What is the point.....

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Just been reading a book about the ineffectiveness of the German government of the 50s, 60s and 70s of prosecuting Nazis. In fact the German Chancellor, Konrad Adeneur, appointed a Dr. Globke as Chief of the Chancellor's Office. He was responsible, in part, for writing the Nazi racial laws. He refused to sack him. There were swathes of murderers who escaped justice, and in fact received healthy pensions for their 'war service'.
It's all too little too late.
 
peteblue said:
Haven't you got some sheep to see to.......

sheep%20shagger.jpg
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Hey.. ou should be honoured that I wasted my 30,000 th post in this thread ( 30,001 )
 
summerisle said:
Just been reading a book about the ineffectiveness of the German government of the 50s, 60s and 70s of prosecuting Nazis. In fact the German Chancellor, Konrad Adeneur, appointed a Dr. Globke as Chief of the Chancellor's Office. He was responsible, in part, for writing the Nazi racial laws. He refused to sack him. There were swathes of murderers who escaped justice, and in fact received healthy pensions for their 'war service'.
It's all too little too late.
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That's my point really. Some were found out and punished, very many were not......at the age of 94, perhaps we should forgive if not forget........
 
summerisle said:
Just been reading a book about the ineffectiveness of the German government of the 50s, 60s and 70s of prosecuting Nazis. In fact the German Chancellor, Konrad Adeneur, appointed a Dr. Globke as Chief of the Chancellor's Office. He was responsible, in part, for writing the Nazi racial laws. He refused to sack him. There were swathes of murderers who escaped justice, and in fact received healthy pensions for their 'war service'.
It's all too little too late.
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It was part of the reason for the rise and impact of the Baader-Meinhof group. There is a very good book about it all called (not without reason) Hitler's Children.
 

atrottel said:
It was part of the reason for the rise and impact of the Baader-Meinhof group. There is a very good book about it all called (not without reason) Hitler's Children.
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The book I've just read, with a little hyperbole, was Scourge of the Swastika, by Lord Russell of Liverpool. It's dated as it was published in 1968, but it's truly shocking the way the German establishment dealt with ex Nazis.
 
peteblue said:
In what way......
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For example : over fifty per cent of the judiciary had Nazi connections, some just a little, some a lot. A trial involving concentration guards was abandoned as the judge said there was no independent testimony regarding their guilt, ignoring the testimony of survivors who gave evidence. After the trial it was discovered that judge had been a judge in the Nazi era. He was not dismissed from his post.
 
summerisle said:
For example : over fifty per cent of the judiciary had Nazi connections, some just a little, some a lot. A trial involving concentration guards was abandoned as the judge said there was no independent testimony regarding their guilt, ignoring the testimony of survivors who gave evidence. After the trial it was discovered that judge had been a judge in the Nazi era. He was not dismissed from his post.
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What we need to remember is what would have happened if we had lost, and the Germans had set up courts to review the behaviour of us British..........it was a brutal War, really bad things happened, untold millions died, good guys got killed and bad guys got away, South America was full of them. But time eventually moves on, and 77 years after the war started perhaps we should let go........
 

peteblue said:
What we need to remember is what would have happened if we had lost, and the Germans had set up courts to review the behaviour of us British..........it was a brutal War, really bad things happened, untold millions died, good guys got killed and bad guys got away, South America was full of them. But time eventually moves on, and 77 years after the war started perhaps we should let go........
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I agree, it's pointless now.
 
summerisle said:
For example : over fifty per cent of the judiciary had Nazi connections, some just a little, some a lot. A trial involving concentration guards was abandoned as the judge said there was no independent testimony regarding their guilt, ignoring the testimony of survivors who gave evidence. After the trial it was discovered that judge had been a judge in the Nazi era. He was not dismissed from his post.
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you can see how it would be difficult to replace the entire governmental and judicial structure with new independent people as there would be few about certainly not many who were qualified to do it, but you'd think there'd be a mechanism in place to spot people biased towards the 'old ideals' and replace them.
 
Going back to the original post, the crimes committed as part of the Nazis' final solution were appalling. No mercy was shown to the young or to the old. Millions were slaughtered on the basis of religion, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and political opinion. Individuals carried out each step of the process on behalf of the then German state. A 94 year old man today was a young and fit at the time. If he was involved, then he should bear his part of the responsibility. Some people in their 90's are mentally and physically agile. Some are not. But if this man is fit to stand trial, then I think we owe it to the victims who were never given a chance, to put him on trial for his actions. In English law - and I would expect every Western democracy - age is no defence to liability for a crime. But the system shows compassion in the sentences handed down. A sorry man, who has reflected on his actions and done anything to make amends is surely more deserving of leniency than a staunch Nazi who still believes Hitler was betrayed and that the final solution was right. There are people today who minimise the scale of German genocide during the second world war, and there are even those who deny it ever occurred. Read Primo Levi to understand compassion. And by all means, show compassion when a sentence is handed down. But do not forget, in deciding whether to prosecute, the millions who died, no different from you or I, or from our parents, our children and our friends. That seems to me to be the point.
 
I can understand why you would see it as pointless if your simply looking at the 94 year old individual, but, I think it's more about the overall ethical and moral principles that 'Nazism, Fascism and Genocide' will be eradicated and it's adherents will be pursued and brought to justice at all costs and for however long it takes, which, of course is utter hypocrisy, considering the likes of 'Operation Paperclip' and the use of SS and wehrmacht officers in post-war suppression of communism in Greece, Italy and France...
 

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