Konrad Morgen : the conscience of a Nazi judge

215 Pages·2015·2.766 MB·English

by  Pauer-Studer, Herlinde, Velleman, J.David

Konrad Morgen
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005
Konrad Morgen SS Nazi Party identification card, Estate of Konrad Morgen, courtesy of Fritz
Bauer Institut
Konrad Morgen
The Conscience of a Nazi Judge
Herlinde Pauer-Studer
University of Vienna, Austria
J. David Velleman
New York University, USA
© Herlinde Pauer-Studer and J. David Velleman 2015
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in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2015 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-50504-3 ISBN 978-1-137-49695-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137496959
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and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pauer-Studer, Herlinde, author.
Konrad Morgen : the conscience of a Nazi judge / HerlindePauer-Studer, University of
Vienna, Austria; J. David Velleman, New York University, USA.
pages cm
1. Morgen, Georg Konrad, 1909–1982. 2. Judges—Germany—
Biography. 3. Germany. GeheimeStaatspolizei—Biography.
4. Nazis—Germany.—Biography. 5. World War, 1939–1945—Law and
legislation—Germany. I. Velleman, James David, author. II. Title.
KK185.M667P38 2015
347.43'0234—dc23 2014049915
[B]
Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
For Torsten
and for Leah and Evan
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C o n t e n t s
List of Illustrations ix
Preface x
Acknowledgments xiv
Timeline xvi
Main Characters xviii
Map of the German Reich and Polish Territories, 1942 xxiii
1 Introduction 1
2 The SS Man 11
3 The SS Judiciary 18
4 Criminals and Spies 20
5 The Criminal Character 26
6 The Issue of Race 34
7 From Cracow to Buchenwald 40
8 Karl Otto Koch 47
9 From Corruption to Murder 52
10 Partners in Crime 58
11 “Legal” Killing 67
12 The “Final Solution”: Conflicting Stories 74
13 Aktion Erntefest 82
14 Auschwitz 86
15 Adolf Eichmann 102
16 The Weimar Trials 107
17 Rudolf Höss and Eleonore Hodys 112
vii
viii Contents
18 Out of the Fray 115
19 Postscript 120
Appendix 1: Sample Documents 129
Appendix 2: Photos 134
Notes 141
Bibliography 169
Index of Subjects 182
Index of Names 187
L i s t o f
I l l u s t r a t i o n s
Figure 1 Konrad Morgen 128
Appendix Images
1.1 Arrest warrant (Haftbefehl) for Georg von Sauberzweig,
signed by Morgen 129
1.2 Judgment against Sauberzweig 130
1.3 Hitler’s rejection of Sauberzweig’s appeal 131
1.4 Confirmation of Sauberzweig’s execution 132
1.5 Letter from Morgen to Maria Wachter 133
2.1 Konrad Morgen 1938 134
2.2 Konrad Morgen in his SS uniform 135
2.3 Karl Otto Koch 136
2.4 Karl and Ilse Koch with their son, at Buchenwald 137
2.5 Odilo Globocnik 137
2.6 Hermann Fegelein 138
2.7 Ilse Koch 138
2.8 Waldemar Hoven 139
2.9 Christian Wirth 139
2.10 Jaroslawa Mirowska 140
ix