The German past in court. In the winter of 1963, the first Auschwitz trial began before the eyes of the world, marking the largest and most significant legal reckoning of the Holocaust. Devin Pendas recounts the story of this trial, based on extensive research, which divided public opinion and put not only 22 Nazi perpetrators but also the German past on trial. Many years had to pass before a German prosecutor initiated comprehensive investigations into the crimes committed at the Auschwitz extermination camp after the war. It was to become the largest criminal trial in post-war German history. SS doctors and camp guards were indicted. Hundreds of witnesses were heard. The proceedings also addressed the support of Hitler by broad segments of the German population, as well as issues of repression and denial.