THE CONCEPT OF CRIME AS A WILLFUL OFFENSE AGAINST THE DIVINE ORDER AND OF PUNISHMENT AS A DESERVED ACT OF RETRIBUTION REACHES INTO THE 19TH CENTURY. AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER, THE POSITIVISTIC IDEA OF A CRIMINAL'S BEHAVIOR AS DETERMINED BY A MULTITUDE OF BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS HAS BEEN GAINING INFLUENCE. INCREASINGLY, THE OFFENDER IS SEEN AS A 'PRODUCT,' A 'VICTIM' WHO MUST BE REHABILITATED THROUGH EDUCATIONAL MEASURES. THE NATURALIST VIEW GOES EVEN FURTHER BY EXPLAINING THE CRIMINAL AS A COMPOSITE OF INHERITED AND IS IN NEED OF TREATMENT RATHER THAN VENGEANCE, BUT REDUCTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO A MERE SET OF SCIENTIFIC TRAITS COMPLETELY DESTROYS THE CONCEPT OF THE CRIMINAL AS A HUMAN BEING. MODERN CONCEPTS RESTORE SOME OF THE OFFENDER'S PERSONAL AUTONOMY. EMPHASIZING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING, CURRENT THEORIES TRY TO ELUCIDATE THE COURSE OF CRIMINAL ACTION BY STUDYING THE OFFENDER'S OWN EXPERIENCE. THE CORRESPONDING CONCEPT OF PUNISHMENT EMPHASIZES TREATMENT THE OFFENDER'S PERSONAL DIGNITY AND THE PREVENTIVE ASPECT OF CORRECTIONAL MEASURES. THE ARTICLE CONTAINS A BIBLIOGRAPHY. --IN GERMAN. (SAJ)