Why did Allies go easy on Nazi war criminals?

[DGuller]

If you read Wiki articles on many German generals, one common template seems to be:  "He was found guilty and sentenced to death for executing 1387 American and 654 Canadian POWs.  His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1953.  He died in 1979 due to complications from extreme old age."

Why were the western Allies so reluctant to deal rertibution to Nazi war criminals that often committed crimes against their own troops?  Were they pussified, did they really need to go to such lengths to appease the Germans after Cold War started, or was there something else?

[The Brain]

If you read Wiki articles on many German generals, one common template seems to be:  "He was found guilty and sentenced to death for executing 1387 American and 654 Canadian POWs.  His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1953.  He died in 1979 due to complications from extreme old age."

Why were the western Allies so reluctant to deal rertibution to Nazi war criminals that often committed crimes against their own troops?  Were they pussified, did they really need to go to such lengths to appease the Germans after Cold War started, or was there something else?

WW2 was so 1945. The Western Allies were way too fabulous to give a fuck about that old crap.

[Razgovory]

If you read Wiki articles on many German generals, one common template seems to be:  "He was found guilty and sentenced to death for executing 1387 American and 654 Canadian POWs.  His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1953.  He died in 1979 due to complications from extreme old age."

Why were the western Allies so reluctant to deal rertibution to Nazi war criminals that often committed crimes against their own troops?  Were they pussified, did they really need to go to such lengths to appease the Germans after Cold War started, or was there something else?

I wonder that myself.  I think there were still a lot of German sympathizers in the US.

[Sahib]

If you read Wiki articles on many German generals, one common template seems to be:  "He was found guilty and sentenced to death for executing 1387 American and 654 Canadian POWs.  His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1953.  He died in 1979 due to complications from extreme old age."

Why were the western Allies so reluctant to deal rertibution to Nazi war criminals that often committed crimes against their own troops?  Were they pussified, did they really need to go to such lengths to appease the Germans after Cold War started, or was there something else?

Communism.

[Valmy]

If you read Wiki articles on many German generals, one common template seems to be:  "He was found guilty and sentenced to death for executing 1387 American and 654 Canadian POWs.  His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was released in 1953.  He died in 1979 due to complications from extreme old age."

Why were the western Allies so reluctant to deal rertibution to Nazi war criminals that often committed crimes against their own troops?  Were they pussified, did they really need to go to such lengths to appease the Germans after Cold War started, or was there something else?

I think we thought they might prove useful in getting Germany ready to resist the Soviets or had some other piece of information or expertise we found useful.  So we bargained with them.

[KRonn]

Didn't the allies go even easier on the Japanes with war crimes?

[Habsburg]

Stanley Kramer and Abby Mann deal with this question effectively at the end of Judgment at Nuernberg.


Judy Garland was amazing as Irene Hoffmann-Wallner.

[Valmy]

Judy Garland was amazing as Irene Hoffmann-Wallner.

Did she sing?  'Somewhere over the V-2 vapor trail...'

[Habsburg]

Judy Garland was amazing as Irene Hoffmann-Wallner.

Did she sing?  'Somewhere over the V-2 vapor trail...'

You haff naught seen da film!??! 

[Valmy]

You haff naught seen da film!??! 

Nein

[grumbler]

Not veryu many generals fit that template, but the template surely applies to the 1948 Einsatzgruppen Trial for the leaders of the SS death squads.  All 26 defendents were found guilty, and 14 sentenced to death.  Four of the fourteen were executed by 1951, and at that time the sentences of the remainder were commuted to long prison terms, but all had been released by the end of 1958.

In the earlier Buchenwald trials, 12 of 22 defendants sentenced to death were actually executed.

A fair number of sentence reductions were ordered by General Lucius Clay, USA, the interim military governor of the US occupation zone from 1947-1949.  Based on what i have seen, he commuted sentence where he thought evidence was not credible to support the original sentences.  He did let a number of sentences stand as ordered, though, so it wasn't a blanket thing.

[grumbler]

Didn't the allies go even easier on the Japanes with war crimes?

Not if the Japanese in question had won humiliatingly easy victories over the allies.

[Valmy]

Didn't the allies go even easier on the Japanes with war crimes?

Not if the Japanese in question had won humiliatingly easy victories over the allies.

So I take it the guy who took Singapore was first on the chopping block.

[crazy canuck]

Didn't the allies go even easier on the Japanes with war crimes?

Not if the Japanese in question had won humiliatingly easy victories over the allies.

So I take it the guy who took Singapore was first on the chopping block.

Come on, he went on a long bike ride to get there.

[Admiral Yi]

So I take it the guy who took Singapore was first on the chopping block.

I can't remember if Yamashita got slung up, but I think grumbler is referring to the dude who commanded the invasion of the Phillipines.  IIRC he had cleared out by the time of the Bataan death march, but McArthur had a grudge for getting his ass pounded.