Denazification: Erasing Nazi Germany’s Ideology

The collapse of Nazi Germany in May 1945 presented the Allied powers with an unprecedented challenge that extended far beyond the conventional tasks of military occupation and reconstruction. As American, British, French, and Soviet forces established control over the ruins of the Third Reich, they confronted a society that had been thoroughly transformed by twelve years of totalitarian rule. The question facing the victorious Allies was not simply how to rebuild Germany's cities and infrastructure, but how to purge an entire nation of the ideological poison that had enabled one of history's most devastating wars and systematic programs of genocide.

Denazification, as this ambitious undertaking came to be known, represented perhaps the most comprehensive attempt in human history to transform the political culture and moral consciousness of an entire society. The scale of the challenge was enormous. Nazi ideology had penetrated every aspect of German life, from the highest levels of government and military command to local schools, neighborhood organizations, and family structures. Millions of Germans had participated directly in Nazi organizations, while millions more had benefited from or acquiesced to Nazi policies. The task facing the Allies was nothing less than the complete reconstruction of German society's moral and political foundations.