high treason
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high treason
A serious crime against the state that aims to violently abolish its constitutional order or endanger the existence of the state.
Die Anführer des Putschversuchs wurden wegen Hochverrats angeklagt.
The leaders of the attempted coup were charged with high treason.
The word is made up of 'hoch' (high) and 'Verrat' (treason/betrayal). 'Verrat' means disloyalty or betrayal. The prefix 'hoch-' intensifies this and indicates that it is the most serious betrayal: betrayal of one's own state.
Spionage für eine fremde Macht kann als Verrat am eigenen Land gelten.
Spying for a foreign power can be considered betrayal of one's own country.
'Hochverrat' (high treason) is a legal term. It is used mainly in legal, political, or historical contexts. In normal everyday life, the word practically never occurs.
Im Geschichtsunterricht lernten wir über Fälle von Hochverrat in der Weimarer Republik.
In history class, we learned about cases of high treason in the Weimar Republic.
Because it is a legal term, 'Hochverrat' (high treason) often appears with certain verbs: you can 'Hochverrat begehen' (commit high treason), 'des Hochverrats angeklagt werden' (be charged with high treason), or 'wegen Hochverrats verurteilt werden' (be convicted of high treason).
Der General wurde des Hochverrats angeklagt, weil er einen Putsch geplant hatte.
The general was charged with high treason because he had planned a coup.
