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A Holocaust museum image of Hilter - Source: Reuters
The German parliament passed a law clearing the names of those
branded traitors by the Nazis in World War II - ending a long,
tortured debate.
Nazi military courts condemned about 30,000 people to death for
desertion and treason and about two-thirds of those condemned were
executed, Social Democrat (SPD) deputy Carl-Christian Dressel said
in the debate in parliament.
Historians say the Nazis used the treason charge to condemn
soldiers and civilians to death for political resistance and for
helping Jews.
More than six decades after the end of the war, the law granting
blanket rehabilitation passed unanimously.
State prosecutors reviewed traitor cases individually until
now.
Backed by the ruling parties as well as the opposition, it was the
final piece of legislation passed by parliament before the
September 27 federal election.
Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said the rehabilitation that her
SDP party had long championed restores the honour of a
long-forgotten group of Nazi victims, most of whom are dead.
"Even if not all those condemned to death as war traitors were
resistance fighters, they were nevertheless all victims of a
criminal judicial system which murdered to preserve the Nazi
regime," said Zypries, who had previously faced opposition to the
measure from the conservative Christian Democrats.
The conservatives had opposed the measure because they wanted to
keep existing rules requiring individual evaluations in place.
The conservatives were also concerned that the actions of some
deserters might have harmed other soldiers.
SPD deputy Christina Lamprecht told parliament the rehabilitation
sent an important signal to survivors and their families who were
now no longer stigmatised as traitors.
