Ex-Nazi Party members

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In the context of this article, the term ex-Nazi, or more correctly ex-Nazi Party member refers either to those few who were once Nazis and resigned from the party (the NSDAP), or more often to those who belonged to the party at the time when it was declared illegal and was disbanded upon the victory of the Allies. Many of the latter group had to go through a process of denazification and some were subjected to the Nuremberg process, while others managed to escape trial, in particular through the ODESSA organization. In the mid-1950s, most condemned during these trials were given amnesty and subsequently released. This article is not about the ideology of the individuals listed, simply about their past membership in the NSDAP. In this sense, an "ex-Nazi" may have continued to be a convinced Nazi, just as a communist may have remained so after his party was disbanded and forbidden to operate in Germany or, conversely, the person may have been a member of the party for expedient reasons and never held the ideology.

Famous Nazi hunters such as Simon Wiesenthal have tried to bring Nazis accused of crimes to justice. However, only a few of them, famous figures such as Sebastian Wiemann and Adolf Eichmann (convicted and hanged in Ramla in 1962), have been found. Many others (Josef Mengele, Aribert Heim, Walter Rauff, etc.) escaped justice, finding refuge in Franquist Spain (e.g. Otto Skorzeny), South America (especially Juan Peron's Argentina, Chile, Alfredo Stroessner's Paraguay, Brazil, etc.) and also in some Arab states. Some former Nazis even managed to obtain very important positions in West Germany after the war (e.g. Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Chancellor of West Germany from 1966 to 1969). Furthermore, a number of former Nazis were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency after the war (e.g. Otto Albrecht: "Why Israel's capture of Eichmann caused panic at the CIA", The Guardian, June 8, 2006), as part of the Gehlen Organization predecessor of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). Many Nazi scientists were also recruited by the US in Operation Paperclip.

In East Germany, the Stasi, the GDR's intelligence service, was alleged to have employed several chief informers and agents who were former SS and Gestapo operatives[1].

Nazis judged during the Nuremberg Trials

Nazis judged during the Doctors' Trial (1946–1947)

This list includes only those who were not executed after the trial.

• Hermann Becker-Freyseng. Stabsarzt in the Luftwaffe (Captain, Medical Service of the Air Force); and Chief of the Department for Aviation Medicine of the Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. 20 years imprisonment commuted to ten years.
• Wilhelm Beiglböck (1905–1963). NSDAP and SA member, Nazi medical researcher responsible for seawater experiments in Dachau concentration camp. 15 years imprisonment commuted to ten years. Became the chief physician of the Hospital of Buxtehude from 1952 to his death in 1963.
• Kurt Blome.{1894-1969} Charged of euthanasia and human experimentation. Acquitted and exfiltrated through Operation Paperclip (see below), and subsequently hired in 1951 by the US Army Chemical Corps to work on chemical warfare.
• Fritz Fischer (1912–2003). Condemned to life imprisonment on charges of human experimentation, was subsequently released in 1954 and then worked, until retiring, for Boehringer-Ingelheim pharmaceutical company.
• Karl Genzken (1885–1957). Chief of the medical office of the SS, charged of human experimentation, condemned in 1947 to life imprisonment, released in 1954.
• Siegfried Handloser (1895–1954) . Chief of the German Armed Forces Medical Service, condemned to life sentence in 1947, released in 1954, and died shortly afterwards of a cancer.
• Herta Oberheuser (1911–1978). Doctor at Ravensbrück concentration camp, sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for human experimentation. Released in 1952, became a family doctor before being recognized by a Ravensbrück survivor in 1956, and subsequently losing her medical licence two years afterwards.
• Helmut Poppendick (1902–1994). Chief of the Personal Staff of the Reich Physician SS and Police, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for human experiments carried on in Ravensbrück. Released in 1951.
• Gerhard Rose (1896-1992). Generalarzt of the Luftwaffe (Brigadier General, Medical Service of the Air Force); Vice President, Chief of the Department for Tropical Medicine, and Professor of the Robert Koch Institute; and Hygienic Adviser for Tropical Medicine to the Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. Judged guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to life imprisonment, later commuted to 20 years.
• Paul Rostock (1892–1956). Chief of the Office for Medical Science and Research (Amtschef der Dienststelle Medizinische Wissenschaft und Forschung) under Third Reich Commissioner Karl Brandt and a Full Professor, Medical Doctorate, Medical Superintendent of the University of Berlin Surgical Clinic. Charged of human experimentation during the Doctors' Trial, acquitted. Then worked as medical supervisor of Versorgungs Hospital in Bayreuth, from 1953 to his death at age 64 in Bad Tölz.

Subsequent Nuremberg Trials