Doing Justice In Wartime: Multiple Interplays between Justice and Populations during the Two World Wars (Studies in the History of Law and Justice, 19)

This book discusses the impact of war on the complex interactions between various actors involved in justice: individuals and social groups on the one hand and ‘the justice system’ (police, judiciary and professionals working in the prison service) on the other. It also highlights the emergence of new expectations of justice among these actors as a result of war. Furthermore, the book addresses justice practices, strategies for coping with the changing circumstances, new forms of negotiation, interactions, relationships between populations and the formal justice system in this specific context, and the long-term effects of this renegotiation. Ten out of the eleven chapters focus on Belgian issues, covering the two world wars in equal measure. Belgium’s diverse war experiences in the twentieth century mean that a study of the country provides fascinating insights into the impact of war on the dynamics of ‘doing justice’. The Belgian army fought in both world wars, and the vast majority of the population experienced military occupation. The latter led to various forms of collaboration with the enemy, which required the newly reinstalled Belgian government to implement large-scale judicial processes to repress these ‘antipatriotic’ behaviours, in order to restore both its authority and legitimacy and to re-establish social peace. Acknowledgements Introduction Contents Juvenile Delinquency, War and the Food Crisis: A Judicial Response to Delinquent Subsistence Strategies (Belgium, 1914–1918) 1 The Transformation of Juvenile Delinquency Recorded During the War 1.1 The Recrudescence of Vagrancy and Begging 1.2 Theft, Plundering and Petty Thievery 2 Adjusting Tolerance Thresholds in Wartime 2.1 Tensions Over Rarefied Resources 2.2 Absolute Need or Training in Crime? The Juridical Actors’ Response 3 Conclusion References Judges, Lawyers, ‘Vultures’ and ‘Butchers’: Actors and Stakes of the Rental Crisis in Occupied Brussels, 1914–1918 1 Introduction 2 The Rent Issue 3 The Lobby Groups 4 The Attitude of the Belgian Magistrates 5 The Multiplication of Paralegal Organisms Dedicated to the Conciliation of Landlords and Tenants 6 Conclusion References ‘I Swear I Am a True Patriot!’ Rhetorical Defence Strategies of Suspects During the Prosecution of Denunciation to the Enemy in Belgium in the Wake of the First World War 1 Introduction 2 Sources 3 Rhetorical Defence Strategies of Suspected Denouncers 3.1 Minimizing Accusations 3.2 Extenuating Circumstances 3.3 Impression Management and Counteraccusations 3.4 Material Evidence 3.5 Defence Strategies of Denouncers in German Service 4 The Outcome of Judicial Investigations: How Effective Were Rhetorical Defence Strategies? 5 Conclusions References Prosecuting Food Profiteers After the Armistice: A Transitional-Justice Perspective, 1919–1923 1 Introduction 2 La Volonté Du Legislateur: MPs Dealing with Popular Anger After the War Towards War Profiteers 3 The Actual Application of the Profiteering Law: A Massive Intervention 4 The Case of Malines: Between Popular and National Justice 5 Conclusion References In the Jails of the Fatherland: The Penitentiary Repression of Disloyal Civilians After the First World War in Belgium 1 Between Incivisme and Political Prisoners: The Definition Issue 2 The Post-War Penitentiary Repression 3 Behind Bars 4 Conclusion References Policing Occupied Countries: Gendarmes and Populations Facing Security Needs (1940–1944, Hainaut/Nord-Pas-de-Calais) 1 An Uncontrolled Situation: Factors and Chronology of Unrest in Occupied Territories 2 The Consequences of the New Security Challenges for the Gendarmeries 3 Facing the Population: To Protect and/or to Punish? 4 Conclusions References Maintaining Order in Occupied Belgium? The Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office and Wartime Political Violence 1940–1950 1 Introduction 2 Dividing Competences: A Constant Source of Conflict 3 Turning the Tide: The Cases of Eugène Predom, Paul-Eugène Hermans and Etrusco Benci 4 Interpreting Attitudes: National Identity, Pragmatism and the Importance of Individuals 5 Concluding Remarks References ‘Ich habe noch nie sterben gesehen, wie man in Belgien stirbt’: Military Chaplain Otto Gramann and the Execution of Hostages and Convicts in German-Occupied Belgium and Northern France (1940–1944) 1 An Austrian Priest Serving in the German Wehrmacht 2 Chaplain of the Executed 3 The Ambiguous Legacy of Gramann References Foreigners, Penal Justice and Eigensinn in Berlin During the Second World War 1 ‘Doing Justice’ in Nazi Germany: Research Lines and Lacunae 2 Berlin: Foreigners, Control Issues and Eigensinn During the War 2.1 Eigensinn 3 The Cases 3.1 Walter F., the Victim-Police Officer and René P., the French Baker 3.2 André F., the Migrant Belgian Worker 3.3 Robert V., the Belgian Souteneur 4 Epilogue References Belgian Judicial Actors and the Establishment of the Punishment of Collaboration with the Enemy in the East Cantons 1 ‘To Think Belgian, to Feel Belgian’ 2 Implementation of ‘the Repression’ 2.1 Punishment for Military Collaboration 2.2 Punishment for Political Collaboration 2.3 Punishment for Economic Collaboration 3 Some Concluding Remarks References After the Big Show: British Police Officers and Civil Affairs in Europe References