Denazification 2.0: Performance questions the dark German history”

Denazification 2.0: Performance questions the dark German history”

The discussion about the denazification of Germany remains an extremely topical topic to this day. On November 29th the performance “Denazify Yourself!” will take place in Berlin. which deals with the question of historical reappraisal and the blind spots of the post-war period. This event uses original texts, heirlooms, fantasies and oral history to illuminate the legal continuity between the young Federal Republic and the Nazi state. Participating artists such as Luce deLire, Callaz, Mario Bergmann and Annett Hardegen want to open up both cognitive and emotional accesses in order to confront the audience with the shadows of history. This performance is supported by the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Cultural Promotion Project Fund.

The political reality in Germany shows that denazification is often viewed as largely a failure. According to reports, there is a cultural fascination with fascism and tyranny. In addition, authoritarian patterns of thought and action can be observed in German parliaments. The question therefore arises to what extent the measures taken at that time were successful and whether they could actually lead society on a democratic course.

Historical context of denazification

Denazification was carried out immediately after the end of the Second World War. In January 1946, the Allied Control Council in Berlin passed Control Council Directive No. 24, which outlined measures to remove people from public office. These included war criminals, high-ranking party members as well as civil servants and lawyers who were considered staunch supporters of National Socialism. Around 182,000 people were imprisoned in the western occupation zones, of whom around 86,000 were released by 1947.

In total, over 3.6 million Germans went through the denazification process, with an evaluation of questionnaires that all over 18-year-olds had to fill out to record their membership in the NSDAP and other involvement. The division into three categories such as main culprits and followers led to the widespread perception that denazification was not carried out consistently. The saying “You hang the little ones, you let the big ones go” describes the perceived lack of justice and the inequality experienced in the sentencing of Nazi criminals.

Aftermath and relevance today

Although denazification officially ended in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1951, coming to terms with the Nazi past remains a central theme. Recent research shows that former Nazis were also able to make a career in the GDR, while the SED tried to sell its own history as an anti-fascist state. The comparison between the occupied zones reveals that denazification was stricter in the Soviet zone, but served more as a political tool, while many former Nazi officials had unhindered careers in the Federal Republic, as the case of the co-author of the Nuremberg Race Laws, Hans Globke, shows.

The performance “Denazify Yourself!” thus represents an important platform to address the complex relationships between the first and second German democracies. With contemporary references to current topics such as artificial intelligence, Christian fundamentalists and gender identity, the performance aims to open up new spaces for discussion. All of these aspects raise the central question: How can we learn from history to shape a more just future?

For those interested, the event will take place in English and offers the opportunity to deal intensively with these topics. Further information about the performance can be found at berlin.de. The historical denazification can also be tracked in detail on Wikipedia and Planet Wissen.