Tribunal verdict on Emil Kirschbaum, July 23, 1947. KIT Archives 21011/209.
This notice to the professor of apparatus engineering, Emil Kirschbaum (1900–1970), is a typical example of the outcome of denazification in academia. Kirschbaum was classified as a “fellow traveller” after the arbitration tribunal determined, based on his statements, “that he had participated in N[ational] S[ocialism] no more than nominally and had supported it insignificantly at best.” After the fall of the Nazi regime, the denazification process was intended to ensure that rebuilding efforts proceed without the influence of former National Socialists. Millions of questionnaires were distributed, requiring individuals to disclose their affiliations with Nazi organizations. The tribunals established for denazification were lay courts, with procedures that broadly resembled those of criminal trials. A prosecutor gathered incriminating evidence, the accused persons had the opportunity to defend themselves and call witnesses to vouch for their character. The outcome of these proceedings often hinged on the testimony of these supporting witnesses, making the strength of an individual’s social connections a decisive factor in the tribunal’s verdict. Consequently, the records from such proceedings frequently provide an incomplete basis for assessing whether the decisions were appropriate. kn
A glance through the denazification files on academic teachers often elicits a shake of the head. Although historical research has shown that German institutions of higher education and their professors had compromised themselves in many ways, these files paint a seemingly quite different picture. Even the most prominent National Socialists managed to provide exonerating affidavits — some of them very credible. They attest to the predicament in which professors felt subject to coercion, to only reluctant joinings of the party (NSDAP) and other Nazi organizations, to their rejections of the system through everyday gestures or in confidential conversation, and to their support for individuals persecuted by the regime. The central claim of professors was that they had always acted strictly professionally, unswayed by political influence at their institutes. The Karlsruhe professor of apparatus engineering, Emil Kirschbaum, also presented good character references. These affidavits were colloquially known as Persilscheine (whitewash certificates), as many Germans managed to use them to bleach out the most persistent “brown stains” from their supposedly pristine reputations. In the denazification trial courts, which historian Lutz Niethammer characterized as a “follower factory,” these testimonies helped transform millions of NSDAP members into innocent bystanders. On July 23, 1947, Kirschbaum was deemed a “fellow traveler” based on such whitewash certificates — despite his former memberships in the NSDAP and the National Socialist Lecturers’ League, as well as his presumed role as a staff member of the lecturers’ leadership, the Dozentenführer. The distorted picture painted by the tribunal files led to denazification being generally regarded as a failure. In a certain respect, this is on the right track: No political process could ever repair the break with civilization caused by National Socialism. No punishment could ever make amends for injustice and betrayal. Denazification is criticized not just in retrospect. Contemporaries also vehemently rejected the proceedings. Calls for closure came early, and the occupying powers also quickly shifted their priorities as the Cold War intensified. Yet denazification did have a constructive side. It allowed Germans, including professors and universities, to distance themselves from National Socialism, although this was largely based on a dishonest reinterpretation of the past. At the same time, Emil Kirschbaum’s conformity as a “fellow traveler” was clearly put to official record as “political guilt” and punished. Finally — and this is sometimes overlooked — denazification also did in fact lead to the removal of certain Nazi figures, such as Rudolf Weigel, the National Socialist rector of Karlsruhe Polytechnic. Given this ambivalence, the often-maligned “follower factory” helped prevent National Socialist ideas from gaining foothold at colleges and universities after 1945 and facilitated a gradual return to the international scientific community. Anton F. Guhl