page_title: Otto Georg Thierack
section_title: Reich Minister of Justice
hierarchical_section_title: Otto Georg Thierack / Reich Minister of Justice
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Roland Freisler und Dr. Otto Thierack ADN-ZB/Archiv Faschistisches Deutschland 1933-45 Der faschistische Reichsjustizminister Dr. Thierack (rechts) führt Ende August 1942 den neuen Präsidenten des Volksgerichtshofes, Staatssekretär Dr. Freisler (links), in sein Amt ein. Abgebildete Personen: Thierack, Otto Georg Dr.: Reichsminister der Justiz, Präsident des Volksgerichtshofes, Deutschland (GND 124864309) Freisler, Roland Dr.: Präsident des Volksgerichtshofes, Deutschland (GND 118693093)
context_page_description: Otto Georg Thierack was a German Nazi jurist and politician.
context_section_description: On 20 August 1942, Thierack assumed the office of Reich Minister of Justice. He introduced the monthly Richterbriefe in October 1942, in which were presented model – from the Nazi leaders' standpoint – decisions, with names left out, upon which German jurisprudence was to be based. He also introduced the so-called Vorschauen and Nachschauen ("previews" and "inspections"). After this, the higher state court presidents, in proceedings of public interest, had at least every two weeks to discuss with the public prosecutor's office and the State Court president – who had to pass this on the responsible criminal courts – how a case was to be judged before the court's decision.
  When he became Reich Minister of Justice in August 1942, Thierack saw to it that the lengthy paperwork involved in clemency proceedings for those sentenced to death was greatly shortened. In September of that year, he caused all those in custody who were "Jews, Gypsies, Ukrainians, Poles sentenced to over three years, Czechs, or Germans serving a sentence of over eight years" to be classified as "asocial elements" and transferred to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler to be exterminated through work.
  At Thierack's instigation, the execution shed at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin was outfitted with eight iron hooks in December 1942 so that several people could be put to death at once, by hanging (there had already been a guillotine there for quite a while). The mass executions began on 7 September 1943 but due to their rapidity some prisoners were hanged "by mistake". Thierack dismissed these as errors and demanded that the hangings continue.
caption: Otto Thierack (right) with Judge Roland Freisler at the end of August 1942
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