Braunbuch
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Braunbuch - about War and Nazi criminals in West Germany (English title: Brown Book - War and Nazi Criminals in West Germany: State, Economy, Administration, Army, Justice, Science) is the title of a book from Eastern Germany (GDR) of Albert Norden, which appeared in the GDR in 1965. In this book Albert Norden revealed the names of 1800 politicians and of heavily loaded prominents in West Germany (FRG) - leading and powerful persons of the FRG - which in Hitler-Germany were Nazis or war criminals, became rich, committed crimes or held prominent positions. Since the book was mainly created under control of the Stasi, all of its assertions should be taken with a grain of salt. Recently, several acts of forgery in the book have been proven.
For example it claimed that the Federal President Heinrich Lübke was active as an architect of KZs, Federal Chancellor Hans George Kiesinger was member of the NSDAP, employer president Hanns Martin Schleyer was member of the SS, a naval judge Filbinger had announced death sentences in the Nazi-dictatorship, or asserting a brown past of the Federal Minister Theodor Oberlaender, and Federal President Richard von Weizsaecker.
Altogether 1800 West German persons and their past were covered: especially 15 Ministers and Staatssekretaere, 100 admirals and generals, 828 judges or state lawyers and high law officers, 245 officials of the Foreign Office and of embassies and consulates in leading position, 297 high police officers and officers of the Verfassungsschutz. The first brown book seized in West Germany - on Frankfurt book fair - by judicial resolution, besides were to 1968 were forbidden all GDR newspapers and magazines in the Federal Republic.
The contents of this book led to substantial attention in West Germany and other foreign countries. The Federal Government of Germany stated at that time, it would be "all falsification". Later on, however, it became clear that the data of the book were partly correct. It was translated into 10 languages. Amongst the reactions to it was also a similar West-German book of the same name, covering the topic of Nazis re-emerging in high-level positions in the GDR.
List of famous Nazis influential after 1945
External links
- English:
- German