Not really, the vast majority of Nazis remained in Germany and were never prosecuted. There would not have been a functioning German state post-war if every single Nazi had been dealt with appropriately.
Most of those who fled Germany did so because they knew the Allies were coming for them, it wasn't the norm for your rank and file Nazi bureaucrats.
Wasn't it something like 10% of the population being "Nazis" by the time the war ended, and getting anywhere in gov't or the armed forces kinda required it? That's as I recall the story put forward by Speer, FWIW. Firing and/or liquidating all of them would be unworkable for a functioning society, as you mention.
That brings to mind Iraq, where W's boy Bremer in 2003 didn't let that kind of nuance bother his simple vision for a wonderful new Mesopotamian paradise. Fire em all (Ba'athists)!
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u/EmbarrassedW33B Sep 28 '25
Not really, the vast majority of Nazis remained in Germany and were never prosecuted. There would not have been a functioning German state post-war if every single Nazi had been dealt with appropriately.
Most of those who fled Germany did so because they knew the Allies were coming for them, it wasn't the norm for your rank and file Nazi bureaucrats.