Tim Ryback
Historian and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague; author of books on European history and Nazi Germany including "Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power."
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APPEARANCES
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PODCASTS
Jun 9, 2026
Tim RybackGUEST
Nacht und Nebel means night and fog, and it relates to what was called the Nacht und Nebel Erlass, which was a decree issued by Hitler himself, and it was instituted specifically to avoid the judicial systems that were in place.
Tim RybackGUEST
The, the countries around Germany were occupied by the Wehrmacht, by the German military.
Tim RybackGUEST
The German military had its own court system, so that if there were resistance fighters, y- they would...
Tim RybackGUEST
And they were caught, they would be placed before a, a, a German military court.
Tim RybackGUEST
But Hitler wanted to forgo that system and instituted th- his own process, this Nacht und Nebel Erlass, this, um, night and fog decree, as it were, which simply had people disappear.