Located in Kessenich, Rosenburg Villa (1831) is a striking building, with its turrets, massive facades, and surrounding forest. During its early years the Ministry of Justice, which moved into Rosenburg villa in June of 1950, mainly focused on expunging wrongheaded Nazi statutes from existing laws. The agency also helped to harmonise German statutes, which, over time, had developed discrepancies from one occupation sector to another.
Thomas Dehler was West Germany’s first Minister of Justice. Neither he nor State Secretary Walter Strauß, who until 1963 held senior positions in various government ministries, was involved in Nazism. In fact, Thomas Dehler, one of the “fathers” of the Basic Law, had contact with members of the resistance movement against Hitler.
Against this backdrop, the Ministry’s personnel structure was surprising indeed: According to a 2016 study, from 1949 to 1953, former Nazi party members held well over half of the positions in the Ministry – and in some of its departments, more than 70 percent.” The study also notes that many ministry staff members “were directly involved in implementing the 'Führer’s aims'.”