Family Punishment in Nazi Germany : Sippenhaft, Terror and Myth

In the Third Reich, political dissidents were not the only ones liable to be punished for their crimes. Their parents, siblings and relatives also risked reprisals. This concept - known as Sippenhaft – was based in ideas of blood and purity. This definitive study surveys the threats, fears and infliction of this part of the Nazi system of terror. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: Sippenhaft, Terror and Fear: The Historiography of the Nazi Terror State....Pages 1-19 Sippenhaft and German Society, 1933–1945....Pages 20-52 ‘... imprisonment of relatives, life or liberty ...’ Sippenhaft and the Wehrmacht....Pages 53-90 Sippenhaft and the NKFD and the BDO....Pages 91-120 ‘... if a man in this Reich is untrue, then he and his family will be punished ...’ Sippenhaft and the 20 July 1944 Plot....Pages 121-166 Sippenhaft Kinderheim: The Children of Bad Sachsa....Pages 167-183 Conclusion....Pages 184-190 Back Matter....Pages 191-258