Troops guarded the court room today as Hans Wesemann, Nazi agent, went on trial here for the kidnaping more than a year ago of Berthold Jakob, German-Jewish journalist.
The prosecution, opening the case against Wesemann, charged that he was a Gestapo agent since 1934 and had arrived in Basle in February, 1935, to prepare the abduction of the refugee.
If convicted of having been responsible for Jakob’s imprisonment by the Nazis for more than a week, Wesemann faces a maximum prison term of eight years.
The abduction of Jakob in March, 1935, created an international furor that finally ended with his release by the Nazis after having been held in jail seven months. He was released last September when the Swiss Government threatened to bring the issue before the World Court at The Hague. Switzerland contended Jacob’s kidnaping was in violation of Swiss sovereignty and demanded his release under the German-Swiss Treaty of Arbitration of 1921.
The Nazis had accused Jakob of being involved in anti-Nazi intrigues in Basle. Following the journalist’s return to Swiss soil, he was deported by the Swiss Government.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
