A handful of very high ranking Nazis were tried and hanged.
This is a misconception. As a result of the "Nuremberg Trials" which concluded in 1946 and focused specifically on high-level defendants, 11 people were hanged. But there were numerous other trials, including what were called the "Nuremberg Military Tribunals" from 1946-1949, the Bergen-Belsen trials, and so on, as a result of which scores of people of decidedly lesser status were executed, easily some 200+.
Nearly all the mid-level officers and civil authorities escaped any sort of punishment or justice, and continued happily serving in the West German state.
This is a misconception. As a result of the "Nuremberg Trials" which concluded in 1946 and focused specifically on high-level defendants, 11 people were hanged. But there were numerous other trials, including what were called the "Nuremberg Military Tribunals" from 1946-1949, the Bergen-Belsen trials, and so on, as a result of which scores of people of decidedly lesser status were executed, easily some 200+.
Nearly all the mid-level officers and civil authorities escaped any sort of punishment or justice, and continued happily serving in the West German state.
This smells like a major numerical fudge as well.