NS-Militärjustiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg

By the end of World War II the number of judgments passed by National Socialist court-martial system was unprecedented in German legal history. An estimated 30,000 death sentences were passed against members of the Wehrmacht, of which around 20,000 were carried out; tens of thousands were sentenced to prison or to service in penal battalions under ruthless conditions. What is less well-known is that civilians were also court-martialled by the Wehrmacht in occupied countries throughout Europe with equally draconian judgments. This volume, with contributions on Belgium, France, Italy, Norwayand Poland, shows that the jurisdiction of the Wehrmacht was a key instrument of force and repression against both its own recalcitrant soldiers and European civilians. The NS military courts worked hand in hand with other agencies of persecution such as the secret military police, the SS and the SD. Other contributions provide information on special formations of the Wehrmacht s penal system, on jurisdiction in the Reserve Army and on the home front as well as on the scope of powers of the Wehrmacht judges. This book not only presents for the first time a synopsis on the European dimensions of the NS court-martial system, but also outlines new research perspectives and provides an impetus for future studies.