The last three German war criminals still in British custody will be set free within the next two weeks, it was reported here today. They are being held in the war crimes prison at Werl, where the British Army has for some time used but a single wing. The prison will be returned to German administration at the end of this month.
There are still 24 war criminals in American custody and three in French hands. German military circles and veterans organizations here, who insistently demand the immediate release of all war criminals, like to advance the argument that it is intolerable for German soldiers to work with NATO and the West “as long as dozens of comrades-in-arms are incarcerated in our own country by the same foreign powers who seek our cooperation.” Actually, only two of the 28 residual war criminals were members of the German armed forces, including the sole member of the military SS who has not yet been freed.
After their release, almost all war criminals receive from the federal treasury the compensation due “belatedly returning POW’s.” Thus, Nazi Grand Admiral Erich Raeder–whom the International Military Tribunal found guilty of war crimes–not only draws a monthly pension that is four times the income of the average German wage earner, but was recently awarded “POW compensation” in the amount of seven thousand deutschemarks.
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.
