Cold War Networks

The shift from unofficial to official legal aid between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s and 1960s

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/STW.2023.07.04

Abstract

The article highlights the constraints imposed by the Hallstein-Doktrin, preventing West German prosecutors from officially traveling to Eastern Bloc countries for investigations. Despite these challenges, dedicated individuals, including Hermann Langbein, Jan Sehn, Henry Ormond and Kazimierz Smoleń, within informal networks worked to facilitate cooperation across the Iron Curtain, gradually influencing West German policy toward the prosecution of war criminals. The article is divided into two parts: the first explores the early informal network’s role in prosecuting Nazi doctor Carl Clauberg in 1956, examining the prerequisites for justice and the groundwork laid for future prosecutions. The second part focuses on a pivotal moment in unofficial cooperation—the first visit of a West German court within the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial to the Auschwitz memorial site in 1964. It analyzes how the informal network shaped the intellectual and moral framework for the visit, influencing West German-Polish relations and altering perceptions of Nazi war crimes.

Author Biographies

Florine Miez, Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI)

Studied Political Science, Literature and Gender Studies in Frankfurt am Main, Marseille and Heidelberg. From 2018 to 2020, she was a student assistant at the LOEWE research project “Religious Positioning.” From summer 2020 until early 2023, she worked for British author Jack Fairweather, supervising research for his forthcoming book on Fritz Bauer. In this context, she conducted research on the legal prosecution of National Socialist crimes in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as on East-West cooperation in this context. She is currently working as project management assistant within the EHRI project for the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI). She co-curated the exhibition “Ich will sprechen über die Wahrheit, die dort war. Der Frankfurter Auschwitz-Prozess 1963–1965” available in Frankfurt am Main from 15 December 2023 to 30 April 2024.

Anna Schattschneider, Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig (Stiftung Haus der Geschichte)

Studied History at the University of Texas and Public History at the Freie Universität in Berlin. Her research interests lie in Holocaust Studies and postwar German society. She also conducted research for Jack Fairweather’s upcoming book about Fritz Bauer, which was made possible with the help of a scholarship from the Pilecki Institute. She is currently working at the Forum of Contemporary History Leipzig (Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig) run by Stiftung Haus der Geschichte on an exhibit about the history of private gardens in Germany.

Studia nad Totalitaryzmami i Wiekiem XX Tom 7 2023

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Published

2025-09-21

How to Cite

1.
MIEZ, Florine and SCHATTSCHNEIDER, Anna. Cold War Networks: The shift from unofficial to official legal aid between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. Totalitarian and 20th Century Studies. Online. 21 September 2025. Vol. 7, pp. 80-105 (PL), 264-289 (ENG). [Accessed 30 December 2025]. DOI 10.12775/STW.2023.07.04.

Issue

Vol. 7 (2023)

Section

Artykuły

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