During Adenauer’s tenure he:
1- knowingly appointed multitudes of "former" nazis into government positions such as ministers, ambassadors, judges, police, secretaries, etc.
2- banned all socialists / communists from public service
3- outlawed the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Free German Youth organisation (FDJ), the Federation of Victims of Fascism (VVN) and the German-Soviet Friendship Society(DSFS)
4- passed a special amendment to the constitution (Ausfuhrungs-Gesetz zu Artikel 131 des Grundgesetzes) that gave all former nazis, apart from the few top culpable individuals, the right to return to their posts in the public service. This effectively ended West Germany’s pursuit of prosecuting Nazis.
5- remilitarized West Germany by having it join NATO.
6- opposed and prevented the reunification of Germany.
7- reinstated and continued the Nazi’s persecution of communists with arrests and imprisonment. By the mid-1960s, around 250,000 judicial investigations had been undertaken against suspected communists. Of these, around 10,000 were actually imprisoned.
8- extended this program to include socialists, those opposed to a remilitarisation of Germany, and members of organisations working to promote diplomatic ties with the GDR.
9- funded the Schnez-Truppe, an illegal clandestine paramilitary organisation formed by veterans of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. Growing it from 2,000 members initially to at least 40,000 at its peak
These are just some highlights, there is so much more.
Denazification didn't actually happen in the west.
Concrete examples of this + sources in the comments.
That fucking bastard, those fucking bastards.
Thank you for the sources and recommendations.
You’re welcome. Important to remember that the US knew all of this was occurring and they supported it.
The GDR is proof that this is not the way “things had to be” and so the west has spent the last half of a century attempting to distort the GDR’s achievements.