AllMovie

This West German documentary focuses on the role of Nazi judges during World War II in sending Jews and others to death (an estimated total of 45,000 people) thanks to mock trials and travesties of a justice system. One of the interviewees is a journalist (Peggy Parnass) who spent a decade observing trials of Nazi criminals and aside from being a victim herself, has a vast store of factual data to support her claims against the Nazi courtroom proceedings. Another person interviewed was a former Nazi judge living at the time of the interview on an island in the North Sea, who blithely states that Jews and Poles were considered to be potentially "antisocial parasites" and so they deserved the punishment given them by the courts. Another interview reveals that these "judges" served under several different regimes, including the Federal Republic of Germany - making it politically difficult to prosecute them, according to those looking for excuses. Other interviews delve into the activities of particular judges, and give personal eyewitness accounts of what went on in the mock courtrooms. The sum total is an appalling indictment of post-War apathy that is hard to understand, given the blood on the hands of these judges.