rmation about the mass murders and other crimes that otherwise might not have come to light. The German people and the rest of the world reacted with horror and dismay to the revelations. The trials of these prominent figures of the Hitler regime were followed by the trials of thousands of lesser offenders.The Allies did not seek merely to punish the leadership of the National Socialist regime, but to purge all elements of National Socialism from public life. One phase of the denazification process dealt with lower-level personnel connected with the Nazi regime, Their pasts were reviewed to determine if the parts they played in the regime were sufficiently grievous their exclusion from roles in a new Germany’s politics or government. Germans with experience in government and not involved in the Nazi regime were needed to cooperate with occupation authorities in the administration of the zones.The process of Denazification was carried out diversely in the various zones. The most elaborate procedures were instituted in the U.S. zone, where investigated individuals were required to complete highly detailed questionnaires concerning their personal history and to appear at hearings before panels of German adjudicators. In the British and the French zones, Denazification was pursed with less vigor because the authorities thought that it was more important to reestablish a functioning bureaucracy in their sectors.Denazification was most rigorous in the Soviet sector. Civil servants, teachers, and legal officials with significant Nazi pasts were thoroughly purged. Denazification was also used as an instrument for seizing the resources of the so-called “class enemy.” Former Nazis who owned factories or estates were denounced and their property confiscated. After participating in the social transformation, some formed Nazis were pardoned and even gained high positions within the new communist ruling class.The Denazification proc...
