Unearthed papers reveal how Austria’s Nazi judges went back to work after 1945

For years, Austria had presented itself as a country that had made a clean break with its Nazi past in the immediate aftermath of the war. But these newly opened files expose the uncomfortable truth – that instead of delivering the decisive purge that Austria had promised at the time, its judicial system had quietly reabsorbed the same figures who had served under Hitler.

Moreover, it even allowed these people to return to positions of authority. All of this was done with minimal levels of scrutiny and, in some cases, no clear explanation at all about how they had ever managed to be cleared of their Nazi associations.

Under Nazi rule, Austria’s justice system was used as an instrument of the regime’s repression rather than an independent guardian of Austrian law.

This included enforcing vile racial legislation that stripped Jewish citizens of rights, property and legal protection. Austrian prosecutors brutally pursued resistance members and civilians for even the most minor acts of dissent.

Underpinning this chilling practice under the Nazi regime were the “Sondergerichte” (Special courts) and the “Volksgerichtshof” (the “People’s Court”), which both handed down thousands of death sentences.

Functioning as little more than show trials, they frequently showed open disdain for due process.

After the war there had been an attempt to exclude former members of the Nazi Party, a move pushed by then Justice Minister Josef Gerö.

But by 1948, the promised anti-Nazi purge was already collapsing as the justice system faced a shortage of trained personnel. This led to officials classified as “less compromised” being quietly allowed back into service, not because they had been cleared but because the courts needed experienced staff.

One of the clearest examples of this chronic failure is the case of Hans Antoni, a confirmed member of the Nazi Party who was allowed to return to the justice system in 1945.

Not only was he able to remain in his position until his retirement, no clear explanation was given as to how he was ever deemed suitable to serve.

Another case involved Maximilian Engel, who held senior roles within the Nazi judicial system, including roles directly linked to Nazi racial policy. During the war Engel had served at the High Treason Senate of the Vienna Higher Regional Court and as deputy chairman of the Vienna Hereditary Health Court.

These Nazi Hereditary Health Courts, including the one in Vienna, actively enforced the 1933 sterilisation law targeting those labelled “genetically diseased”.
This led to more than 400,000 forced sterilisation cases across the Reich, including at least 6,000 in Vienna.

Despite this dark past, Engel was allowed to continue his career after 1945, even though the Allied authorities had explicitly recommended that he be dismissed from office.

The archive research showed at least 23 officials had served in the justice system before 1938, during the Nazi regime and again after 1945.

The research underscores historical concerns about continued antisemitic discrimination in Austria’s post-war legal system.

Examples include the case of Gerszon Kupferblum, the Jewish businessman convicted despite evidence supporting his innocence.

He spent 14 months in custody after attempting to challenge the proceedings and was forced to undergo a psychiatric assessment carried out by an expert who had previously worked in a Nazi-era racial hygiene institute. Kupferblum was never rehabilitated and died in 1970 without his name being cleared.

For decades, Austria promoted the narrative that it had been the first victim of Nazi aggression. Yet historical evidence has repeatedly challenged this, particularly photos of the enthusiastic reception given to Adolf Hitler’s entry into Vienna in March 1938.