Mitläufer

The German word {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} (literally "with-walker" or "one walking with") has been in common use since the 17th century. It means as much as "follower", more literally "tag-along", a person who gives in to peer pressure. A {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} is one who is not convinced by the ideology of the group followed but merely offers no resistance, such as for lack of courage or for opportunism.

The term is usually translated in English as "fellow traveller" or "hanger-on", but it is not equivalent to either. The German Wiktionary provides the English translation as "follower";{{cite web|url=https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mitl%C3%A4ufer|title= Mitläufer |accessdate=23 April 2017}} {{in lang|de}} the English version defines it as "a passive follower".{{cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mitl%C3%A4ufer|title= Mitläufer |accessdate=23 April 2017}}

The German word {{lang|de|Mitläufereffekt}} is derived from it. {{lang|de|Mitläufereffekt}}, also called the {{lang|de|Bandwagon-Effekt}} (bandwagon effect), refers to the effect a perceived success exerts on the willingness of individuals to join the expected success. For example, voters would like to be on the winning side and so prefer to choose the candidate that they expect will win."Mitläufereffekt", Wolfgang J. Koschnik, Standardwörterbuch für die Sozi.alwissenschaften, Bd. 2, München London New York Paris 1993, {{ISBN|3-598-11080-4}}. {{in lang|de}}

{{Further|Denazification#Application}}

In the American Sector of Allied-occupied Germany, a "follower" was the second lowest group or category in the denazification proceedings. The denazification hearings classified Germans according to five groups:{{cite web|url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/Denazification%202%20ENG.pdf|title=Control Council Directive No. 38 (October 12, 1946)|publisher=The German Historical Institute |accessdate=23 April 2017}}

• 1. Major Offenders (German: {{lang|de|Hauptschuldige}})
• 2. Offenders: Activists, Militants, or Profiteers (German: {{lang|de|Belastete}})
• 3. Lesser offenders (German: {{lang|de|Minderbelastete}})
• 4. Followers (German: {{lang|de|Mitläufer}})
• 5. Exonerated persons (German: {{lang|de|Entlastete}})

In Allied-occupied Austria, the Russian term {{lang|ru|poputchik}} (fellow traveller) was translated into German as {{lang|de|Mitläufer}}, and they were considered to be "lesser offenders" (a person who, although not formally charged with participation in war crimes, was sufficiently involved with the Nazi regime to the extent that the Allied authorities could not legally exonerate them).{{cite book|last=Ott|first=Hugo|title=Martin Heidegger: A Political Life|year=1993|publisher=Harper Collins|location=London|isbn=0-00-215399-8|page=407}}

Of the five categories, {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} is the most controversial as it does not relate to any formal Nazi criminal activity, as defined by the Nuremberg trials, only to a loosely defined indirect support of Nazi crimes.{{cite journal|last=Arzt|first=Donna|title=Nuremberg, Denazification and Democracy. The Hate Speech Problem of the International Military Tribunal|journal=New York Law School of Human Rights|year=1995|issue=689}} Therefore, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt could say about Herbert von Karajan's Nazi Party membership card: "Karajan was obviously not a Nazi. He was a {{lang|de|Mitläufer}}."{{cite web|date=2008-01-08|url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article1595506/Der-Mann-der-zweimal-in-die-NSDAP-eintrat.html |title=Der Mann, der zweimal in die NSDAP eintrat |language=de |trans-title=The man who joined the NSDAP twice |publisher=Welt.de |accessdate=2012-08-25}}

In essence, {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} were found de facto guilty of contributing to Nazi crimes, even though they were not necessarily ideologically committed to some essential Nazi doctrines, especially biological racism and the policy of Jewish extermination.

The Nazi {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} often were of a slightly different sort: they sympathised with the Nazis but only indirectly participated in Nazi atrocities such as genocide. This is why this category was often used as an easy way to excuse most Germans legally from Nazi crimes.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

In addition to von Karajan, well-known {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} included the philosopher Martin Heidegger, the filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, Christian Schad,{{cite web |title=In Aschaffenburg wurde das erste Christian-Schad-Museum eröffnet |date=22 July 2022|url=https://www.strandgut.de/in-aschaffenburg-wurde-das-erste-christian-schad-museum-eroeffnet/ |website=Strandgut – Das Kulturmagazin für Frankfurt und Rhein-Main |access-date=25 February 2024}} and Wilhelm Stuckart.

• Bandwagon effect
• Herd behavior
• List of Axis personnel indicted for war crimes
• The Holocaust
• Fellow traveller

{{Reflist}}

• [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/history_and_memory/v015/15.2weckel.html The {{lang|de|Mitläufer}} in Two German Postwar Films]

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Category:German words and phrases