Volksgerichtshof; Wikimedia Commons

Volksgerichtshof; Wikimedia Commons

 

The German Volksgerichtshof  (People’s Court) was established in 1934 by Chancellor Adolf Hitler to function outside the constitutional legal framework. The Volksgerichtshof had jurisdiction over a large number of political offenses, including black marketing, work slowdowns, defeatism and treason against the Third Reich. These crimes, viewed as undermining military capacity were punished severely, frequently by execution.