Hi,
I Hope I am posting this in the right section. At Nuremberg the Waffen SS were declared a criminal organisation. Exactly what was the point in that move? Was it to enable more charges to be placed against members. For the life of me I can't see how you can declare this after the fact and without giving the members a chance to leave the said organisation.
Waffen SS/ Criminal organisation.
Re: Waffen SS/ Criminal organisation.
Hi,
The primary reason for the Waffen SS being condemned as part of a criminal organisation was the issue of the Nuremberg court being unable to distinguish between those "Waffen SS" units that could be called combat units and those others, that had links to the death camps and extermination squads.
It would appear that at the time it was easier to issue a blanket ban on all than to attempt to tease out those members/units that had NOT committed any war crimes or might be deemed to be "only" a combat unit.
Ultimately the Allies could decide what they liked as the victorious party, but it did make it very difficult for Waffen SS veterans to support their families after the war.
Hope this helps...
The primary reason for the Waffen SS being condemned as part of a criminal organisation was the issue of the Nuremberg court being unable to distinguish between those "Waffen SS" units that could be called combat units and those others, that had links to the death camps and extermination squads.
It would appear that at the time it was easier to issue a blanket ban on all than to attempt to tease out those members/units that had NOT committed any war crimes or might be deemed to be "only" a combat unit.
Ultimately the Allies could decide what they liked as the victorious party, but it did make it very difficult for Waffen SS veterans to support their families after the war.
Hope this helps...
Simon Harrold
WW2 Battlefield Relics: German Erkennungsmarken decoded.
WW2 Battlefield Relics: German Erkennungsmarken decoded.