The appointment of Defense Minister Gerhard Schroeder as Christian Democratic candidate for the West Germany Presidency is regarded with some consternation by Jewish circles here. Dr. Schroeder sought to join the Nazi SA (Sturm Abteilungen or Storm Troops) in 1933 after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. The SA played an important role in the Nazi Party’s early anti-Jewish actions.
After he became Foreign Minister, Dr. Schroeder said that he sought membership in the SA because he wanted to continue his university studies. JTA’s West Germany correspondent Alfred Wolfmann reports. “It is well known that in 1933 no student was expelled for not belonging to a Nazi group.”
Dr. Schroeder will face Justice Minister Gustav Heinemann, candidate of Foreign Minister Willy Brandt’s Social Democratic Party, when the Federal Assembly convenes early in 1969 to elect the head of state, succeeding Dr. Heinrich Luebke. Dr. Heinemann was an opponent of Hitler.
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.
