Hans Globke

As a witness in several Nazi war crimes trials, Globke stated that he had heard of mass shootings during the war while denying official knowledge of, or responsibility for, the “Final Solution”. He also maintained that members of execution units might have feared severe punishment if they refused to obey.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is a witness

The East German Supreme Court sentenced Globke to life imprisonment in absentia for crimes linked to his legal activities under Nazism. The trial formed part of an East German campaign also aimed at discrediting the Adenauer government.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Historical research into West German intelligence describes close cooperation between Reinhard Gehlen and Globke. The foreign intelligence service also collected information on domestic political parties and figures, with Globke described as a discreet intermediary in this politically sensitive activity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following allegations by Max Merten linking Globke to Adolf Eichmann and to the alleged failure of a plan concerning Jews in Greece, the Bonn authorities conducted an investigation. In June 1961, prosecutors announced the closure of the case because the allegations could not be verified.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Konrad Adenauer brought Globke into the Federal Chancellery in 1949. He became a director and then, in 1953, State Secretary and one of the Chancellor's most influential associates, despite intense public criticism of his role under the Third Reich.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After the war, Globke provided information to American prosecutor Robert Kempner and benefited from testimony concerning his contacts with resistance circles. He was subsequently placed in a denazification category allowing him to continue a public career.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following Slovakia's transformation into a state dependent on the Reich, Globke drafted a “Jewish law code” for that country according to LeMO, contributing to the framework for dispossessing and depriving the Jewish population of its rights.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Globke was associated with implementing measures requiring German Jews without a name considered Jewish to add “Israel” or “Sara”. He was also questioned after the war about identification measures in passports.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Together with Wilhelm Stuckart, Globke published a commentary on the Nuremberg Laws that systematised their implementation and set out a racial conception of citizenship, discriminating in particular against Jews and people classified as of “foreign blood”.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Then an official at the Reich Ministry of the Interior, Hans Globke participated in drafting the law abolishing the Prussian State Council and other legislation contributing to Prussia's institutional alignment with the Nazi regime.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated