The “Nazi Detective” as Provider of Justice in Post-1990 British and German Crime Fiction

Within the wide-ranging field of crime fiction, a substantial subgenre containing over 150 transnational crime novels engages with the National Socialist past and its legacy in the postwar era.1 While a third of these Nazi-themed texts are set during National Socialist rule (1933–45), only a small minority of twelve novels or series feature a “Nazi detective”: an investigative figure who works in an official capacity within the structures of the Nazi regime, as part of its police force, army, or paramilitary organizations.2 To date, there has been little examination of the problems and opportunities this detective figure generates for crime writers or of the wider moral implications of his presence within the crime narrative.3 This article explores these questions through an examination of the rise of the Nazi detective in 1990s crime fiction and an analysis of his representation as a provider of justice in three crime novels by “second-generation” authors from Britain and Germany: Philip Kerr's The Pale Criminal (1990), Robert Harris's Fatherland (1992), and Richard Birkefeld and Göran Hachmeister's Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht (2002) (To the Victor the Spoils).All but two of the Nazi detective novels identified during the research for this article were published after 1990. A number of factors, either singly or in combination, may account for the timing of this miniature boom among authors whose national backgrounds are British (three), German (three), Czech (one), Polish (one), Italian American (one) and Canadian (one). The fortieth and fiftieth anniversary commemorations of D-Day, in 1985 and 1995, focused renewed attention on the legacy of the Second World War in former Axis and Allied nations and in those that experienced occupation. Midway between these two points, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent end of the Cold War led to a reevaluation of Germany's and Europe's “double past” of fascism and communism and to public discussion of issues such as guilt, victimhood, and memorialization.4 Debates on such subjects were often extremely lengthy and fraught: for example, the building of a Holocaust Memorial in Berlin was first suggested in 1988, formally approved in 1999, and only completed seventeen years later, in 2005.5In addition, the 1980s and 1990s saw an increased focus on the wartime role of the policeman-perpetrator, via a succession of highly publicized war-crimes trials and an emerging strand of perpetrator-centered historiography that received extensive international attention. In 1981, revelations surfaced of Maurice Papon's involvement in deporting Jews while he was a senior police official in Bordeaux; he was finally brought to trial in 1997.6 Similarly, 1989 saw the arrest of Paul Touvier, a former head of intelligence in the Milice who worked closely with the Gestapo in Vichy France and was tried in 1994.7 During the 1990s, Anglo-American historians, influenced by the German Alltagsgeschichte (the history of everyday life) movement of the 1970s, also began to research the behavior of “ordinary” perpetrators, including policemen. Christopher Browning's study Ordinary Men (1992) scrutinizes the roles of 125 German Ordnungspolizei (regular uniformed police) serving in Reserve Police Battalion 101, a mobile execution squad that killed thirty-eight thousand Jewish civilians in Poland between 1942 and 1943.8 Daniel J. Goldhagen examines the same case in his controversial Hitler's Willing Executioners (1996), which brought discussions about perpetrator motivation into the public realm, particularly in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.9 While Goldhagen asserts a monocausal theory of “eliminationist anti-Semitism” to explain how the were of a of which such as to and to but to the of that led the to as of the Nazi detective in crime novels or series has the Nazi from his of of the crime novels set during the to that of the within the The of the Nazi as has been and his to a role with the of the and the of justice has in the of a highly investigative A examination of perpetrator as by in of the Nazi a to of works as The and The from whose are as writers to a Nazi detective are of the to years after the end of the Second World a from National or to with the moral of this figure authors with a of the or of the Second World that only in the has Jewish an on the part of Jewish crime writers to in the of the Nazi who Nazi for on national and in issues and moral to an detective in a that of the of the detective as a of and justice with that of a detective for a such as and are the and or into the of the and The of police feature as of the and to to as such as who often the of are as and with a that the investigative with a the of the Nazi detective he as a of the Nazi police or or the police or role within the a between the two of the Nazi the who to and justice and the Nazi who a and the Nazi police in an that saw a of of justice and in which from the of the was highly the of the in was a but of the police and the (the a for and the of the In the head of the was German of the Gestapo and to the police Richard In was with the the head of the which as an in the of the and as of the twelve of the the Gestapo led by and the led by after this Gestapo and were to the police with the in a to and over the of the Robert that the end of the the Nazi police the Gestapo and the began to to the of or in the Gestapo the to and in a a a The saw the of the to while in and in the Gestapo was the to the of trials by or who been by the the of the and was to but of by Nazi and such as and such as while by the the the of Nazi and including the of the a and Gestapo whose was for and In was a the was in the was part of the and worked closely with the the of the trial of of the that there was between the Gestapo and the on the of the the police over British to the Gestapo for execution in The also that of the and part of the that as mobile execution in the Jewish and were often of Nazi and between for example, head of the from to was also a Gestapo official and in the and was from his to for in thousand in and of the National Socialist and its crime writers with the how to the of a Nazi detective a and justice while for a in which and the to the detective as a a and who his in of the may a of representation or the implications of the Nazi authors the of a a the of the to with the detective as an of justice may to the In authors often focus on the of the Nazi to the the of his moral In the of a the opportunities for a of how to for the and how or to the of the writers also the or of the Nazi detective to the of the its of and justice and its on a the of by the as as on a the of and the three crime novels in this by two British former and two German historians, are set in Berlin and the of the of the and Kerr's The Pale the in the set in the (the of and the to a Birkefeld and Hachmeister's Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht former detective and by the Gestapo to a during the of the Allied in while Harris's and a number of in the to Hitler's in texts been as of Nazi-themed crime with and and for to While of the Nazi detective as a of the or the of and in particularly in of roles as of The of and by to the of moral of article has three of examines the of the Nazi detective as an or as a authors and to his and the to as a provider of the and of the Nazi to the Nazi detective figure as a or of the regime, and implications such in the of discussions about the Nazi to the texts the of the crime detective the crime the police and in the or of the on the of justice in the Nazi Kerr's series on the American detective a in the of to the of Berlin during the Nazi and was a of the police but he the he from the of to in The Pale the in the the to the of German in This from to an on the of and Kerr's in a highly in a the police on the and to as years the in to police of that the as a of while a National Socialist was in that he was the to to of police from the the of the first but the series in to his in and the for the and the of in the and and and he to police in has a Nazi a between past as an investigative to the and his as a police to senior Nazi police such as and Richard whose also to postwar as Nazi an of Nazi structures and in and how the and Gestapo were to the of the through the of as to in Nazi Germany, as while are through which the with of movement the The of by the are by the case of a Jewish from a who of the and killed as part of the an official he a in the the of the in Nazi which the of to or in set in police of a to the who of into the are he has been by and with the of his and to to the case he also the by a to police which his within the and to that has been of by his to senior Nazi and of the This of in a that of serving as of and to by his of a and to on the by on the of he an on or he in his for the in to who are to the on he Jewish by his of the execution of the this set of and are to that his the Nazi his moral by the with the he as the in a the capacity for moral to a and of to the of the that about who to his of moral to a to the and the and in this about who are to in this as of and to of the that a the police to and to with the of the to by to as his and are through the The on the of the in crime little of the about his of the he his for from his but to a of and the of within Nazi The for to his of but he to that he part of a are to the of are by which the moral he while for the example, he with of in to in which with the that was head and the of The of this by in to the or the that he the a of Nazi and the of a by his for the of the and for the to This how to and the of the to moral while for a the end of the a highly of justice to of the part of a of whose of German was to a the of and Nazi in to a and an execution This as an of justice that the of the and the of the Nazi justice In a has to of those The and to are from the tried or an of justice who in as an to for the of the the of the case and structures a feature of the execution as as who by the into an whose are by the Nazi the between and by the a that the moral of the for his he that has to a from but by the he has the this has been and the that are by are to representation as a provider of justice on the of his and are to this and by the of the to the of the detective as a for of The Pale Criminal this while and are on the of the justice to and the to the moral his the of the to the as an of his as the who the in a Nazi to this the also a to on as his in the of these and the of such as or for the of the end of the on moral the execution of as either an of Nazi of or (the of a the that from to the of the of justice in the Nazi in the of a such the of the crime to the of the from an of the of in to his as an and in two years after The Pale Robert Harris's international Fatherland set in an postwar in which the and has a that and The a that as an past the as an (the of the within the and as an from the Berlin for Hitler's a with the of to the of the of an in the of the that Nazi who the 1942 which the of an for the was are by the to that the of which there only a in and In the the attention to the of the by the after the has the as a on the of the by that the Holocaust to the This a crime in which the crime (the of to the of a crime (the and the of the former who from the focus attention on the of the the of Jews who his investigative figure with the of the police in to the in the Nazi has the of in has to of in the of his as a senior The first that has a number of he the of a the he to he and he has been over for he was to the Nazi to to the of the by his to the national in with the but A third of the through the that the Gestapo has been a on to the in the about in in in The as from the regime, his as within the in the of National to his of a while he his which a with two by this of the Jewish who in his between and in the Nazi that Jews been to the during the and he by the that to was a in in The by the history to the as a to a his to and to that the are the to this to the of German Jews during the the opportunities by the The that who on the and was the end of the a part in the Holocaust this his with the of the senior in the of are on such as and who led (the for the of Polish and set the and within the in the the Holocaust for of and to to the of the A who in his he he with the an in a on and example, to a of to and from the he his the of to the a in the Polish of this In the the and that to in the to an of the Berlin from this he an of three thousand the were the of thousand thousand and a his investigative to the of the and to the and of the crime of the the of to the of that his investigative the the of the and of the his to he saw the of a a of The was with by the was as detective and this his in from and the of a history the to and may to its to the Holocaust to the attention of the the end of the figure as a of and whose National Socialist into the and the of a to Kerr's in and the through the of with his the of the Gestapo the end of the In this with that of who engages in a number of with senior National but to the behavior in the of crime and the to his to the but also the to a as been by the on the with his of into of Gestapo to the crime the he from the and of the via the American The the the from a and the of and from his who to as he his a by the on the investigative to a of and a of the by a with the of the end of the the and and the Gestapo and to the end of the the rule of the only of over 150 Nazi-themed crime novels that to to in the of authors are to and a to as in the case of that in The of a detective in a a for the and a those that to with a also that with to with the Holocaust that of The Pale which with a of the While Fatherland that for to a and The Pale in with the of that the to a in the of the he to the from his examination of of to Holocaust police to the Holocaust in the role of and that as a of as the in the was public in by who been to with his from the in the as and of the regime, a that with his role as a Nazi and that to were the set in an the to the the in the are either in or the of the to the that German the of to also in the Holocaust the of the Fatherland the of German and the of the of the as was often the case in German public of the and the of the Holocaust as for the first from by by as history through its as in the The the of the crime and police whose the to the of the Holocaust to as by while his The of the in the as in an are and into the crime as to the of the crime and the crime of the the with a to the to with to the and for a of the Jewish in for the of the of the Jewish from the to a of Jews through in the and the for the to with an from the for a for an and the that examines of into the via to and the Holocaust by the the American as on this that was to a these into the and the of the for the into the for the of the as as the past crime of the as detective identified with the about the Holocaust and its into the the moral of the the the of the the crime to its history in a highly to a of and in the 1990s and to the of and Holocaust the of the Nazi detective in a number of In the its who published on the history of the the of the crime to an account of a the end of the The as a but also of the German subgenre as while there the focus on the investigative and the for the attention also to and of the with a focus on The the of the of the the of the the on the of a a of three texts the with perpetrator as by and Browning's in the übrig bleibt, hat recht of in through the of a highly The a former of who during an and to Berlin to on the he for his and The a former and a in the who has from serving with the in the he a as as a role in civilians and by the Gestapo to the of a also the of The authors the with an and the as and the Nazi perpetrator as the detective the the of and as to past and from of in 1942 for after that his been killed in with by the but he only by his the of the Gestapo in Berlin and the and by the of his and during the Allied The of his former by the that of from his for example, into his while over his in for The also how from the of the Jews that were to and the for the end of the that was by his who to an an German who for the Nazi for a Jewish to for from his and to of motivation has two of the focus on his for the police in to the with his who as his moral are how and a police of were part in two that the Second World the of in which the a Polish on a and the an in which two British intelligence were from the in as a in these in an of the a Polish as a and the to of the also has to from to to as his of the and to the an of the the serving in the and and the in the the of including and Jews as an of a or whose to to the the in its those of examines in Ordinary such as a of a by who a of during the and was a and to to police in he the to in of a This was an to the of the police as an for as the of its and a of his for the the and he of that and the in the end of the and war-crimes trials of he the of German and to his as a of the to as a the of justice the of the detective as an of the This by the which the the the of the Nazi detective as in Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht a of the crime and as a he a with a of who to to his postwar to the of crime this the with the detective as an of through the presence of within the but opportunities to as a Nazi detective in the of the are by the example, an to for his from are that a over the past three to the that was in the in and Harris's of and are to the or to the of the Nazi by the of his in its an through the about his role in the of the to the of his through his with he the moral of his behavior a number of the authors on the by in war-crimes trials after the a he a to and been he which are by such as who that there case which who to the of civilians to his a of a Nazi as by postwar with the former of his of and of by the the postwar to the of his in his as an German he into for the by a former Gestapo The with a a the a in the of a that that he his involvement in the by his the The was in The was in The and were in A perpetrator The a been the with of his past and as a he to his but the of his The with the by the to his as a perpetrator for the first his of to to an of the that led to the of postwar moral he in his the to his that of with his of he to a of as a to the end of the in a of the Nazi his while of the Gestapo with in the case of a substantial from during the The those who a of the to and in postwar and as a of the regime, an that a of his as of the and the of his as a as a Nazi detective are to those of who as a provider of in the of the that of former in the to the of postwar German justice and its to the Nazi after the three novels in this article the figure of the Nazi detective to the with an into the of the Nazi the or to the of the and within Nazi The Pale Criminal on the of justice within and the of in with Nazi for or The police are to by the and through the of or to and and The same are in in which the from Nazi by the Gestapo and Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht the of during the years and Gestapo in the justice in the Gestapo the of years in and to The Pale Criminal and Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht also the and of the German who and to In of the the examination of within everyday Nazi to a of the by the the Pale the and the of civilians in the übrig bleibt, hat of the novels attention to the and the by the Nazi as by the also the by the through in Fatherland and from Jewish in Wer übrig bleibt, hat of the texts with the problems and opportunities by the Nazi detective in Fatherland and The Pale Criminal to the with the detective as a for by and with Nazi and of in this are to his moral in an of the as and of the on the a of and moral as a of the the implications of his execution of are over the end of the Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht a by the detective as an a Nazi perpetrator who and in While a justice the structures of the with a justice that the Holocaust from the of and the to justice for the he has in the of the three works of and the Nazi and to and two as a of with or The in Fatherland and the Jewish and by the the to and to the of the in Wer übrig bleibt, hat the perpetrator with his role in Nazi and generates a in which he for his In as the and In the presence of the and the of its subjects are of the while in case the as a of the of the of the novels from The Pale part of a detective the of its detective in a police in to the of the the Nazi This in a of but that by the to the of the the end of the as an of justice the examination of and Fatherland from crime by the detective the end of the This a but of the Nazi suggested by Kerr's which with the Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht to the of the and and the of three texts through its of the little to to the he as an Nazi of of the end of the of but in to The Pale to the as a and who are as of and justice as a of of the crime and the roles of and a the of three Nazi with the authors a of the capacity of Nazi to moral for the small of texts (three), the number of works in this subgenre and number of from to national in to the figure of the Nazi to the highly of the Nazi perpetrator in Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht as a of German to the first was in factors, such as a as and to a role in such are the of by authors in to of the crime The of and and German writers to novels that of the works from the British Kerr's The Pale In by the of the end of the the authors of Fatherland and Wer übrig bleibt, hat recht and the questions by these novels about the that of on the and the to to justice in the postwar on the in this article has three authors with the by the Nazi detective and the opportunities this investigative figure in a number of novels of in the Nazi which via the figure of the Nazi to about issues of moral and

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