Why didn't the Allies mass-execute all SS members and Gestapo members in post-war Germany?

It is said by many that all the Nazis were shot in 1945. Even Churchill himself was urging to execute all top Nazis instantly without any trials. The Allied, however, did not engage in mass killings with regard to common SS and Gestapo officers. That may sound bizarre, but there were very positive reasons for that.

First, one has to admit the tremendous number of the criminals. By May 1945, Waffen-SS had already more than 800 000 soldiers in it. Combining the number of Gestapo and concentration camps staff, that would equal nearly a million people. It cannot be done to execute that many prisoners. Moreover, in the end of war, Hitler ordered to recruit anybody into army. You can live in Germany and think of the famous German writer Günter Grass, who was drafted when he was a teenager (at the age of 17). He never committed any crime, but he just was sent to the frontline. Shooting all soldiers in SS uniform, Allies would execute thousands of children recruited by Hitler into the army.

The second was a legal question. It is inhuman to kill any man without evidence of guilt, as one of the top prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials pointed out; otherwise we all become just like those Nazis. So, SS cards are clearly out of limit in the Nuremberg trials, only your personal crimes can lead to death penalty. For instance, Joachim Peiper – SS commander in whose unit murderers of American prisoners took place in the massacre of Malmedy. The man did not get death sentence instantly; instead, he was arrested in Germany, taken to Dachau and put under trial to prove his crime.

Furthermore, if you shoot a million of Germans without trial, you will have the whole German population hate you for life! People will consider them as martyrs and start guerilla actions against the Allied occupation forces.

And the most surprising moment was about 1947. The Cold War started between the USA and USSR. Consequently, punishment of the Nazi criminals was put to the back burner and the primary objective was to get the German economy going as quickly as possible so Germany can serve as a buffer between two superpowers. And American occupation authorities started employing former Nazi intelligence agents such as Reinhard Gehlen who knew well how to spy on Russians. Thus, towards the fear of the new war, more and more executions were becoming impossible. I’d appreciate an upvote if you find it helpful and informative.

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Holocaust victim

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