Derk Venema

Winner Dissertation Prize 2008

Dissertation
Rechters in oorlogstijd. De confrontatie van de Nederlandse rechterlijke macht met nationaal-socialisme en bezetting

Supervisors: Prof. dr T.J.M. Mertens, Prof. dr L.E. de Groot-van Leeuwen
Nomination: Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Law

Report by the selection committee

Why did the Dutch judiciary not rise against the German occupation during the years 1940-45? The author analyses the dilemma’s with which judges were confronted by the rise of national socialism starting in the 1930s.