Wehrkraftzersetzung

Wehrkraftzersetzung or Zersetzung der Wehrkraft (German for "undermining defence force") was a sedition offence in German military law during the Nazi Germany era from 1938 to 1945.

Wehrkraftzersetzung was enacted in 1938 by

Wehrkraftzersetzung was de facto abolished in 1945 after Nazi Germany's defeat, but text from the penal code continued to be used by the Federal Republic of Germany. On 25 August 1998 and 23 July 2002, after lengthy debate, the Bundestag removed the Nazi-era sentences from the German criminal justice system, and all Nazi military sentencing for conscientious objection, desertion, and all other forms of Wehrkraftzersetzung were repealed as unjust. Current German military law neither contains the term "undermining the military" nor its extensive rules, but a few offences included under the umbrella of Wehrkraftzersetzung remain on the statute books in a vague form.

Etymology

The German phrase Wehrkraftzersetzung can be translated into English in various forms depending on context, and is difficult to translate its sense used by the Nazi Party. Wehrkraftzersetzung is composed of three parts: Wehr means 'defence' (a cognate of the English word "war"); kraft means power, force, strength; zersetzung means decay, decomposition, disintegration, but also subversion or corruption.^{[citation needed]} The context of Wehrkraftzersetzung, or Zersetzung der Wehrkraft, used by the Nazi Party is typically translated into English as "undermining military force" or "subversion of the war effort" (in reference to the forthcoming war effort),^[1] "undermining military morale",^[2] and "sedition and defeatism".^[3]

Definition in the Nazi military penal code

The term Zersetzung der Wehrkraft was established in

Whoever openly challenges or incites others to refuse to fulfill their duty to serve in the German armed forces or their allies, or otherwise openly tries to self-assertively put up a fight to cripple or subvert the will of the German people or their allies ... will be sentenced to death for undermining the military.[4]

The word "openly" provided room for interpretation by authorities, so that even remarks made within one's own family could be used by relatives against the accused. The vague wording of the regulation made it possible to criminalize every type of criticism, also by civilians, deliberately encouraging denunciation as a means to more comprehensively control the population. That "undermining the war effort" in Nazi Germany was by no means a trivial offense is seen in the 1 November 1944 decree from the head of the National Socialist Secret Service of the Luftwaffe:^{[citation needed]}

"It has long been self-evident that whoever expresses doubt about the Führer, criticizes him and his actions, spreads disparaging news or vilifies him, is without honor and worthy of death. Neither standing nor rank, nor personal circumstances or other grounds can exculpate such a case. In the most difficult, deciding period of the war, whoever expresses doubt about the final victory and thereby causes others to waver, has likewise forfeited his life!"

Among others, examples of subversion given were:^{[citation needed]}

• Remarks in opposition to Nazi ideology
• Doubt about the legitimacy of the struggle for survival imposed on us [...]
• Dissemination of news about battle fatigue and German soldiers deserting
• Doubt about military reports
• Cultivating private contact with prisoners of war
• Disparaging that important weapon in war: German propaganda
• Discussing contingencies in the event of defeat
• The assertion, that Bolshevism "is not so bad or that the democracy of our western neighbors could be contemplated".^{[note 3][original research?]}

The introduction of the KSSVO marked a new stage in the persecution of the Nazis' political opponents and many thousands of them were killed. According to Wehrmacht criminal statistics, by 30 June 1944 there had been 14,262 convictions for Wehrkraftzersetzung, though German military historian Manfred Messerschmidt says the number of convictions was likely to have been closer to 30,000. The number of convictions and proportion of death sentences steadily increased towards the end of the war as criticism increased and the awaited "final victory" was pushed further and further into the future. The way the regulation was formulated meant that a conviction generally came from a denunciation by associates, though some convictions came from remarks in letters or slogans written on walls. The nature of denunciations meant the potential accuser could hardly be certain that during the course of the investigation, he would not also be denounced. The fact that every soldier was informed about the consequences of uttering banned speech may have inhibited the number of denunciations.^{[citation needed]}

Use in the Federal Republic of Germany

Nazi Germany surrendered after signing their

• Helene Gotthold
• Elise Hampel
• Otto Hampel
• Elli Hatschek^[9]
• Franz Jägerstätter
• Erich Knauf^[10]
• Anna Krauss^[11]
• Oskar Kusch, commander of U-154
• Joseph Müller
• Hans and Sophie Scholl^[4]

Footnotes