Download full text
(2.832Mb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-57690-3
Exports for your reference manager
Luftgangster over Germany: The Lynching of American Airmen in the Shadow of the Air War
'Luftgangster' über Deutschland: Lynchjustiz gegen amerikanische Flieger im Schatten des Luftkrieges
[journal article]
Abstract This study analyzes the Lynchjustiz committed against American airmen in Germany during World War II. Largely overlooked by historians, the extent of violence against flyers is drastically underestimated, hindered by the complex historical memory of the Allied air war, the arduous denazification pro... view more
This study analyzes the Lynchjustiz committed against American airmen in Germany during World War II. Largely overlooked by historians, the extent of violence against flyers is drastically underestimated, hindered by the complex historical memory of the Allied air war, the arduous denazification process, and the looming Cold War of the postwar era. While the precise number of Allied flyers that experienced Lynchjustiz is impossible to determine, due to a lack of remaining records, this study provides a more accurate estimate and an improved historical analysis of the broader impact of these events on history. Lynchjustiz initially occurred as a spontaneous response to the devastating experiences of the Allied air war in 1943. The Nazi regime took advantage of German citizens’ plight to endure the overwhelming and inexorable air war that erased all physically and psychologically boundaries and attempted to harness the outrage of the German population, redirecting the anger explicitly against the new enemy in their midst. Individuals and groups of civilians, Party officials, security forces, government officials, as well as military members carried out this state-sponsored vigilantism, which was a byproduct of the political and societal instability produced by the Nazi regime.... view less
Keywords
US citizen; arbitrary law; air force; World War II; prisoner of war; historical analysis; German Reich; war crime
Classification
General History
Free Keywords
Lynching; Lynchjustiz; downed airmen; prisoners of war; World War II; war crimes; flyer trials
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
p. 277-312
Journal
Historical Social Research, 43 (2018) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.43.2018.2.277-312
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed