In the Name of the Volk: Political Justice in Hitler’s Germany

In 1934 the Nazis set up a special court to deal with treason against the German state. Between 1934 and 1945 this court - the Volksgerichtshof or People’s Court - condemned more than 12,000 civilians to death and sent thousands more to concentration camps. Yet in spite of its blatantly political character, the People’s Court was never indicted, either at Nuremberg or in subsequent trials. This text traces the roots of the Court, its establishment and procedures, and assesses the controversial question of the German judiciary’s complicity with the Nazi regime.