A (plural , German for " fellow traveller") is a person (the German term has the male grammatical gender; to specifically indicate a female the -in suffix has to be added) believed to be tied to or passively sympathising of certain

social movements A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and ma ...

, often to those that are prevalent, controversial or radical. In English, the term was most commonly used after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, during the

denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...

hearings in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, to refer to people who were not charged with Nazi crimes but whose involvement with the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

was considered so significant that they could not be exonerated for the crimes of the Nazi regime.

Etymology

The German word (literally "with-walker" or "one walking with") has been in common use since the 17th century. It means as much as "follower", more literally "tag-along", a person who gives in to peer pressure. A is one who is not convinced by the ideology of the group followed but merely offers no resistance, such as for lack of courage or for opportunism. The term is usually translated in English as " fellow traveller" or "hanger-on", but it is not equivalent to either. A German dictionary provides the English translation as "follower". An English version dictionary defines it as "a passive follower". The German word is derived from it. , also called the (

bandwagon effect The bandwagon effect is the tendency for people to adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so. More specifically, it is a cognitive bias by which public opinion or behaviours can alter due to particular act ...

), refers to the effect a perceived success exerts on the willingness of individuals to join the expected success. For example, voters would like to be on the winning side and so prefer to choose the candidate that they expect will win.

Legal definitions

In the American Sector of

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

, a "follower" was the second lowest group or category in the

proceedings. The denazification hearings classified Germans according to five groups: * 1. Major Offenders (German: ) * 2. Offenders: Activists, Militants, or Profiteers (German: ) * 3. Lesser offenders (German: ) * 4. Followers (German: ) * 5. Exonerated persons (German: ) In

Allied-occupied Austria The Allied occupation of Austria started on 8 May 1945 with the fall of Nazi Germany and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955. After the in 1938, Austria under National Socialism, Austria had generally been recognized as part ...

, the Russian term ( fellow traveller) was translated into German as , and they were considered to be "lesser offenders" (a person who, although not formally charged with participation in war crimes, was sufficiently involved with the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

to the extent that the Allied authorities could not legally exonerate them).

Assessment

Of the five categories is the most controversial as it does not relate to any formal Nazi criminal activity, as defined by the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

, only to a loosely defined indirect support of Nazi crimes. Therefore, former German Chancellor

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Ch ...

could say about

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

's Nazi Party membership card: "Karajan was obviously not a Nazi. He was a ." In essence were found ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' guilty of contributing to Nazi crimes, even though they were not necessarily ideologically committed to some essential Nazi doctrines, especially

biological racism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism ( racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies can be mor ...

and the policy of Jewish extermination. The Nazi often were of a slightly different sort: they sympathised with the Nazis but only indirectly participated in Nazi atrocities such as genocide. This is why this category was often used as an easy way to excuse most Germans legally from Nazi crimes.

Examples

In addition to von Karajan, well-known included the philosopher

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centu ...

and Wilhelm Stuckart, who was convicted as a .

References

External links