Geschlechter(Un)Ordnungen

“Above all, however, it must be taken into account that the defendant is a woman.” This quote from the 1948 appeal judgment of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court leads to the core of Susanne Raidt's study. Using three cases, she examines the legal and social treatment of women in West German Nazi trials in the post-war period, from the investigation to the clemency proceedings. She analyzes the interplay between investigating authorities, courts, psychiatrists and the media as a court performance and shows how strongly the construction of perpetration and responsibility was shaped by gender perceptions.