Verbrechen der Wehrmacht

The exhibition "Crimes of the Wehrmacht: Dimensions of the War of Annihilation 1941-1944" illustrates, based on the war and international law applicable at the time, the Wehrmacht's partly active, partly passive involvement in the crimes committed during World War II in the Eastern and Southeast European theaters of war. It documents a total of six dimensions of the war of annihilation: genocide, Soviet soldiers in German captivity, war on food supplies, deportations, partisan warfare, and reprisals and hostage shootings. Previous research on this topic does not allow for statements about the number of German soldiers and officers involved in the crimes. Nevertheless, the exhibition also highlights the specific behavior of individual persons. In the "decision-making spaces," it is demonstrated that the war of annihilation is not a place of abstract dynamics, but rather a series of layered decisions.