Hans Fritzsche, head of the radio department in the Propaganda
Ministry, before the IMT.
Source
All of this did nothing to change the balance of power in the Federal Republic of Germany. And although especially Konrad Adenauer reacted attentively and critically to indications of nationalist tendencies of his coalition partners and the efforts to create a right-wing coalition party, the affinity to the West and the political stability of the West German state was much more developed than previously expected. The politically decisive comparison with the conditions after World War I left no room for doubt. Nevertheless, there was a general lack of awareness - except, perhaps, on the part of the culprits - to the extent and exceptionality of the Nazi crimes and of the number and prevalence of those involved, which could have problematised the own attitude towards the war crime trials and the former National Socialists. Down-to-earth political considerations also played a role: the further stabilisation of the Federal Republic depended on the tranquillisation of the political wings and the integration of thousands of former prominent Nazi figures as well as their millions of adherents.
For former NS elites, however, the perspectives had drastically changed within a short time. In 1947, many of them had been in prison or detention camps, facing an uncertain, most likely gloomy future; now, only three years later, there was a chance for political rehabilitation and social reintegration, an opportunity they could not have expected immediately after the war.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Herbert, Freiburg/Breisgau
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