenders, Wiesenthal constantly exaggerated his role, while the actual planner Mossad's commander Harrell could not openly show his role because of his identity, and after leaving office, he published a book to expose that history. Bauer, who really played the role of providing important information, never participated in the controversy of merit. Both Zehn and Bauer were forgotten for a long time after their deaths, until the 21st century, when exhibitions about them brought them back to people's sights. These silent devotees among Nazi hunters deserve to be remembered even more.
What should be remembered and reflected on is the controversy brought about by the trial of Eichmann. Israeli prosecutors, along with most of them, have shown that Eichmann is a demon with perverted thoughts. But Hannah Arendt's "banal evil" argument sought to oppose the demonized interpretation of Eichmann and his cohort, arguing that Eichmann was simply carrying out orders and that totalitarian regimes had used such unconvincing people to commit crimes. The debate over the "evil of mediocrity" went on for a long time.
People are also reflecting on whether the devil is terrible or whether the "evil of mediocrity" is more terrible. In the defenses of Nazi prisoners, it can also be seen that their consistent reasoning was "I just carried out the order, there is no other choice". Does personal choice matter, is it forced or sophistry? The managers of the concentration camps, whose individual actions are still the embodiment of their respective perverted ideas, cannot be demonized, but they are by no means the "evil of mediocrity."
3. Remediation period
In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States noted that people with Nazi backgrounds had evaded trial by concealing their experiences in obtaining U.S. citizenship. Elizabeth Holtzman insisted that the charges be filed against the men, and in 1979 the Justice Department set up a Special Investigations Office to investigate them. Elie Rosenbaum served in the communist office and made some progress in disqualifying people with Nazi experience and sending them abroad. For example, the missile expert in the German Dora concentration camp - Artur Rudolf, the Romanian Iron Guard member Trifa and so on. Some of the "model citizens" were forced to retreat from disguise. On behalf of the United States, the Office of Special Investigations decided to correct the mistakes it had made earlier and to face up to history.
Countries such as Germany, France, and the United States have changed their minds and sought out Nazi prisoners, while Austria has been evasive, disguising itself as a victim of the Third Reich, and Wiesenthal has criticized it. It was not until after the Kurt Waldheim incident that the younger Austrian generation reflected. Waldheim hid his experience of serving the Nazis in the Balkans, was elected secretary-general of the United Nations twice, and ran for president of Austria in 1986 as a BJP candidate. The World Jewish Congress commissioned Rosenbaum to investigate in Austria, and there was a lot of evidence that Waldheim was not innocent, but it was impossible to try him. The accusations against Waldheim provoked resentment among the Austrians, who debunked the disguise of their victims. Local Jews believe that it was this event that caused anti-Semitism in Austria to flourish.
Although Waldheim was not explicitly tried, he also served as president of Austria for one term, but fortunately the new Austrian generation began to reflect on what their country had done during the Third Reich. But the incident sparked a fight between Nazi hunters, and Wiesenthal broke with Rosenbaum.
4. Judgment is to reveal the truth
During the Third Reich, 8.5 million people in Germany joined the Nazi Party, not to mention the numbers in Austria and other countries. But after the war, they seemed to disappear overnight, except for fleeing to Latin American countries and immigrating to the United States, some people still lived in the local area, worked as usual, and lived as usual. There were many Nazi members at the top of the government in West Germany and Austria. With the exception of senior Nazi officials tried by the International Tribunal and those responsible for specific murders, most Of the Nazis escaped sanctions. The people of West Germany and Austria wanted to get rid of that history as soon as possible and did not conduct specific trial activities.
Fortunately, there is such a group of people - the survivors of the concentration camp or the descendants of the concentration camp victims- who are committed to exposing the nazi members, putting them to trial, dissecting the bloody reality, and making the people reflect. It was because of their efforts that some nazis were put on trial, and some who escaped the pursuit were forced to live in the shadow of being hunted.
Andrew Nagorsky's book chronicles the experiences of Nazi hunters, showing their ordinary work, not as magical as in the film, Nazi hunters in the complicated archives to piece together the chain of evidence, find a list of Nazi members, and urge the state to try. And Nazi prisoners are also ordinary people, not born demonic images, and seeing the pictures in the book, even Eichmann, in the sea of people, is so ordinary. As Harrell asks, "What makes this human-looking creature a demon?" ”
The hunt for Nazi hunters, the trials in court, and the publication of relevant books allow future generations to truly understand that tragic history and the efforts made by Nazi hunters in pursuit of justice and face the past. The history of the Nazis is over, but the spirit of the Nazi hunters should be remembered, not for revenge, but just to uncover the truth.