Photograph of the Judges

Chief prosecutor Ferencz presenting documents in the Task Force trial.
To his right: Dr. Bergold.
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This German amnesty was passed in the holiday season of 1949 as one of the first legislative measures of the fledgling state. It covered only prison terms of up to 6 months that had been imposed by the courts of the Western Allies - affecting more than 700,000 individual cases that probably included several tens of thousands of Nazi culprits. In view of the fact that some of the sentences had been remarkably mild, the amnesty even benefited criminals such as those who had actively participated in the pogroms of November 1938.

However, it was more the indirect than the direct impact of this law that made it politically explosive. After all, the nature and timing of the amnesty intensified the impression of both the public and the German prosecutors that the era of prosecution of Nazi crimes had ended. This impression was understandable, as even the free democratic Federal Minister of Justice concluded his appeal for an end of the Nazi trials with the following words, addressing the Bundestag: "Many mistakes were made during the gruesome era behind us. I feel this issue ought to be closed. It is time for the ascertainment made 300 years ago in a similar situation when the Peace of Westphalia was signed on October 24, 1648 to come true. Back then, it was said: ’May everything that has happened since the outbreak of the troubles be forgotten forever’."