The White List and Zero Hour in Germany 1945
Original English documents with German translations
WANTED: PERSONS WITH A CLEAN SLATE FOR NEW BEGINNING
The »Secret« stamp faded, the narrowly filled typewriter pages yellowed – that’s how it lay undiscovered in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., for decades: the list comprising 1,500 Germans – publicists, artists, lawyers, clergymen, unionists, politicians – who, according to the Allies, could be considered for taking part in rebuilding a democratic state after capitulation. The Americans, who started collecting their names even during WWII, called it the »White List« because it only contained persons with an assumed anti- or non-Nazi ethos. During his research in the Mid-1970s, the historian Henric L. Wuermeling came across the list that reads like a who’s who of hope.
Henric L. Wuermeling, born in 1941, studied political science and modern history
and developed numerous formats for the German broadcaster ARD, e.g. the political programme »Brennpunkt« or programmatic topics such as »Die Deutschen im Zweiten Weltkrieg«. For August ’39 and Adam von Trott zu Solz – a key figure of the German Resistance – he won the Bavarian TV Award. He has published numerous historical books, e.g. Munich – The Fate of a Metropolis 1900–1950, Bavaria’s History, and In Search of Europe for LangenMüller.
WANTED: PERSONS WITH A CLEAN SLATE FOR NEW BEGINNING
The »Secret« stamp faded, the narrowly filled typewriter pages yellowed – that’s how it lay undiscovered in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., for decades: the list comprising 1,500 Germans – publicists, artists, lawyers, clergymen, unionists, politicians – who, according to the Allies, could be considered for taking part in rebuilding a democratic state after capitulation. The Americans, who started collecting their names even during WWII, called it the »White List« because it only contained persons with an assumed anti- or non-Nazi ethos. During his research in the Mid-1970s, the historian Henric L. Wuermeling came across the list that reads like a who’s who of hope.
Henric L. Wuermeling, born in 1941, studied political science and modern history
and developed numerous formats for the German broadcaster ARD, e.g. the political programme »Brennpunkt« or programmatic topics such as »Die Deutschen im Zweiten Weltkrieg«. For August ’39 and Adam von Trott zu Solz – a key figure of the German Resistance – he won the Bavarian TV Award. He has published numerous historical books, e.g. Munich – The Fate of a Metropolis 1900–1950, Bavaria’s History, and In Search of Europe for LangenMüller.
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