Dealing with Former Nazis in the Soviet Zone (1946)

Both parts of Germany had a problem after the war — what to do with former Nazis.  Dealing with the major figures was easy enough, but what about the millions who had been members of the party or its subsidiaries?  To punish all of them equally would have caused major problems.

East Germany was not yet a separate state and the Communists had not forced the Socialists to merge with them.  This material was issued early in 1946 by the Communist Party of Germany to provide its propagandists with information on how to deal with the situation.

Basically, the argument was to distinguish between activist and nominal members and supporters of the Nazi system.  Those millions who had been part of the Nazi organization but had committed no crimes were to be given an opportunity to prove that they had left Nazism behind.

This was one of a series of such pamphlets.   I include a list at the end of the page for those interested.  This is the only one I have a copy of.