Berlin – Former chief of staff to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Peter Altmaier, has launched a critical assessment of the post-war approach taken by Germany’s first Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, regarding the reckoning with the country’s Nazi past. In a commentary published this week, Altmaier argues that Adenauer largely avoided publicly addressing the darker chapters of German history, prioritizing societal reconstruction over comprehensive denazification and historical accountability.
Altmaier paints a concerning picture of the early Federal Republic, highlighting the significant re-integration of former Nazi party members into positions of power within the government and civil service. He details how, from 1951 onwards, individuals with Nazi affiliations were often able to escape scrutiny and maintain respected positions in post-war society. He suggests a widespread reluctance to confront the past, enabled by a network of individuals shielding one another. A turning point, Altmaier notes, came with the Auschwitz trials in the mid-1960s, which finally brought some measure of justice and public reckoning.
The former minister contends that Adenauer consciously prioritized building a democratic, secure and prosperous Germany, choosing to downplay personal failings and entanglements from the pre-1945 era. He suggests that calls for a thorough investigation of the past were often dismissed as outrageous or scandalous.
Altmaier’s commentary stems from a newly released historical study examining the personnel within the Chancellery during Adenauer’s tenure. The study reportedly indicates that up to 38 percent of senior civil servants in the Chancellery had been members of the Nazi party. Altmaier points to the role of Hans Globke, Adenauer’s long-serving chief of staff, who, he argues, played a “disreputable role” during the Third Reich in drafting and commenting on Hitler’s racial policies.
He observes that these personnel continuities persisted well into the early years of Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s leadership, ultimately ending only as those involved reached retirement age. Altmaier’s assessment raises questions about the compromises made in the immediate post-war period and the enduring legacy of the past within Germany’s governing structures.
