The Museum’s Law, Justice, and the Holocaust program challenges judicial professionals to critically examine the decisions German jurists made and the pressures they faced under the Nazi regime. In understanding this history, participants gain new insight into their responsibilities as professionals and as individuals in a democracy.
About the Program
The Museum provides this program for judges, prosecutors, and government attorneys both on-site in Washington, DC, and at state and federal judicial conferences around the country. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is available.
Guided by Museum historians and educators, participants analyze legal documents and case studies from the Nazi era in order to consider the ethical questions they raise, including:
What is the responsibility of judges to the legal system as a whole?
What is the role of an independent judiciary in safeguarding democracy?
Which of the motivations and pressures faced by German jurists under the Nazi regime most resonate with legal professionals?
How can members of the legal profession ensure that their actions lead to just outcomes?
The Museum has presented the Law, Justice, and the Holocaust program at judicial conferences in five federal circuits, 45 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, and has worked in coordination with the American Judges Association, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Federal Judicial Center.
Judiciary and the Holocaust
Judges were among those within Germany who might have effectively challenged Hitler’s authority, the legitimacy of the Nazi regime, and the hundreds of laws that restricted political freedoms and civil rights. And yet the overwhelming majority did not. Most not only upheld the law but interpreted it in far-reaching ways that helped the Nazis carry out their political agenda, ultimately resulting in the deaths of millions. Explore this history through the links below.
Learn more about the role of the judiciary during the Holocaust in the Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia. Articles include:
Law, Justice, and the Holocaust
This booklet contains a series of key decrees, legislative acts, and case law that show the gradual process by which the Nazi leadership, with support or acquiescence from the majority of German people, including judges, moved the nation from a democracy to a dictatorship, and the series of legal steps that left millions vulnerable to the racist and antisemitic ideology of the Nazi state.
Contact Us
Learn more about our staff.
Kendal Jones Program Coordinator, Law and Justice Initiative kjones@ushmm.org
The Law, Justice, and the Holocaust program is made possible through the generous support of Drs. Donald and Gwen Hecht.