Selected records of the Nazi Justice (NJ) collection

Identifier
irn524403
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2007.343
  • RG-14.090M
Dates
1 Jan 1920 - 31 Dec 1955
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Web Source

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn524403

Extent and Medium

1,084,073 digital images, JPEG

1,328 microfilm reels (digitized), 35 mm

Creator(s)

  • Bundesarchiv (Germany)

Archival History

Bundesarchiv (Germany)

Acquisition

Source of acquisition is the Bundesarchive, Germany. The trial records, documented resistance against the Nazi, were collected by Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED). In 1959 the records were deposited as a part of collection of the Reichs Justice Ministry, Oberreichsanwalt am Volksgerichtshof. The files were separated from their original provenance and were brought together in the newly created "NJ" collection, which was subsequently transferred to the Central Party Archive of the SED. In 1971, the "NJ" collection was classified as confidential and was no longer accessible; microfilming started soon afterwards. Special SED archivists for research on resistance during the Nazi era used the "NJ" collection. The Party thought of itself as being the heir of the “true” Nazi resistance, and this was the basis of the interest of the party into this collection. Some information from the files was used for propaganda purposes as well. In 1992, after Germany's reunification, the Central Party Archive was closed and the collection was transferred to the Bundesarchiv Berlin. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's International Archives Project acquired the microfilms from the Bundesarchiv and transferred the collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in Oct. 2007. The entire collection was digitized in 2012.

Scope and Content

The collection "NJ" consists of over 25,000 single files of selected Nazi trial records compiled at the Archives of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED) Central Party of the East German communist party, after the war. The SED Archives collected original files from different German courts, including the "Volksgerichtshof" (Nazi "People's Court"), district courts and others between 1933 and 1945. Records mainly document resistance and opposition to the Nazis and relate to communists, social democrats, clerics, Jews and members of resistance organizations in the occupied countries. The collection contains some Jewish resistance cases, for example, the resistance group around Herbert Baum. His group and two others led by Siegbert Rotholz, Heinz Joachim and Werner Steinbrincks, with nearly hundred members of mostly Jewish heritage, originated in the Jewish youth movement. Another example of Jewish resistance shortly after Hitler came to power is the group around the social democrat, Gustav Flörsheim. This group operated within a network of several groups consisting of social democrats, union members and other Nazi resistance groups operating all over Germany. The files on these groups include protocols of the interrogations of the defendants, indictments and verdicts.

System of Arrangement

The collection consists of over 25,000 single files on 1,328 microfilms. The files relating to a single criminal case are organized by name of the defendant. The files include bills of indictment, verdicts, arrest documents and mercy petitions. The card index is organized in an alphabetical order by names and by lists of charged people

People

  • Baum, Herbert, 1912-1942.
  • Joachim, Heinz.
  • Rotholz, Siegbert.
  • Steinbrincks, Werner.
  • Flörsheim, Gustav.

Corporate Bodies

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany

Subjects

  • War crimes--Germany.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Jewish resistance--Germany.
  • Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945.
  • Jews--Germany--History--1933-1945.
  • Trials--Germany.

Genre

  • Document
This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.

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