Stengel, Katharina. Mediators behind the Scenes.

Departing from the usual examination of prosecutor Fritz Bauer and the state (StA, LG) side of the Auschwitz trials, Stengel examines the networks of former KL prisoners (including in DDR) as Neberkläger, who mobilized themselves and networked internationally (among Austria, FRG, eastern Bloc countries, and the US) to assist — or pressure — FRG prosecutions to ensure comprehensive investigation of the Nazi-era crimes and the fullest possible use of survivor-witnesses in the trials. German judicial officials, however, cooperated only on the understanding that the organizations and groups would remain in the background. Utilizing correspondence between activists and state officials stored in BA-Ludwigsburg (ZSt), the American Jewish archive (AJA), various FRG court jurisdictions, and the Austrian state archive (ÖStA), this contribution is a groundbreaking and unexpected addition to the large historical literature on mid-1960s FRG accountability.

Katharina Stengel, “Mediators behind the Scenes: The World Jewish Congress and the International Auschwitz Committee during the Preparations for the First Auschwitz Trial in Frankfurt,” in Eric Le Bourhis, Irina Tcherneva, and Vanessa Voisin (eds.), Seeking Accountability for Nazi and War Crimes in East Europe: A People’s Justice? (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 2022), 320-348