WW2 duties of a regional judge

So far as I can establish - I am not an expert in this fiekl - Landgerichte (regional courts) exist today in Germany, and have traditionally existed within the German judicial system. They aooear to have a dual role, covering both criminal and civil cases.Whether particular judges specialise in one side of that work, or did in the 1930s/40s I do not know.

Suffice it say that that was the kind of court to which Florian's grandfather was appointed as a judge in 1937. Landgerichte were the established courts of the land dealing with "ordinary" people and cases brought before them according to the "ordinary" civil and criminal codes. They remained distinct from the "Volksgerichte" - so called "People's Courts" - established under the Nazi regime to deal with political "crimes" and all kinds of "undesirables". The Volksgerichte had to be invented precisely because Hitler could not trust the ordinary courts and judges to do his dirty work for him - finding people guilty of trumped-up invented "offences" and sentencing them to draconian punishment - years of harsh confinement in concentration camps, if they were "lucky", instant beheading by guillotine if they were not.

Landgerichte were and are also entirely separate from military courts, or courts-martial, just as they are in most countries, so discussion of military legal procedures in this thread serves only to confuse rather than clarify.

On the principle that someone is innocent until proven otherwise I am prepared to accept that Florian's grandfather acted properly as a judge conducting his cases according to the ordinary law as it stood at the time. If this included sentencing people to death, then it would have been for some offence such as murder - and deplorable as capital punishment was and is in humnitarian terms, Britain was, and the USA still notoriously is, as guilty of that as the ordinary German judicial system was in the 1930s/40s.

As to the training of a judge,it was and is true that the system in Germany involves a two-year probationary period, and, although "probatioary period" is probably the most apt term in English, "apprenticeship" is not a wholly inappropriate word to use, and there is no need to apologise for it.

On the reason why Florian's grandfather was ordered to the front, we shall never know for certain. However, the first point to be borne in mind is that under the German system, as it had operated since the early 19th century, all men were required to undergo military training at around age 20 and, once trained, were liable, up until around age 50, to recall for active service at any time the state so required. So Florian's grandfather must not be seen as suddenly being taken as a civilian and pushed into the Wehrmacht, but recalled as a reservist. It could have been simply because of the desperate need on the Eastern front, just as, later on, 16-year-olds were dragooned into the front-line of defence of Berlin, or it could have been a particular need for radio operators, the man's military "trade". Or, possibly, he said or did something to displease the authorities and he was literally given his marching orders to get him out of the way.

Finally, on the problem of formally establishing his death, I would attribute it to the chaos of war in general and of the Eastern Front at that time. Formally recording the dead or missing is the least priority when everyone is literally fighting for his life, troops become scattered, communication links are broken, records and equipment are destroyed. War's a bloodt game, as Siegfried Sassoon said, and it takes years, decades, to pick up the pieces, some of which are never found.

 

Thanks Kai. I have heard about these too, but I don't think my grandfather was involve in this - at least I have found nothing to suggest it.

Thanks again,

Florian

 

Wow, Coder!

Thanks is amazing information. Thanks so much.

I appreciate all the hard work and trouble that all have gone to.

If I find any further information I will let you all know.

Many thanks again,

Florian

 

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick message to all of you to say thanks so much.

I really appreciate how welcoming and supportive everyone here has been, and the amazing help that I have received.

If I find any further information about my grandfather's role as a Civil Judge during WWII, I will let you all know.

In regards as to why my grandfather was sent to the front, Coder's explanation that:

Being called as a reservist seems the most lightly to me, especially since the actual name of his troop was the "Stammkompanie Füsselier-Ersatz-Bataillon 68" which I translated in a previous message above as "Troop Regiment Replacement-Fusilier-Battalion 68" - but the word "Ersatz" (translated here as "Replacement") can also be translated as "Reserve" (So "Troop Regiment Reserve-Fusilier-Battalion 68"). My father, of course, claimed that he had refused to obey the Nazis and was therefore sent to the front - but I doubt this is true, especially since my father is unfortunately a compulsive (almost sociopathic) liar. Or else he may have told this story as it distances my grandfather from the Nazi government, and therefore my father maybe even tried this to display my grandfather as some sort of war hero. We'll never know for sure.

Anyway, I'm rambling on now. Thanks again everyone.

All the best,

Florian

 

Governement officials such as judges are often seen as necessary to the public order. As such they are often/usually exempt from being conscripted. It would seem to me that the two most likely reasons for such a conscription at this point in the war would be:
1) The region where he was a judge was expected to no longer be under German control in the near future.
2) It was "inconvienient" for the Nazi's that he remain in that position. Inconvient could be a direct refusal of their orders or just a tendency to make judgements that didn't fall in line with what they wanted. Or even that they desired the safe postion for someone else.

Another possiblity was the region was to fall under matial law or the party courts were going to take over the duties of the regular court system so his positoin was abolished.

 

Thanks lwd,

I believe the reason was probably number 1. I estimate that he was sent to the Wehrmacht in December 1944, and Elbing was taken by the Soviets on (I believe) January 23, 1945. Does this seem right to you?

Thanks again,

Florian

 

It's certainly possible. However the Nazi party wasn't willing in most cases to admit that they were likly to loose ground. Doing so was seen as "defeatist" and could have very unfortunate consequences for anyone promoting such positions. That doesn't mean that's not what happened but likely you won't find an official document stating it. Now it could be that the real ratinal was 1 but it was couched in therms of the third possiblity I put forth. i.e. the area was close enough to the front lines that it should fall under marshal law or the "people's courts" and the regular courts were no longer needed. I wouldn't dismis 2 as being the case or playing a role at this point either. My impression is that what was acceptable behavior got more and more restricted as time went on so that rulings that were acceptable to most in the party in 41 may no longer have been so in 44.

I'm far from an expert on this though. Have you tried corresponding with any universities in the area that offer law degrees? History and law are pretty closely linked and some of them may have some insight. Did your grandfather have a degree in law? or was that required for his position? If he had a degree and you know what school he went to they also might have some info or someone there might be willing to do a little research on it.

 

Another possible line to investigate. I would think there is a decent chance that at least some of the court records for this period survived. You might want to see if you can find any, especially those with your Grandfathers name on them. They might aford some clues and if nothing else might give you a better understanding of him.

 

Thanks very much for your reply. I agree. I see this as being the most lightly possibility. Appreciate your help

Florian

 

Thanks lwd. There are clearly several ways that it could have gone. I know that my grandfather was an Assessor in Greifswald, so he may have gone to University there. I will get in touch with them and see if they can help me further. However, the city in which he was a judge (Elbing) is now part part of Poland, so I doubt any information or records of his cases will still be there. I'm not sure as to who I should get in touch with in regards to this.

Thanks again,

Florian

 

Would copies of court decision be sent to regional or national offices of some sort? If convicts went to federal facilities I would think so but I'm not at all familiar with German practice in that regard.

 

I would have thought so, but if it went to a regional office then it may well be destroyed (as it's now part of Poland). Hopefully there will be a national office somewhere where files may have been sent, but I don't even know where to start looking.

Thanks,

Florian