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This template should be substituted on the article talk page. = Law in Nazi Germany =

Introduction
The period from 1933 to 1945 saw Germany and most of Europe dominated by the Nazi regime. During this time, Nazi Germany shifted away from its post-World War I society, with the “biological racism" of Nazi ideology increasingly superimposed on the legal and justice system. This has been classified as movement away from Germany’s ‘Normative State’, the traditional legal system; towards a ‘Prerogative State’, in which the mass atrocities typical of the Nazi regime were carried out. For this to succeed, the formal justice system was significantly dependent on judges, lawyers and other civil servants to acclimatise themselves to Nazi interference.

Contents
1. History

2. Nazi Laws

3. Nazi Legal System

1. History
After World War I, Germany saw the law as a “most respected entity”, upon regaining significant stability and confidence from the people. This is often credited to the work of lawyers and judges, most of them Jewish. Hitler was inspired by Mussolini and his march on Rome to gain power in Italy. The attempt begun in Bavaria, Munich, on the 8th-9th of November 1923, known as the “failed Beer Hall Putsch”, after being stopped by Bavarian police in Munich, and 16 Nazis killed. Hitler’s resulting time in prison was where he wrote his famous book, Mein Kampf. Significant economic issues during this time were also exploited by Hitler, increasing his popularity. His actions and aims have since been described as, using the “Constitution to destroy the Constitution”, and “rules of the republic to destroy the republic."

Nazi influence increased after winning most of the popular vote in the 1932 Reichstag general elections, however without majority. Eventual pressure saw President Paul von Hindenburg cave and appoint Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on the 30th of January 1933, referred to as the Machtergreifung (“seizure of power”).

The Reichstag Fire on the 27th of February, sparked part of the Weimar Constitution to be revoked, creating a state of emergency. This was encompassed in the Reichstag Fire Decree, to “safeguard public security", by restricting civil liberties, as well as granting increased discretion to the police. With this legislation, was severe penal actions taken by the SA (Sturmabteilung), resulting in arrests of 4,000 members of the Communist Party of Germany. Legislative power was also given to Hitler, so that his government could create laws without a vote in Parliament. Several principles were also invoked during the State of Emergency, including:


 * Führerprinzip (“Führer Principle”) – designated Hitler as above the law, therefore unbound by it.
 * “Volkist Principle of Racial Inequality” – organisation of the judicial system by race. This meant that anyone not considered part of the Volksgemeinschaft (“National community”), was seen as outside the law and accordingly, not protected by it.

From 1933, The Reich Ministry of the Interior (RMI), was utilised by the Nazi government to continue the rise to power. New civil service legislation was drafted, which enabled removal of non-Aryan persons or those “politically unreliable. Autonomy was essentially removed from the German states through a process of ‘coordination’, known as Gleichschaltung. Nazi ideology was simultaneously implemented through racial and ancestral legislation. 1936 saw Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS and State Secretary of the RMI, was placed in charge of police. With the growth of Nazi Germany, RMI organised the administration in newly acquired territories to create Nazi legislation.

Other key dates include:


 * 30th of June 1934 – the “Night of the Long Knives”, where 80 storm trooper leaders and other opponents of Hitler were arrested and shot.
 * 2nd of August 1934 – death of German President, assumption of presidential powers by Hitler. His dictatorship is built upon position as Reich president (head of state), Reich Chancellor (head of government) and Führer (leader of Nazi party).

Nuremberg Trials
On the 8th of August 1945, the Charter of International Military Tribunal (IMT) was announced, made up with judges from US, Great Britain, France and Soviet Union. Article 6 of the Charter outlines the crimes leading Nazi officials were trialled for:


 * “(1) Conspiracy to commit charges 2, 3, and 4
 * (2) Crimes against peace – defined as participation in the planning and waging of a war of aggression in violation of numerous international treaties
 * (3) War crimes – defined as violations of the internationally agreed upon rules for waging war
 * (4) Crimes against humanity – namely murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war; or persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated."

Leading Nazi officials were indicted for these crimes on the 6th of October 1945, the 24 officials including Hermann Goring (designated heir of Hitler), Rudolf Hess (Nazi deputy leader), Joachim von Ribbentrop (foreign minister), Wilhelm Keitel (head of armed forces). Verdicts included 12 death sentences, 3 life imprisonments, 4 prison time (10-20 years), 3 acquitted and 10 hanged. Those acquitted were Hjalmar Schacht, economics minister; Franz von Papen, German politician key in Hitler becoming chancellor; Hans Fritzsche, head of press and radio.

2. Nazi Law
Laws were constantly introduced and developed in Nazi Germany. Beginning in March 1933, after the Reichstag fire, the Enabling Act amended the Weimar Constitution. This meant Hitler and his government would be able to pass laws, even in violation of the constitution, without going through the president or Reichstag. Intimidation tactics were used by the Nazis to prevent opposition voters from attending, resulting in a vote of 444 to 94.

Once Germany was fully under Hitler’s rule, frequency and severity of laws passed increased, in particular with the Nuremberg Laws. On the 15th of September 1935, the ‘Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour’ was made, with 5 key clauses:


 * 1) Marriages between Jews and Germans or kindred blood are forbidden, and any marriages of this kind were void.
 * 2) Sexual relations outside of marriage between Jews and Germans or kindred blood were forbidden.
 * 3) Jews were not allowed to employ female citizens of German or kindred blood as domestic servants.
 * 4) Jews were forbidden to display Reich and national flag, or national colours.
 * 5) Person acting contrary to the first article was punished with hard labour, to the second article was imprisoned and imprisonment with a fine for the third.

There were 1,900 such examples of ‘special Jewish law’, both emphasising Aryan morality and older anti-Semitic ideas of “Jewish counter-morality." Jewish lawyers and notaries had already been prohibited from working for the city in a 1933 decree. These years saw Nazi ideology continue to creep into the legal system, some laws and decrees including:


 * "Ban on the use of Jewish names for spelling in the delivery of telegrams by telephone (22nd April 1933).
 * Non-Aryans cannot be appointed as either lay judges or jury members (13th November 1933).
 * Everything must be done to put an end to the appearance that Aryan students are receiving assistance from Jews in preparing their exams (4th April 1935).
 * Prohibition of slaughter of animals according to Jewish custom.
 * Also laws aimed at Jewish athletes, with Jewish boxers excluded from competing, and no swimming in public places, as it was believed they would pollute the water.

3. Nazi Legal System
The civil service during this time served as a “legal framework for depriving Jews of their fundamental rights. The opportunity to create Jewish policy became very esteemed, providing platforms into careers for bureaucrats; this high-stake competition resulting in increasingly dramatic pitches. The intelligence and familiarity with the legal system of these individuals, meant that legal structures and systems could be easily manipulated.

The courts lost their independence, controlled by Hitler to strengthen and support his rule. Jewish lawyers and judges were all removed from their jobs, as well as any other with socialist or ‘concerning’ views for the Nazi Party. The overarching legal principle in courts became a sort of Nazi ‘common sense’, with the motto “whatever is good for Germany is legal." The People’s Court, Volksgerichtshof, was created in 1934, for anyone accused of political crimes. From 1938 onwards, all criminal acts would be prosecuted in this Court, and all minor offences from 1939. President Roland Freisler was appointed in 1942, serving as both judge and interrogator, and became infamous for his “berating and belittling” of defendants and lawyers. Words of statutes were “systematically misinterpreted”, with the Court described as committing “judicial murders." Separation between clients and lawyers was calculated to prevent communication, with defence speeches often cut off. Courts were made up of three judges, with all verdicts final, and the guilty party immediately executed. The attempted coup on the 20th of July 1944, sparked a serious of aggressive prosecution in this court. In just over a year, more than 110 death sentences across 50 trials were handed out.