The political standards of the “Purge Law” were made more explicit by the supplementary law of 20 July 1933. Officials who belonged to any party or organization which, in the opinion of the Nazis, furthered the aims of Communism, Marxism, or Social Democracy were summarily to be discharged (1398-PS). In the later years, these earlier provisions were enlarged and codified, no longer solely for the purposes of affecting the existing civil service, but rather to set out the qualifications for the appointment of new applicants and for their promotion. Proof of devotion to National Socialism and documentary proof of acceptable “blood” were prescribed as conditions to promotion. (2326-PS)
The comprehensive German Civil Service Law of 26 January 1937 included the discriminatory provisions of the earlier legislation, and prevented the appointment of any applicants opposed or suspected of being opposed to the Nazi program and policy (2340-PS). The legislation dealing with the training and education of civil servants provided that no person can be accepted for an official position unless he is a member of the Nazi Party or one of its formations (Gliederungen). (2341-PS)
The total subjugation of the German civil servant was ultimately accomplished by the following resolution passed by the Reichstag at the request of the Fuehrer.
“* * * without being bound by existing legal provisions, the Fuehrer must therefore in his capacity as Fuehrer of the nation, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, as Head of the Government and as the highest bearer of all power, as highest Law Lord and as Fuehrer of the Party, always be in a position to require every German—whether a simple soldier or officer, subordinate or higher official, or judge, supervisory or operating functionary of the Party, laborer or employer—to carry out his duties with all the means available to him and to discharge these duties according to a conscientious examination without reference to so-called vested rights, especially without the preambles of pre-existing procedure, by removal of any man from his office, rank or position.” (2755-PS)
F. The Nazi conspirators restricted the independence of the judiciary and rendered it subservient to their ends.
The independence of judges, before the Nazi regime, was guaranteed by the Weimar Constitution. The fundamental principle was stated briefly in Article 102:
“Judges are independent and subject only to the law.” (2050-PS)
Article 104 contained a safeguard against the arbitrary removal or suspension of judges, while Article 105 prohibited “exceptional courts”. The fundamental rights of the individual are set out in Article 109 and include equality before the law. (2050-PS)
Like all other public officials, German judges who failed to meet Nazi racial and political requirements became the subject of a wide-spread purge. Non-Aryans, political opponents of the Nazis, and all persons suspected of antagonism to the aims of the Party were summarily removed (2967-PS). The provisions of the Law for the Restoration of Professional Civil Service of 7 April 1933 applied to all judges. This was declared expressly in the third regulation for the administration of the law. (2867-PS)
To make certain that cases with political ramifications would be dealt with acceptably and in conformity with Party principles, the Nazis granted designated areas of criminal jurisdiction to the so-called Special Courts (Sondergerichte). These constituted a new system of special criminal courts, independent of the regular judiciary and directly subservient to the Party (2076-PS). A later decree considerably broadened the jurisdiction of these courts. (2056-PS)