Yanky Fachler
‘Persil Washes Whiter’: The D-Nazification Fiasco

During the post-WW2 denazification process, Persilschein, or “Persil ticket,” named after the famous German laundry detergent, was the certificate that sought to wash clean any stain of association with the Nazis. A Persilschein was often enough to grant a German defendant accused of Nazism a certificate of good standing, which explained how so many Nazis could return to a job or regain control over a business.