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57:) was a German "special court". After taking power in 1933, the Nazis quickly moved to remove internal opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany. The legal system became one of many tools for this aim and the Nazis gradually supplanted the normal justice system with political courts with wide-ranging powers. The function of the special courts was to intimidate the German public, but as they expanded their scope and took over roles previously done by ordinary courts such as
412:"The underlying purpose of that court was to suppress political opposition to the regime and to familiarize German society with the concept of National Socialist justice. Rather than prosecuting defendants for their actions, the court convicted them on the basis of their attitudes toward National Socialism. Any defendant who did not demonstrate support for the regime was considered a traitor."
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152:. In December 1941, a special law was introduced by the Germans which allowed for the courts to sentence Poles and Jews to death for virtually anything. Terminology in the courts was full of statements such as "Polish subhumans" and "Polish rabble", with some judges even declaring that Poles were to have lengthier sentences than Germans since they were racially inferior.
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Special courts had existed in
Germany as far back as the nineteenth century. They had generally been set up temporarily in response to some major but localised civil disturbance and then quickly dissolved once they had served their purpose. A more permanent national network of Special Courts came
478:
Andrew
Szanajda "The restoration of justice in postwar Hesse, 1945–1949" p.25 "In practice, it signified intimidating the public through arbitrary psychological terror, operating like the courts of the Inquisition." "The Sondergerichte had a strong deterrent effect during the first years of their
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counsel was appointed by the court. Even as heavy-handed as justice was in Nazi
Germany, defendants were afforded at least nominal protections under the regular courts' rules and procedures. These protections were swept away in the special courts, since they existed outside the ordinary judicial
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The reason the court was created was dissatisfaction with the fact that most of the
Communists that had been charged with burning down the Reichstag were acquitted. The function of this court was just as that of the special courts, to suppress opposition to the regime.
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The workload was divided between the People's Courts and the
Special Courts in such a way that the former took the most important cases, while the latter dealt with a wider array of "crimes" of opposition to the Nazis.
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system. There was no possibility of appeal, and verdicts could be executed at once. The court decided the extent of evidence to consider, and "the defense attorneys couldn't question the proof of the charges".
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Especially during the first years of their existence they "had a strong deterrent effect" against opposition to the Nazis; the German public was intimidated through "arbitrary psychological terror".
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the "Law of 20 December 1934 against insidious
Attacks upon the State and Party and for the Protection of the Party Uniform",
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that lasted until May 1924 after handing out more than 31,000 sentences. It was composed of two judges and three
95:"Decree to Protect the Government of the National Socialist Revolution from Treacherous Attacks" (21 March 1933),
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German announcement of the execution of 9 Polish farmers for not fulfilling quotas. Signed by the governor of
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Between 1933 and 1945, 12,000 Germans were executed on the orders of the
Sondergerichte set up by the
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Landauer, Carl (September 1944). "The
Bavarian Problem in the Weimar Republic: Part II".
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Nikolaus
Wachsmann, Hitler's Prisons: Legal Terror in Nazi Germany, p.202-203
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Peter
Hoffmann "The History of the German Resistance, 1933–1945"p.xiii
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The number of Special Courts increased from 26 in 1933 to 74 in 1942.
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the "Law for the Guarantee of Peace Based on Law" of 13 October 1933
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operation, since their rapid and severe sentencing was feared."
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In countries under German military occupation, such as Norway,
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were also set up. Special penal codes were set up, e.g. the
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The special courts played a major role in carrying out
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The restoration of justice in postwar Hesse, 1945–1949
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The restoration of justice in postwar Hesse, 1945–1949
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into being during 1933, soon after the passage of the
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The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich
78:(1899–1991), Chief Justice of the Special Court in
505:Der Hitler-Prozeß vor dem Volksgericht in München
258:. One of its most notable trials was that of the
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650:Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1945
375:Chrzanowski, Bogdan in Chrzanowski et al.
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168:(Poland Special Criminal Law Regulation).
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519:Press and politics in the Weimar Republic
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214:trial at the People's Court in Munich.
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240:) were special courts established by
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635:Political repression in Nazi Germany
489:Bauer, Franz J. (23 December 2009).
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248:in November 1918 and part of the
166:Polensonderstrafrechtsverordnung
104:and a number of extensions when
359:, pp. 24–25. Lexington Books.
63:this function became diluted.
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379:, Oskar, Gdansk, 2005, pg. 54
27:Special court in Nazi Germany
496:Historisches Lexikon Bayerns
136:district on 25 November 1941
620:German resistance to Nazism
522:. Oxford University Press.
377:Polska Podziemna na Pomorzu
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610:Government of Nazi Germany
491:"Volksgerichte, 1918–1924"
404:, p. 24. Lexington Books.
230:People's Courts of Bavaria
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156:Other occupied territories
540:Journal of Modern History
516:Fulda, Bernhard (2009).
511:] (in German). 1924.
400:Andrew Szanajda (2007).
355:Andrew Szanajda (2007).
262:conspirators, including
224:People's Court (Bavaria)
178:People's Court (Germany)
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89:Reichstag Fire Decree
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615:Judiciary of Germany
301:Prominent defendants
150:Nazi occupied Poland
625:Law of Nazi Germany
202:Bavaria (1918–1924)
172:Germany (1934–1945)
67:Function in Germany
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218:is 4th from right.
210:Defendants in the
142:summary executions
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529:978-0-19-954778-4
446:Volksgericht 1924
246:German Revolution
16:(Redirected from
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244:during the
242:Kurt Eisner
604:Categories
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422:Bauer 2009
340:References
280:Ernst Röhm
256:lay judges
108:commenced.
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328:See also
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286:Effect
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