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Business as usual : the Germans and their law, 1943 to 1948 / Benjamin Lahusen ; translated by Randi Goring
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Lahusen, Benjamin, Author.
- Standardized Title:
- 'Dienstbetrieb ist nicht gestört' : Die Deutschen und ihre Justiz, 1943-1948. English
- Language:
- English
- German
- Subjects (All):
- Courts--Germany--History--20th century.
- Courts.
- Justice, Administration of--Germany--History--20th century.
- Justice, Administration of.
- National socialism and justice.
- Germany--History--1933-1945.
- Germany.
- Germany--History--1945-1955.
- Genre:
- History
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Berghahn Books, 2026
- Summary:
- "Drawing on extensive archival records, Business as Usual shows how the legal system in Germany continued to operate with the same personnel, administrative routines, and institutional habits between 1943 and 1948, despite violence, mass murder, bombings, and regime change. This strict adherence to legal formalism acted as a "normalization machine" for mass atrocities, facilitating the compromised but seamless transition into the post-war administration. By tracing everyday judicial work in extraordinary circumstances, it reveals how legal institutions endure, adapt, and serve an inestimable purpose even in moments of profound upheaval. Moreover, only within the framework of the normal, ordinary law could the ideological exception of Nazi law unfold. In other words: besides the banality of evil, there is also evilness in banality"-- Provided by publisher
- Contents:
- The pleasures of duty : Legal service and the final battle
- Good people’s law : On the trail of the German soul
- Parceling death : The Auschwitz local court and the IG Farben land register
- Severance pay : The Sondergericht Aachen and its last judge
- On the run : The relocation of the judicial authorities in the winter of 1944/45
- Between the years : The suspension of law in the summer of 1945
- Winding up : The war and its long end
- Epilogue : The dream of real life
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed July 20, 2026)
- Other Format:
- Print version: Lahusen, Benjamin 'Dienstbetrieb ist nicht gestört'
- ISBN:
- 9781836956297
- 1836956290
- 9781836956303
- 1836956304
- OCLC:
- 1602884951
- Publisher Number:
- CIPO000403219
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license
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