Institutional and legal framework for the commissions’ activities for establishing and investigating nazi crimes

Introduction: the article presents from historical and legal viewpoints the for ms and methods of work of the Extraordinary State Commission for establishing and investigating the atrocities of Nazi inva ders and th eir accomplices, and the damage caused by them to citizens, collective farms, public organizations, state enterprises and institution s of the USSR (ESC), formed on November 2, 1942 by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of th e USSR an d its commissions of assistan ce, created in th e occupied region s of the Soviet Union. For this purpose, through the use of the archival materials the author analyzes such forms an d meth ods of activities of these committees as meetin gs; car ryin g out the investigative action s at the scenes of Nazi atrocities with going out th ere by the special commissions for establishing an d investigating th e most mon strous atrocities of the Nazis; publishin g or disclosin g in an y other form of incriminat ing materials about the atr ocities of th e Nazis; reference work. By applying th e scientific methods, especially the meth od of h istor icism, th er e are generalized such meth ods of obtain in g data on war cr imes, as in vestigation of th e cr ime scen es of fascist aggressors; in terviewin g victims, witnesses an d cr imin a l participan ts; expert in vestigation, collecting documentary data. Results: the author analyzes the procedure for the development and practical application of the ESC instructions on the procedure for establish ing and in vestigatin g the crimes of the German fascist in vaders; the damage to the state, cooperative an d pu blic enterprises, institutions and organizations, as well as the collective farms; on the procedure of de termin ing th e damage caused to Soviet citizens and their pr oper ty by the predatory action s of the Nazi occupie rs; on determining the damage caused to the artistic, cultural and histor ical values of the peoples of the USSR, as well as to buildings, equipmen t an d uten sils of the r eligious worship. Conclusions: the ESC accumulated the unparalleled experience and incriminating materials that allowed in its entirety to take into account the human losses and mater ial damage suffered by the Soviet Union from the aggression of Nazi Germany; they for med the basis of the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and their accomplices among the Soviet citizens, including Nuremberg International Military Tribunal; they played a major role in propaganda activities both with in the country an d on the intern ational stage; th ey wer e used an d taken as a model by the simila r structur es in the countries under th e occupation by Nazi German y.