“Always correct and humane” How the West German justice system dealt with the Nazi genocide against the Sinti and Roma

By Ulrich F. Opfermann

The book is the first to provide a systematic overview of a previously neglected area of the judicial investigation of the Nazi system: the handling of the crimes against the Sinti and Roma in West German NSG proceedings, taking into account the crime scene in Eastern Europe. The meticulously researched study presents numerous procedures. It provides information about the legal requirements of the West German special judicial system, traces the course of the proceedings and asks about the roles of the accused and witnesses as well as the judicial staff. The focus is on the collective proceedings on the “Gypsy complex” (1958–1970), planned as a major trial alongside the first Auschwitz trial, which, contrary to its claim, had little response and is now largely forgotten.

Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2023. 575p.