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DENAZIFICATION
permitted an approximate time schedule of the program to be set up. In the
U.S.
Zone, there remained to be tried on 31 January 1948, 519,697 oases (or 4*2%
of the
12,265,046 total number of registrants) of which 287,795 (or 55%) would be
subject
to the expedited trial process arising from the amendments, and leaving a
greatly
reduced number, namely 231,902 (45%) to be tried in the normal manner. This
latter
number (1.9% of the total number of registrants) was subject to further screening.
This situation represented a complete reversal from that at the end of December
1947,
when the data submitted indicated that 62 percent of the backlog still remained
to
be tried by normal procedures, and only 38 percent of the backlog wms subject
to the
expedited process.
Further Amendments to the Law
In spite of the wholesome effect of the amendments of October, there still
remained factors that continued to retard the processing of the trial cases.
Further
amendments to the Law for Liberation were made, therefore, in March 1948.
These
amendments allowed Public Prosecutors full discretion in filing charges against
in-
criminated persons except persons charged as class I offenders before the
tribunals;
removed pre-trial restrictions against all untried persons except those in
the Class
I categories 1/ allowing them to reenter all positions in private industry
and
business except key positions; and allowed tribunals in passing sentence
on lesser
offenders afd followers to consider pre-trial restrictions under which chargeable
persons had been living.
In addition, during April 1948, Military Gowernment directly aided the German
denazificaticr agencies by making available to them Military Government facilities,
records, and assistance in selecting the most heavily incriminated cases.for
formal
trials. Prosecutors were authorized to dispose of the remainder of the untried
cases, where there was no evidence except nominal rank or membership in the
Nazi
Party, by routine written proceedings which would not interfere with the
formal
trials of the heavily incriminated.
The target of 1 May 1948, which had been set for the completion of all first
trials, was met with the exception of a relatively small number (32,000)
of heavily
incriminated cases, which still remain to be tried, and which constitute
about 0.03
percent of the total derzification program. This number does not include
new
registrants who continue to register under the Law at the average rate of
about
20,000 per month. These persons include retuming prisoners of war, refugees,
and
infiltrees and other persons establishing domicile in the U.S. Zone £z
tihe irst tine
STATUS OF EMAZIFICATICN OPERATIONS
As of 31 May 1948
U.S. Zone (incl.Bremen)       a/
Number              Perc ent
Total Reg~istrants                 ~12,797,703                          
   100.0
Chageab aCse                                      9,467,073             
74.0
Total Chargeable Cases                              3, 330,630          
  26.0
Chargeable Cases Completed                        3,238,923             
25.3
Amnestied without Trial                              7                  
18.5
Trials Completed                                    865,808             
 6.8
a   C91,707                 0.7
By Trial                                             310,707            
 0.2
By Expediting Process                                                   
 050  .
a/ Bremen figures can be included in this table as operations for the Law
for
Liberation had reached a point comparable to the operations in tihe other
three
Laender.
b/  These cases apply to Bavaria only and are completed, except for routine
clerical
work.
1/ Class I includes presumptive major offenders.
APRIL 1948
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