Constructions of Guilt and Logics of Punishment: American Narratives of German Guilt After World War II
Open Access
Author:
Niebauer, Allison Kate
Graduate Program:
Communication Arts and Sciences
Degree:
Master of Arts
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
May 24, 2016
Committee Members:
Stephen Browne, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Thomas Benson, Committee Member Michele Kennerly, Committee Member
Keywords:
Rhetoric World War II Holocaust Nuremberg Trials Narrative Transitional Justice Communication Henry Stimson Henry Morgenthau Robert Jackson
Abstract:
This thesis investigates how American war crime planners conceived of German guilt after World War II, and how it influenced their prescriptions for punishment. I examine three separate proposals for the punishment of German war criminals and the rhetorical, philosophical, and material ramifications of each. Using different aspects of narrative theory, I explore how each construction of guilt created a different propulsive logic for punishment. Recognizing that narratives have consequences both within and outside the story, I argue that each plan highlights a different conception of the relationship between guilt and punishment. The logics promoted by each plan have been carried into different aspects of transitional justice today and continue to demand that we examine how we construct guilt and conceive of punishment in the wake of tragedy.