A Permanent Stain on German History

Fritz Bauer Institut, Irmtrud Wojak, Susanne Meinl. Im Labyrinth der Schuld: Täter - Opfer - Ankläger. Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag, 2003. 362 S. EUR 29.00, broschiert, ISBN 978-3-593-37373-7. Reviewed by Frank Buscher Published on H-German (October, 2004) The title for this review stems from Heinz fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the Duex, the investigating judge in the frst Frankfurt Auschwitz trial. Thus, the Fritz Bauer Institut de‐ Auschwitz trial (1963-65). It represents his grim voted its Jahrbuch 2003 to the famous Frankfurt assessment of West German efforts to punish the prosecutor and his work. perpetrators of Nazi crimes and to compensate The book consists of eight meticulously re‐ their victims (p. 283). Duex's verdict is in line with searched and well-written historical essays, one the recent historiography on this subject. The Fed‐ memoir, three interviews, and one Forschungs‐ eral Republic, specialists tend to agree, could and bericht. Written by young German historians (all should have done far more. To be sure, West Ger‐ born between 1959 and 1970), the essays explore man authorities have launched over 106,000 in‐ various aspects of Auschwitz and its aftermath. vestigations since the end of the war, but these They underscore that German scholars are among have resulted in only 6,500 convictions. To make the most prolific and innovative researchers of matters worse, convicted defendants have fre‐ the Holocaust and other national socialist crimes. quently received excessively low sentences. The memoir and interviews feature four individu‐ At the same time, there were success stories, als whose personal contributions helped make the and one of them was the Auschwitz trial, the Auschwitz trial a success: Duex, the prosecutors largest criminal proceeding in the Federal Repub‐ Joachim Kuegler and Gerhard Wiese, and the lic's history. The trial and the German official Auschwitz survivor and longtime secretary gener‐ whose determination and energy made it possi‐ al of the International Auschwitz Committee, Her‐ ble, Frankfurt Generalstaatsanwalt Fritz Bauer, mann Langbein. All four pieces are eminently stand at the center of this excellent volume. readable and informative. Unfortunately, the Bauer, who died under mysterious circumstances same cannot be said for the research report at the in 1968, would have celebrated his one-hundredth end of the book. Neither its subject matter, birthday in 2003. The same year also marked the methodology nor style ft. In the opinion of this H-Net Reviews reviewer, the editors would have done better not There were, of course, other determined indi‐ to include it. viduals who assisted Bauer and thus helped Although the topics of the essays vary consid‐ change history. In addition to the members of the erably, several themes emerge. Perhaps the most prosecution team, Langbein deserves particular important is the notion that determined individu‐ mention. Despite a "bad frst experience" (p. 286) als can change the course of history. Fritz Bauer with postwar German authorities, Langbein was one such individual. Irmtrud Wojak portrays helped the Frankfurt prosecutors locate some of him as an official who was too progressive for his the defendants, especially the brutal and notori‐ time. However, although he confronted a public ous Rapportfuehrer Oswald Kaduk. More impor‐ mood focused on drawing the fnal line under the tantly, the prosecution relied on the International Nazi past as well as the continued integration of Auschwitz Committee to fnd witnesses. Langbein Nazi perpetrators and fellow-travellers in West not only found Auschwitz survivors, he also per‐ German society, Bauer was by no means discour‐ suaded many understandably reluctant victims to aged. Dedicated to the construction of a free and testify about their suffering in open court. democratic Germany, he decided to challenge this One of the witnesses who certainly made a "heavy mortgage" (p. 19). Wojak and several other difference was Rudolf Vrba. Due to his work as‐ contributors, including Michael Greve, Langbein, signments, he had excellent knowledge of the and Duex, leave no doubt that there would not number of transports of Jews which had arrived have been a Frankfurt Auschwitz trial without at Auschwitz. Although he eventually became fa‐ Bauer's initiative. mous for his daring escape, with fellow prisoner The Generalstaatsanwalt was not interested Alfred Wetzler in April 1944, and the sixty-page in a normal proceeding, though. To be sure, he report on Auschwitz they helped author, Vrba wanted to see justice done, but he saw the trial's also played a significant role at the Auschwitz tri‐ main function as educating the public about the al. In a fascinating essay, Dagi Knellessen de‐ utterly criminal purpose and nature of Auschwitz scribes how Vrba contributed to the conviction of (p. 324). But Bauer was disappointed with the re‐ Robert Mulka, the adjutant of Auschwitz comman‐ sults. In 1965 the court convicted only seven de‐ dant Rudolf Hoess. Vrba recognized Mulka. He fendants of murder and sentenced six to life. also informed the court that Mulka had been Three were found not guilty, and the remainder present on the ramp when the trains arrived, and was convicted of the less serious charge of aiding he testified about the brutal murder of a prisoner and abetting murder. Similarly, the trial's educa‐ on the latter's orders. Vrba's testimony contradict‐ tional potential remained largely unfulfilled dur‐ ed Mulka's defense which claimed that he had ing the few remaining years of Bauer's life. Cer‐ gone to Auschwitz reluctantly and steered clear of tainly, as Greve rightly asserts, neither Bauer's the camp's killing operations. The court believed colleagues in the judiciary nor West German legis‐ the witness, but ruled that Mulka had merely as‐ lators felt a great urge to conduct "a thorough sisted in the mass murder. Knellessen attributes prosecution of [Nazi] crimes" throughout the the dissatisfying outcome to the system the SS had 1960s and thereafter (p. 59). Had he lived another implemented at Auschwitz. It later permitted the twenty or thirty years, though, Bauer would un‐ high-ranking organizers of the mass killings like doubtedly have felt differently about "his" trial, Mulka to evade responsibility for their crimes. particularly its contributions to the democratiza‐ Unfortunately, as Christian Kolbe reminds us tion of German society and the explosion of public in his essay on Eichmann, several of the Nazi per‐ and scholarly interest in the Holocaust. petrators also changed history with their activism 2 H-Net Reviews and decisions. Kolbe seeks to explain Eichmann's ond important theme of this book. As Franziska motives during the deportation of Hungarian Bruder correctly points out, the tensions between Jews by carefully examining two texts, an inter‐ east and west gave the defense in the Auschwitz view the latter had given to a former SS-man in trial the opportunity repeatedly to challenge the the 1950s and the recently released document credibility of witnesses from eastern European Goetzen, which he had written during his trial. countries. Bruder describes how defense counsel Both show that the self-described "pedantic and made use of Ukrainian nationalists to challenge cautious" SS bureaucrat considered himself a an important Polish prosecution witness. Ukrain‐ Kriegsteilnehmer, i.e. a soldier, and the Jews parti‐ ian nationalists cooperated with the Abwehr dur‐ sans (p. 73). Accordingly, he thought of his actions ing the war and with West German intelligence in Hungary as contributing to the German war ef‐ well into the 1950s. Langbein, Kuegler and Wiese fort. His front, his contribution to the defense of discuss the difficulties inherent in dealing with the Reich was the transporting of Jews to their witnesses in Eastern Bloc countries such as deaths. To underscore his growing independence Poland and Czechoslovakia with which the FRG and freedom to make decisions as the power did not maintain diplomatic relations at the time. structures in Hungary unraveled in 1944, Eich‐ In addition, arranging a visit to Auschwitz proved mann speaks proudly and chillingly of "my depor‐ to be challenging, though not impossible. Once the tations" (p. 72). trial was underway, the East German Neben‐ The Holocaust gave even those assisting the klaeger clashed repeatedly with attorney Hans perpetrators the opportunity to make history. An‐ Laternser, who seemed to specialize on challeng‐ negret Schuele investigates the actions and mo‐ ing witnesses from communist states. tives of the management and employees of the The Cold War also made possible the return company Topf & Soehne, which supplied the SS of the old elites to their accustomed leadership with the technology necessary to commit mass positions. Dirk Poeppmann's valuable essay ex‐ murder on an unprecedented scale. The company plores the clash between the traditional elite, was not thoroughly nazified. In fact, Topf em‐ which had loyally served Hitler, and its new ployed several communists, who founded an un‐ democratically oriented challenger in the context derground organization, and a half-Jewish ac‐ of the Ministries case. The old leadership caste, countant persecuted by the regime. Nonetheless, eager to achieve rehabilitation and thereby se‐ Topf's employees proved to be as callous, amoral, cure its future, rallied around the most prominent and murderously efficient as Eichmann. Design‐ defendant, Ernst von Weizsaecker. His prosecutor, ing the Auschwitz crematoria, company engineers Robert Kempner, sought to show not only the guilt even exceeded the expectations of the SS. Other of the defendants but also their unsuitability as company employees, including one communist, leaders in a democratic Germany. The old elite tri‐ spent months and weeks at Auschwitz installing umphed again, at least during the Federal Repub‐ such devices. None was critical of the company's lic's formative years. Kempner and other work during and after the war.

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