Die westdeutschen Juristen und der Nürnberger Juristenprozess:: Analyse einer (Nicht-?)Rezeption

Abstract

This contribution analyses opinions of as well as about the process against the judges and lawyers at Nuremberg in 97 by promoting two perspectives. On the one hand, the central focus lies on the direct perception of the verdicts by the professional audience. The main sources for this study are judicial journals of the time and transcripts of judicial conferences. By analysing such discourses in a more differentiated manner (e.g. the famous essay by Gustav Radbruch), one can gain a deeper insight into its complexity. On the other hand, the perception of these discourses are placed into the larger context of the jurists’ self-positioning and professional ethos. It becomes clear that the feeling of social exclusivity and the traditional professional ethos, which was already well developed during the time of the Weimar Republic, greatly hindered a (self-)critical view towards the position of the legal profession under the Nazi regime.