Nacht und Nebel

Nacht und Nebel ("Night and Fog" ) was an incident and edict in Nazi Germany. On December 7, 1941, Adolf Hitler issued the "Nacht und Nebel Erlass" or "Night and Fog Decree" which resulted in the disapp

Nacht und Nebel ("Night and Fog" ) was an incident and edict in Nazi Germany. On December 7, 1941, Adolf Hitler issued the "Nacht und Nebel Erlass" or "Night and Fog Decree" which resulted in the disappearance of many political activists.

The Nazis proceeded with their plans independent of the rest of the world. The Geneva Convention was not of the Third Reich, so except to keep tensions with other nations down, it was not really observed. The incident/edict referred to as "Night and Fog" (Nacht und Nebel) was clear evidence of unbounded and lawless cruelty. Even before the deportation and mass murder of the innocents of Europe, the mentally impaired, the Jews, the Gypsies, and so forth, the Nazis had been dealing severely with political prisoners. Most of the early prisoners were of two sorts: they were either prisoners of belief/political prisoners whom the Nazis deemed in need of "re-education" to Nazi thinking; or the far larger group was that of Soviet Prisoners of War. Up until the time of the "Night and Fog" Decree, prisoners were handled by German soldiers in approximately the same way other countries did: according to national agreements and procedures such as the Geneva Convention. Hitler and his upper level staff however, made a critical decision not to have to attend to what they considered unnecessary convention.