Germany's upper house Friday approved a law pardoning hundreds of thousands of Germans convicted of crimes by the Nazis, including soldiers who deserted Adolf Hitler's army in World War II.

The blanket pardon, passed last month in the lower house, also clears the names of dissidents, Jews and about 350,000 men and women ordered sterilized by Nazi courts to help create a supposed German "master race."The debate on the law spanned decades, and ultimately required a compromise in the wording to satisfy holdouts in Chancellor Helmut Kohl's conservative coalition.

View Comments

Conservatives were reluctant to pardon deserters, fearing it would be seen as a condemnation of the German military's conduct during the war. Some opponents also argued that Germany had atoned enough for the Nazi past.

Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.