The Flyer Trials: Seeking Justice for Lynchjustiz Committed against American Airmen during the Second World War

Abstract

Widely forgotten and underestimated within the Nazi milieu is the lynching (Lynchjustiz) committed against downed Allied airmen. This violence originated as a form of communal self-defence against, and retribution for, the devastating bombing and strafing raids. The Nazi regime then attempted to harness this violence to combat the enemy. By analysing the so-called ‘flyer trials’ it aids in better understanding the mistreatment of downed American airmen in Germany during the Second World War (e.g. what groups within German society were prone to committing violence against downed airmen as well as determining their motivation for committing these often brutal offences).