Stigma management and justifications of the self in denazification accounts

Abstract

Purpose-This article studies how two accounting professors at a German university dealt with their denazification, a process carried out by the Allied Forces following World War II to free German society from Nazi ideology. It is argued that the professors carried a stigma due to their affiliation with a university that had been aligned with the Nazi state apparatus. Design/methodology/approach-The paper uses Goffman's work on 'Stigma' (1963/86) and 'Frame Analysis' (1974/86) to explore how the professors aimed to dismiss any link with the Nazi regime. Primary sources from the university archives were accessed with a particular focus on the professors' postwar justification accounts. Findings-The paper shows how the professors created a particular frame, which they supported by downplaying frame breaks, primarily their Nazi party memberships. Instead, they were preoccupied with what Goffman (1974/86) terms 'the vulnerability of experience', exploiting that their past behavior requires context and is thus open to interpretation. The professors themselves provide this guidance to readers, which is a strategy that we call 'authoring' of past information. Originality/value-The paper shows how 'counter accounts' can be constructed by assigning roles and powers to characters therein and by providing context and interpreting behavior on behalf of the readers. It is suggested that this 'authoring' of past information is successful only on the surface. A closer examination unveils ambiguity, making this strategy risky and fragile.

Accountability and ideology: The case of a German university under the Nazi regime

“…We are conscious that this process adds an additional layer of interpretation to the original documents. To mitigate this issue, we embraced the approach as detailed in Detzen and Hoffmann (2018). The analysis was carried out based on the original documents in the German language, excerpts were translated only when drafting this article and in cases of specific terminology and whenever translation proved difficult, the German original was retained.…”

“…The quote illustrates Hasenack's efforts to combine critical comments with political rhetoric, which speaks to his ability to carefully craft public statements (Detzen and Hoffmann, 2018). Respecting one's moral and ethical beliefs thus required a continuous and careful balancing of political, professional and personal accountability demands.…”

“…While such post-war statements may not be seen as factual evidence (Detzen and Hoffmann, 2018), they indicate that the changing accountability demands affected individual faculty and that these demands shaped their actions and behavior (Messner, 2009). That is, either these faculty members had become fervent Nazis and expressed their support by joining Nazi organizations or they struggled to make sense of the new political situation and let such demands affect their moral standards.…”

“…Third, this article connects to the accounting history literature on the Nazi era (Detzen and Hoffmann, 2018;Funnell, 1998;Lippman and Wilson, 2007;Walker, 2000). This literature studies how accounting techniques and methods were employed by the Nazis as well as how individual accountants dealt with the totalitarian regime.…”

“…Although these articles are highly relevant in our context, accountability barely features as a theme. A recent exception is Detzen and Hoffmann (2018). They explore the denazification essays of two German accounting professors, who, after the war, constructed ‘counter accounts’ to deflect any association with the Nazi regime from their post-war selves.…”