USA: You're a Nazi, you'll be locked up forever Nazi: I'm a scientist, I can make rockets USA: Welcome aboard loyal patriot!

Will you cover the same process in Italy and Japan as well?

Japan almost completely escaped same process only because it wasn't splitted like Germany.

My grandmother was a teacher. After the Nazis had consolidated their power, all civil servants in Germany had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler. Since teachers were considered civil servants, this also applied to my nan. She refused because she believed Hitler was unworthy of leading Germany. She probably also threw in a few choice expletives directed at some minor Nazi official (she was mainly a contrarian and not all that interested in ideology). So she lost her job and got a short jail-sentence. My granddad, who was a pretty apolitical guy, then joined the NSDAP, probably to ensure that at least he could keep his job. Fast foreward to 1945. The soviets declared my nan a "member of the resistance" and made her headmistress of a school. My granddad, however, was forbidden to work as a teacher and instead worked as the school's caretaker. It took years to clear his name, even as a low-ranking member, who only ever joined to keep his job. Now, I am not complaining about the soviets' actions. They tried to clean up an enormous mess. The one thing that annoys me in this whole story is the fact that a lot of people way higher up in the party hierarchy got away with it, while my grandfather had to face the consequences of his (very minor) involvement. An especially sordid affair were the so called Persilscheine. If you got hold of a written statement by a victim of the Nazis, stating that you had helped (or at least tried to help) them escape persecution, your name would be cleared a lot quicker. There was a thriving black market for these things and a lot of people got off the hook by either buying one from some poor survivor, or outright forging them.

Good video! I'm sure the comments will be lovely lol

France: The country I hate the most is Germany. Also France: Let´s be ligth on the nazis in our zone.

bro has joseph stalins face on his wall 💀

Very good video as Always, I will add a few points explaining more why France was so "chill" in its denazification process: -The French occupation zone was smaller and less populated, mathematically they were less nazis to punish. -The country was still in shambles after the occupation and its brutal reconquest, with certain cities like Le Havre having been leveled to the ground. The governement had other priorities. -The focus was already on punishing those who had collaborated with the nazis and nazis whose crimes had been comitted in France. More than 800 people were executed after trial, while 11 000 were killed without a trial. -And finally the point you mentionned about how the French view the relation between nazism and german culture at large. This is probably the most important one and I am glad you mentionned it at all. It is important to understand that up to this point France and Germany had been either at war or in a very tensed peace for decades. In 1945 unlike most other allied nations France is not only dealing with the legacy of WW2 but of 1870 and WW1. Nazism is therefor seen as a modern avatar of what is seen as the German culture, or "prussianisme" as it was called. A culture based on militarism and authoritarianism. Culling nazism would only be culling the symptom, not the disease itself. There was a strong belief, and there still is for many historians, that Hitler was the ideological son of Bismarck (see Haffner's book The ailing empire : from Bismarck to Hitler) and so as you said it was the German culture itself which needed to be altered. This change would eventually come through the reconciliation process.

USSR: But...what if they're ALL nazis? US: Pretty sure they're not bud USSR: But what if we just, like, put the entire country in jail? US: Dunno man, that's a pretty big jail USSR: Not really, we just need to build a wall around half of one city US: wait

Randomly got curious about this subject and stumbled on your channel. Great Content, detailed but not a drag, must say very enjoyable for a casual history fan like myself :)

In many respects, the US/UK could have taken lessons from this when they toppled the Iraqi Baathist regime. Rather than instituting a wholesale wipe of Baathist membership within government and military institutions, they should have been smarter as such entities could have been integral to the resitution of normalcy within Iraq.

I'd love to watch a video comparing the denazification of germany from France's point of view and the reintegration of the confederate states into the US after the civil war.

Resistance Fighters in Eastern Europe: Yayyyy were free. Were finally free!! Stalin: Laughs in liquidation.

JoJo rabbit rocks

Paul Bremer would have done well to have been aware of this, when he was the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority following the invasion of Iraq...

Hey, excellent video. Do you think you could make a video about the Red Army Faction and the politics of West Germany as the country progressed post-denazification? I know only a little about it but I would be keen for that video if those subjects are on your radar. Keep up the great work :)

France was bound to have a different approach to Germany then the US or UK. They're the only one of the three that shares a land border with Germany. They're also the one power that the Germans defeated in war very decisively three times in less than a century. They also must be aware of the influence allied treatment of Germans had in causing extremist sentiment and thus WW2.

No one talks about the soviet war crimes

Good video guys!

The emblem you showed is from the NPD, the National Democratic Party of Germany, a de facto Nazi Party founded in Western Germany in the 1960s and still existing today. They were in a few state parliaments in the 2000s but today they are only locally strong in very few small cities. The eastern German National Democratic Party of Germany was shortened NDPD. It was a moderate nationalist supporter party for the communists and became part of the FDP, the libertarian Free Democratic Party after 1990 if I remember correctly. 2 TOTALLY different parties/ideologies.

Hi great video! I would like to see a similar video about Italy, because I think that a removal of fascists in Italy never really happened

European subcontinent??? What???

Good Video!

Given how enthusiastically France cooperated with Germany it’s not a shock they didn’t want to look too hard.

Minor technical point - the "supercomputers" that were mentioned were almost certainly NOT computers but rather Tabulating Machines. These were programmed by insertable circuit boards and plug wiring (like old telephone exchanges) but were not electronic computers. These were just being developed - ENIAC, for example only went into production usage in late 1945 or 46 and was a single computer working on ballistic tables for the military. Even calling ENIAC a programmable computer is a bit of a stretch.

"Failure to adequately confront the perpetrators of past crimes" Also applies to US Civil War and Reconstruction.

Reminds me a bit about "Radical Islam". Here in the United States, we're told, in this regard, " you CAN'T win a war against ideology." Any similarities between these two? IDK. But glad you talked about it David. Good job.👍

Thank you for putting great effort on giving us detailed information TCW!

From the information provided in this video the ending is left unnecessarily unambiguous. In criminal justice the methodology of punishment has changed in the past decades, mainly towards rehabilitation. Nazism is mainly rising in areas where the punishment was harshest and where they continue to be harsh as a reaction for this rise in the ideology. Whereas the decline happened immediate in the regions that didn't punish harshly but rehabilitated the criminals. You can hate nazis, punch them, but if you want a solution, neither of those have proven track record.

*"Nothing Changes, Just Rearranges"...* Korn (band) - "It's On!"

This is the process that is responsible for Germany missing the 2% expenditure on military. It is instilled an ever present fear of having a military might.

I can only imagine how many were wrongly accused. I mean, you receive a questionnaire asking if you were with the losers that now are known to be criminals. What do you think everybody is going to answer?

the french government may have been lenient, but french soldiers where anything but. also the french government wanted to economically dominate if not outright annex parts of germany after the war so treating the population with some leniency made political sense.

3:28 “...given what their (France and Germany) shared history had been...”. Reminds me of the Rowan Atkinson comedy segment about hell in which Rowan (as the devil or Toby as he calls himself) welcomes the French and telling them to join the Germans as they have plenty to talk about.

Why is there footage of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip when he’s talking about the French efforts at de-Nazification in their zone......?

I think there are parallels between the failures of Reconstruction and the failures of Denazification

Reminder that fascism and communism would've never happened/been as prominent if the Central Powers won ww1, because the Monarchs would've shut out any extremist ideologies that can easily get through democratics means.

The Idea that for the first time mass murder was committed is laughable.

Can someone tell me the name of the outro song?

And how about we stop using "nazism" as a derogatory term for people we disagree with on the internet?

Former nazis were apparently able to work in the West German government after the war. I remember seeing a video in which a former Nazi government official was making a presentation on stage and a young man went up and slapped him across the face. Apparently that was a kind of turning point. And this occurred among the Germans without any intervention by the Allies. I've never been able to find that video or any references to these Nazis serving in government. Did I imagine it?

Could you do a pair of specials focusing on the intro? How did coca cola and vodka, the m16 and ak, and the two food options there project their respective countries ideas and values through the world. That is pretty cool and not often focused on by many

Sometimes punishment is more trouble than what it's worth.

Anybody know the name of the music that plays at around 11:00? I find it in a lot of documentaries and think it is so beautiful

Ah yes, the myth of Germany punishment.

I wish this video was more in depth

10:40 What is the name of the music?

2:58 That's the Queen and Prince Phillip there. Must have been on a royal visit to France I guess.

Is it true that some SS or Wehrmacht men -also war criminals- ended up in the French Foreign Legion??

Though I don't agree with USSR on Anything always, because their policies were long term little achievers, they did however an excellent job in de nasification process.

What movie is that at minute 8.15

The French attitude could be partly explained that they want to have Germany separated into small states, such as Saarland, Nord Rhein Westfalen, Baden and Würtemburg which would fall under French influence in post war Europe. It would also stop the creation of West Germany as a unitary state.

In the book "Future Days", written by David Stubbs, the prologue talks about the political and cultural situation in West Germany from 1945 until the late 60´s. I strongly recomend it

Considering the fact that Germany was rebuilt into a strong economic force with a government that openly apologizes for its atrocities, I'd say the denazification process could've gone a lot worse. I mean, imagine if there was some deep rooted militaristic nation that had most of its major leaders and war criminals pardoned instead of executed, proceeded to keep them in power. And still plays the victim about WW2 today. All while having a shrinking population and horrible economy due to their petty ethnically motivated strict border policies, straining their diminishing workforce. Good thing no such nation exists, and America has handled the reconstruction of all its defeated foes in perfect manner.

It would be nice to have a movie about this period of time, instead of another wwII movie.

Its not swatika it's hooked cross

However, Austria hasn't been denazified.

"the nationalist nazi party" Are you sure you're not missing half the title there, buddy?

What is the music in 11:20 ??

Will you do a video about the dirty wars in the world?(Argentina, Mexico...)

The Soviets called any non-socialist fascist. Sounds familiar...

1:48 *Red army blowing up a swastika.

The laws the enabled powerful Labor Unions are actually pretty good.

Most interesting.

Deeznutsification

One of the best episodes yet!

A mercedes benz commercial played before this

Very good. From Caracas Venezuela

Would be cool to hear more about post-war Japan on this channel.

‘There’s a crime here that cannot be punished, there is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize, and there is a failure here that undoes all of our success.’ I have completely forgot who said that but it’s what they said when they saw the concentration camps

Very nice! Also very distracting XD Ah nvn

What movie was that with the little boy?

The use of torture was a big factor in the failure of denazification. It caused the allies to lose the moral high ground.

A good video overall but why draw a connection to modern politics it just seems a bit biased.

I'm glad that you acknowledged the improved relations between France/Germany post WW 2. Of all the unlikely scenarios that would unfold post WW 2, I can't imagine anybody saw that coming.

Could Japan under GHQ be compared with Denazification in Germany ?

This was a really interesting n informative video. The subject of purging people like the Nazis's and others just like them form governments after they're defeated is still a but of a touchy subject today. And will likely remain so for a longtime to come. Until finally someone figures it all out into a system that is acceptable to all. My compliments to those who made this video a reality.

European subcontinent? It's European Continent. You should know that.

Came for the history. Stayed for the background music

You forgot the most absurd of things during this period: When Stalin likely funded the "sozialistische Reichspartei", an aggressively hateful nazi party founded in 1949 that had some electoral success in the North Western German states of Lower Saxony and Bremen, in the city of Verden it gained almost 30%. The fact that in the first Bundestag elections in 1949 there was no 5% threshold meant that in 1949 the first German parliament had 2 Nazis in parliament clapping for Hitler and smearing the opposition as "traitors". It was eventually banned by the German Supreme Court in 1952, the first of its kind.

Maybe comment not about cold war but i love use "Europe subcontinent". I m Myself using this term but first time hear it from someone else

1.32-1.50 - the things you have to say to not be demonetized when reporting actual history in 2020...

there was no denazification in germany

Is this channel affiliated with The Great War/Time Ghost?

I'm not an expert on German politics these days but I remember the AfD bringing up that it's gotten dangerous to be a jew in Germany and how that's a bad thing so calling them neo-nazis seems unfair

10:59. How are the AFD neo-nazis?

There are those apparently who said more recently about being too harsh on Germany after WW2. Nazi relics not allowed, but Soviet ones being allowed. It does not work to try to erase history. Dogma also does not work. It is also typical of human nature to focus on negative things. It is also typical of human nature that when something becomes redundant, to want it destroyed, and then want it preserved.

Hey its not called 'swastika' even Hitler never called the symbol with this name real name is "Hakenkreuz" means hooked cross.

One thing I hate Hitler and the Nazis is for defiling the sacred symbol of my religion: the Swastika. Of course, I hate them for all the other stuff too, but the above one is a bit more personal for me.

Beta historian

I think the governments are at peace but the French and German people still quite dislike eachother... It comes from when my mom and her Russian expats to Germany went on a trip to France, the tourist guide told them then: "It's okay to speak Russian but DO NOT utter a word in German"

One of the most famous transitional justice.

While i do think there may have been some few connections to AfD and neo nazi movements. That is mostly Thanks to indvidiual members and not the entire party which you seem to suggest. That to me is as far fetch as to suggest the republican party is a far right party, because it has some extreme members that may seem to suggest as much

Sorry but as a German I have to argue against some of the things said in this video . 1. The Nazis didn't just survive or fall through the cracks after the war . They actively got reinstated by their former comrades in arms into the whole of German society , meaning the same people who where powerful in the third Reich did hold on to a lot of government positions in west Germany . 2. The AFD is not the only far right party we have in Germany nor is it a new one. The Bavarian CSU and the federal CDU (the "conservative " parties ) where after the war filled with former members of the NSDAP and known war criminals . The AFD is literally founded by former members of those parties who deemed their old parties not right wing enough (anymore) . 3. We as a society have a tendency to look the other way when right wing attacks occur inside of Germany . This creates misleading statistics of crimes committed by the right ( which in my humble opinion should be multiplied by the factor 10 at least ) . 4. We are no matter what some people say or like to present still a deeply racist and xenophobic society . Ask one German Turkish inhabitant of this country and you will hear stories that goes against the official line to a frankly grotesque extend . 5. Our international praised school system is only the upper(and nearly exclusively white) tier of an apartheid style school system that creates a,intended, division between ethnic Germans and Germans with a different ethnic background . 6. We have ghettos . 7 . Racial slurs have been and are still seen in some parts of society as a normal way to look upon the rest of the world . 8. Denazification is not a question for the philosophers . You shoot them . That's plain and simple . You don't give the choice to the very people who committed war crimes in the first place . You don't watch on while all those companies who benefitted from slave labour (which included a lot more then just Jewish slave labour and also not just a few big companies but virtually every single company with more then a few dozen workers none of which had to pay reparations mind you ) . You don't look on while we had well into the 80s former Nazi officials in high government positions . The reason why this all did not happened is also at its core plain to see in hindsight : France, great Britain and the US have had at that time to a lesser degree the same opinions on non white people . And you don't persecute someone for following your own believe system . Ask a french man for the Algeria war and you are in for some racist arguments or flat out denial . Ask a Brit for their reasons for Brexit and it ain't got any nicer . The racism of the US is right now so glaringly out in the open that I don't think I have to even mention it . And the modern Russia is sure as hell ain't better in that regard . And as a 9. Point I guess I have to mention , and maybe it just was badly worded in the video , the NPD was created in the west not the east and it was also a followup party after the first attempt of a new Nazi Party (The SAPD, yeah they literally just dropped the Nazi part in the name) was banned , after six years in existence mind you . And it was also created in the end of the 60s not directly after the war . I know a lot I wrote are basically informations you can only have when you are living in a specific country but some parts where already well know in the 50s by scholars like Hannah Arendt ( "the Origins of Totalitarianism") . Don't be blinded by the light a country would like to be seen in . You have to see the shadows to understand the path it took .

But NPDP is not the same as NPD-although NPD tried to attract NPDP members after the unification.

Something about paperclips lol

Regarding the narator's comment on 01:38, let us not forget comunism and it s victims, just as many probably as nazism

Denazification? Ever heard of Klaus Altmann? Guess not.Because he got that name in his new passport before migrating to South America,after working for the C.I.C. His real name was Klaus Barbie. Does that ring a bell? One example....of many.

1:35 that part was actually just öÖö

Very interesting. None of the occupying forces gave the Nazi's a free pass like the royal family of Japan. The emperor of Japan was as horrible if not more than Hitler. Yet, the only punishment he got it to be reduced to a ceremonial head of state and yet allowed to live a luxurious life! To day, Japan has not even formally apologized for all their war crimes!