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Can a Person Be Moral Within an Immoral System?
SS Judge Konrad Morgen probed murder and fraud, holding Nazi officials accountable while genocide remained legal.
Konrad Morgen was an SS judge during the Nazi era, and his life shows how twisted justice could be under a totalitarian government. He was born on June 8, 1909, in Frankfurt and had a normal early life. His father worked on the railways, and Morgen chose to study law to overcome his humble beginnings.
In his biography, he says he did not truly believe in Nazi ideas, he joined the party because his parents advised him to do so, believing that a good legal career in government would be nearly impossible otherwise. He studied at the University of Frankfurt and The Hague Academy of International law and recounts the story of how he joined the party shortly after graduating,
“I said to the man in the personnel office that I would like to resume employment in my profession, since if one has just passed one’s exams and then leaves the profession for more than a year, it is very hard to work one’s way back in. He said, ‘OK, the Head Office of the SS Judiciary is looking for judges. So you’ll get a job there.”
His professional trajectory led him to become a judge in Stettin, where he would eventually gain…
