National Socialism and the Rule of Law

Authors

Donald P. Kommers, Notre Dame Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1992

Publication Information

54 Rev. Pol. 493 (1992) (book review)

Abstract

Ingo Muller's book, originally published in 1987 as Furchtbare Juristen: Die unbewaltigte Vergangenheit unserer Justiz (literally "Dreadful Jurists: The Remorseless Past of Our Judiciary"), describes the moral collapse of the German legal profession and its role in facilitating the construction and maintenance of the Nazi regime. Gracefully translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider, Hitler's Justice seeks, first, to show how legal professionals betrayed their trust as lawyers, prosecutors, and judges and, second, to assess the degree to which Germany in the postwar period reformed its legal system, purged the judiciary of former Nazis, and rededicated itself to the rule of law. It contains an overview of Germany's court system, a sketch of the legal profession's organization, a note on the controversies about the role of lawyers and judges under National Socialism, and a summary of the allied effort to reform the German legal system after the war.

Recommended Citation

Donald P. Kommers, National Socialism and the Rule of Law, 54 Rev. Pol. 493 (1992) (book review).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1391