Lawlessness is a state of disorder due to disregard of the law.
That is an incomplete definition. For it neither takes into consideration the nature of the law disregarded, nor the vigor with which an unjust law is sometimes enforced.
Bad law, vigorously enforced, moves a nation toward tyranny.
Good law, negligently ignored, destroys respect for the law.
Very bad laws ruled Nazi Germany between 1933-1945.
Few German lawyers and judges foresaw what was ahead
The National Socialist state created the Peoples' Court to embody the basic concepts of law as practiced by National Socialism
On 15 July 1934, the Volkischer Beobachter (AKA: Popular Observer, VB), the Nazi daily newspaper, stated the court's mission: "Anyone who turns against the political unity of the National Socialist state today will be judged by this court. The disastrous trial of the Reichstag arsonists [more on that later] is still fresh in our memory. Despite the blatantly political motivation behind the crime, it dragged on for months, delayed by politically inexperienced judges who, in order to reach an ‘objective judgement,' again and again called for fresh testimony from experts, questioned countless witnesses and nevertheless produced a miscarriage of justice. This in particular makes the need for politically trained judges obvious."
"Historically speaking, the Volksgerichtshof, which convenes for the first time today and is intended to be a permanent institution, therefore represents something completely new [not exactly true] within the German legal system. It marks the end of an inglorious chapter in the history of German justice, an era in which politically and criminologically insensitive German legal authorities were so intent on objectivity and loyal to the constitution that they were unable or unwilling to see what was happening around them." (Ortner, p. 5.)
Elsewhere, the VB's Editor-in-Chief, Wilhelm Weiss, described the new court's mission. Here is a summary of his very long statement:
After seizing power, the Nazis created a special court for the most serious political crimes. Before 30 January 1933, treason was the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court which reflected the general "political and spiritual basic attitude" typical of the Weimar Republic. Supreme Court trials often led to parliamentary confrontations and press efforts to protect those guilty of treason. The result was "legal uncertainty" meaning that a state could not be protected by "the letter of the law" if the law "is not in accord with a clear political idea." The National Socialist state created the Peoples' Court to embody the basic concepts of law as practiced by National Socialism. (paraphrased from Koch, p. 45.)
Justice in Germany was no longer about written law, but about the will of the Fuhrer
Justice in Germany was no longer about written law, but about the will of the Fuhrer. For he is the law.
"In Germany after 1933 law became preventive law. It often struck before it had been broken. It then no longer took account of the personality of the accused or his or her human and personal requirements. It struck blindly…After 1939, the liberal traditions of the German judiciary were largely abandoned, on the justification of a superficial reference to the emergencies of war, to make way for the extensive use of ‘preventive detention,' the collective identification of groups as ‘criminals' such as Jews, gypsies, and other minorities, and the complete hopelessness of the case of any individual caught up in the machinery of what was called the law." (Koch, pp. 49f.)
Meanwhile, Germany's lawyers became civil service workers.
Roland Freisler (pictured left, in his robe) – the highest-ranking Nazi judge in the Peoples' Court – was eager to hand out death sentences. Executions rose from 32 in 1937 to 2,097 in 1944. Total executions eventually reached 5,191. Disparaging comments, even in private conversations, concerning Hitler, Germany or the war merited death. It was the Nazis' version of "hate speech".
Freisler's predecessor as President of the Peoples' Court was Otto Thierack (seen below, bald head, cheek scar). Years later, after being appointed Minister of Justice, President of the Academy for German Law and Leader of theNational Association of German Legal Professions, Otto occasionally distributed "Judges' Letters" (Richterbriefe) to keep Nazi judges updated on National Socialism's legal principles.
Leader of the nation was always its supreme judge
These were among Thierack's statements to "German Judges!" in his first such letter issued on 1 October 1942:
"According to the ancient Germanic interpretation of the law, the leader of the nation was always its supreme judge. Therefore, when the leader of the nation invests another person with the authority of a judge, this means not only that the latter derives his judicial power from the leader and is responsible to him, but also that leadership and judgeship are related in character…A corps of judges like this will not cling slavishly to the letter of the law. It will not anxiously search for support in the law, but with satisfaction in its responsibility, will find within the bounds of the law the decision which is best for the life of the community." (Ortner, pp. 69f.)
Thierack's advice to his successor, Freisler, as in-coming VGH President, was that "the judge of the VGH must become accustomed to seeing primarily the ideas and intentions of the leadership of the state, while the human fate which depends on it is only secondary…The accused before the VGH are only little figures in a much greater circle…which fights the Reich." (Koch, p. 6.)
On 26 October 1946, Otto Thierack (above) hanged himself before he was scheduled to face trial at Nuremberg.
On 3 February 1945, Roland Freisler (above) is believed to have been on the lethal receiving end of part of the 3,000 tons of explosives dropped on Berlin by allied bombers that day.
Note: This is part of the series based on the hypothesis that today's Democratic Party has, since Donald J. Trump emerged as a contender for the Presidency in 2016, adopted several methods and tactics used by the National Socialist German Worker' Party (1920-1945) to control the German people. Next: The current threat to American justice.
Lee Cary -- Bio and Archives
Since November 2007, Lee Cary has written hundreds of articles for several websites including the American Thinker, and Breitbart’s Big Journalism and Big Government (as “Archy Cary”). and the Canada Free Press. Cary’s work was quoted on national television (Sean Hannity) and on nationally syndicated radio (Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin). His articles have posted on the aggregate sites Drudge Report, Whatfinger, Lucianne, Free Republic, and Real Clear Politics. He holds a Doctorate in Theology from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, is a veteran of the US Army Military Intelligence in Vietnam assigned to the [strong]Phoenix Program[/strong]. He lives in Texas.