Just a few words on this. While its true that East-Germanys efforts to "de-nazify" the state where greater than in the west, to conclude that East-Germanies institutions did not tolerate former Nazi officials would be a mistake: 1/9
Yeah the idea that he just means they didn't completely get rid of them is painfully naïve and giving him way too much credit. He is peddling in apologia, as always, and it just so happens to fit his "we cannot do better than liberal social fascism folks, to bad" world view.
Even the cases he brings up are still more or less denazification, they lost political power and had to repent. Some should've been forced to repent further or kept away from any positions, but that is a world of difference. Take the example of Paulus, the USSR captured him and used him for the National Committee for a Free Germany which made transitioning to a government in occupied territory much much easier. That was effectively denazifying by using a nazi military leader to their advantage. If he even actually changed his views or not is irrelevant
Yeah the idea that he just means they didn't completely get rid of them is painfully naïve and giving him way too much credit. He is peddling in apologia, as always, and it just so happens to fit his "we cannot do better than liberal social fascism folks, to bad" world view.
Even the cases he brings up are still more or less denazification, they lost political power and had to repent. Some should've been forced to repent further or kept away from any positions, but that is a world of difference. Take the example of Paulus, the USSR captured him and used him for the National Committee for a Free Germany which made transitioning to a government in occupied territory much much easier. That was effectively denazifying by using a nazi military leader to their advantage. If he even actually changed his views or not is irrelevant