Ex Captivitate Salus

Ex Captivitate Salus: Experiences, 1945–47 is a memoir book by the German jurist and political philosopher Carl Schmitt.

Background

Schmitt began to write the book while he was imprisoned by the Allied occupiers in the aftermath of World War II. He was held in an American mass internment camp in 1945–46 and as a witness and "possible defendant" in the prison of the Nuremberg trials in 1947. Schmitt was never formally charged for anything, but was held in isolation and wrote the book as a way to cope with the situation.

Summary

Schmitt used the book to personally reflect on his relationship with Nazi Germany. This reflection is combined with the histories of legal and political concepts such as just war, the right to resist, civil war and sovereignty. Schmitt argued for his own innocence and that he had no obligation to actively oppose the German government.

Publication

The book was published by in 1950. Polity published the English translation by Matthew Hannah in 2017.