Prosecuting Nazi War Criminals

by Alan S. Rosenbaum

It has been nearly fifty years since the collapse of the Nazi regime; is there any longer a point to pressing for the apprehension and prosecution of surviving Nazi war criminals?
In this carefully argued book, Alan Rosenbaum makes it clear that there is. He contends that apart from the concerns about obligations to the dead or vengeance against the living, we must continue to pursue the prosecutorial agenda as an investment in the moral climate in which we wish to live. To fail to do so would be to fail in our commitment to a society safe for ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.
Demonstrating that the crucial arguments apply well beyond the specific concern about war criminals, Rosenbaum looks at other current issues, including the treatment of hate groups and hate speech and the reconstruction of a Christian theology without anti-semitism.
This book is an important contribution to Jewish and Holocaust studies; to political, social, and legal thought; and to moral theory.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 1993

Reviews

[Kevin Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the "coordination" of the judiciary and abuse of law to terrorize and quell threats to legitimacy that took place under National Socialism. It also covers the central problems of prosecuting war crimes, locating Nazi fugitives, problems of collective guilt. Very good introduction for undergraduate courses.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book raises and answers the question of whether there's any point in prosecuting Nazi war criminals. The author makes a strong statement. This is a book worth reading.