German military law

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German military law has a long history.

1 History
2 See also
3 Gallery
4 External links

[edit] History

Under the German Empire (until 1919) there was a single jurisdiction to try soldiers, or a Reichsmilitärgericht for the highest level trials. The Militärgerichtsbarkeit did not exist in the Weimar Republic, but was revived under the Third Reich by a special directive of 12 May 1933. The Reichskriegsgericht was established as the highest-level court-martial by another special directive of 5 September 1936 on the following 1 October, and in the Second World War it became responsible for Wehrmacht officers and civilians, and the first and last resort for the crimes of:

High treason (Hochverrat),
State treason (Landesverrat),
War treason (Kriegsverrat),
(Wehrkraftzersetzung) and
Conscientious objection (Kriegsdienstverweigerung).

From 1939 to 1945 the RKG was responsible for over 1,400 executions, including those of the Red Orchestra.

Until 1943 the RKG was based in Witzlebenstraße 4-10 in the Berliner Bezirk Charlottenburg, later the temporary base of the Kammergericht. After 1943 the RKG transferred to Torgau, where it was based until the end of the war.