From the ‘Poison Cabinet’ to the Forefront of National Identity: (West) Germany’s Engagement with Nazi Mass Crimes and the Holocaust Since 1945

(West) Germany’s post-war engagement with Nazi mass atrocities and the HolocaustHolocaust has not been confined to compartmentalised discussions within the judiciary and among historians—rather, it has always also been an integral part of wider public discourse. Since 1945, the dynamic interrelations between legal, historical, and social debates have shaped and reflected how the Federal Republic of Germany has positioned itself internally and externally vis-à-vis its Nazi past. Accordingly, the present paper juxtaposes criminal proceedings against Nazi perpetrators with phenomena in academia and society at large, and examines their interplay throughout three distinct historical phases. It also casts a critical eye on the effect of the late prosecutionlate prosecution of Nazi crimes on the commemoration of the Holocaust and investigates its potentially problematic influence on narratives pertaining to Germany’s perpetratorship.