Das rheinische Nurnotariat im Nationalsozialismus

The study analyzes the professional activity, the political behavior and the social situation of the rhenish notaries during the Nazi era in a complementary approach from the perspective of contemporary history and legal history. The central question is to what extent the notary was a tool of the “Volksgemeinschaft" and whether it had room for maneuver, which it may have used. The role of notaries in the "Aryanization" proceedings, in which Jewish entrepreneurs and private individuals were deprived of their property, is examined by means of statistical surveys as well as the analysis of personal files. The study is based on the example of the rhenish court districts of Cologne, Wuppertal and Düsseldorf.