Deafening Silence. The German Justice System and the Decentralized Euthanasia Program, 1941-1945

Abstract

Everything has been said about the national socialist judiciary. The ideological reinterpretation of the law and its far-reaching abuse have been comprehensively analyzed. Nevertheless, there are still sources that go beyond yet another refutation of the legend of positivism: Two hitherto unknown administrative circulars show that the judiciary was initiated into the state ‘euthanasia’ program right down to the local courts and still committed itself to inaction. The following contribution is devoted to the assessment of these new sources.