Justice in the Third Reich

In his monumental study of the legal system in the Third Reich during the Gurtner era, Gruchmann stresses the extent to which the commitment of the highly conservative legal establishment to creating an authoritarian justice system led it to collaborate in the undermining of the inherited liberal le...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOxford Readers Nazism
Main Author Gruchmann, Lothar
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, NY Oxford University Press 26.10.2000
Subjects
European History
http://data.oup.com/taxonomy/AcademicSubjects/AHU00950
Modern History (1700 to 1945)
collusion
inherited
legal
monumental
liberal
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Summary:In his monumental study of the legal system in the Third Reich during the Gurtner era, Gruchmann stresses the extent to which the commitment of the highly conservative legal establishment to creating an authoritarian justice system led it to collaborate in the undermining of the inherited liberal legal system during the Nazi era. However, despite its collusion in the erosion of the liberal legal system, it was permanently on the defensive, as more and more of the juridical and policing functions of the Justice Ministry and Interior Ministry were usurped by the more radical SS-police system under Himmler. Moreover, having done so much to facilitate the descent into lawlessness of the Third Reich by successive retroactive legalization of illegal acts of terror and barbarism, the Justice Ministry found itself unable then to fall back on institutional and legal safeguards to defend its position. As a result, it was powerless to prevent the ongoing expansion of the concentration camp apparatus and the concomitant radicalization of terror in the war in particular.
ISBN:0192892819
9780192892812
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780192892812.003.0052