The Reappearance of the Suppressed Past
For a long time the police in the Federal Republic of Germany had difficulty dealing with the Nazi past. Loyalty to the old comrades, many of whom were colleagues, prevented them from coming to grips objectively with this chapter of their history. Not only among the police, but in the vast majority of the German public, the prevalent belief was that the Gestapo alone had been responsible for the deportations and mass murder.
The view of the police during the National Socialist period changed in the 1980s. At that time the generation who had begun their professional careers in the Nazi state had started to retire. This made it possible to encourage an impartial discussion of the topic, which went hand in hand with a transformation in society in the way of dealing with the National Socialist past.
Since 1990 the discussion about Nazi crimes in reunited Germany has become a central component of political culture. Scientific research and the commitment of citizens’ groups have been able to refute the legend of the spotless police in the National Socialist state.
