Urzędnicy przed sądem – ekstradycja nazistowskich zbrodniarzy z Niemiec i ich procesy w Polsce
Officials on trial – the extradition of Nazi criminals from Germany and their trials in Poland

Summary/Abstract: Even during the war and the German occupation, laws to regulate the preservation of evidence were established in Central and Eastern European countries so that Nazi crimes committed there could be prosecuted in the long term. As part of the preparatory activities, evidence was systematically collected. After the war, a total of over 1,800 Nazi criminals were extradited to Poland to be brought to justice. Among them were many members of the German civilian administrative apparatus, including town and county governors, who bore considerable responsibility for German occupation policy at the lowest level of the administration. The article describes, based on representative examples, the process of administering punishment for their crimes and offenses. The beginning of this process was the systematic collection and securing of evidence. The next stage, i.e. the tracking down of the perpetrators in post-war Germany, their internment, and then the attempts to bring them to Poland. The reasons for the dismissal of extradition requests are discussed, as well as the reactions and concerns of the Nazi criminals. A larger number of typical examples made it possible to examine the judicial proceedings in Poland and answer further questions: under what general legal conditions did they take place? What were the difficulties in carrying out the trials? How did public opinion respond? The article concludes with a closer look at the fate of the tried Nazis after their release from prison.

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