A French appellate court today confirmed an 18-month prison sentence and a 30,000 franc fine imposed by a lower court last year on German Maurice Mertz, who was convicted of having misappropriated jewels entrusted to him by two Jewish women before they were deported to their death in a Nazi camp. The appellate court suspended the 18-month sentence.
The action was originally brought by the legal heir of the two women in 1948 against an “unknown person” to whom the jewels had been entrusted. Investigation uncovered Mertz and the fact that he sold part of the jewels and used the proceeds to open a business for himself. He was convicted in a criminal court last February, which also awarded the heir 10,000 francs for court costs and interest.
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.
