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Trials. Colonialism and National Socialism on trial

The trial of the former head of the Gestapo in Lyon did not take place until decades after the crimes he had committed, and only following protracted international intervention. His defence lawyer, Jacques Vergès, consistently questioned the legitimacy of the court by referring to France’s history of colonial violence.


What links between Nazism and colonialism were drawn during the trial? And how did these arguments, within the broader social discourse, influence perceptions of the war and occupation years – and, not least, of the present day?


  • With Jan Gerber, Annette Wieviorka and others
  • Moderated by Claus Leggewie


Trials. Colonialism and Nazism on Trial


The USA v Otto Ohlendorf et al. (1947/48), the military tribunal v Djamila Boupacha (1960/61), the public prosecutor’s office v Klaus Barbie (1987), Mutua et al. v the United Kingdom (2012): Four trials that dealt with colonial and Nazi violence – and, both in the courtroom itself and in the accompanying debates, with comparisons between them.


What were the charges, and how were the defendants defended? Which social and historical-political controversies of the 1940s, 1960s, 1980s and 2010s were also at stake here?



IN GERMAN

Additional information
Dates
March 2027
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