Anti-jewish Rioters in Berlin Put on Trial

34 Hitlerist rioters who were arrested for taking part in the anti-Jewish outbreak on Rosh Hashanah were brought up to-day before the Court of Summary Jurisdiction charged with a breach of the peace of the realm by maltreating Jews in the neighbourhood of the Kurfuerstendamm. The interest of the public was demonstrated by the fact that the large court-room of the Central Court in the Moabit where the trial took place, was packed. A cordon of police out off the public seats from the benches where the prisoners were seated.

Most of the prisoners are youths. There are two students and several engineers among them, but the greater number are unemployed.

Count Helldorf, the leader of the Hitlerist storm troops in Berlin, who is accused of having organised the pogrom, gave an undertaking to the police that he would appear in court, but he did not keep his word and hurriedly left Berlin for the provinces.

Erich Ponke, a worker, and Wilhelm Fischer, an engineer, the leaders of the 23rd. and 29th. detachments of the Hitlerist storm troops, and a pavior named Schuster were declared to have been the ringleaders of the disturbances. Schuster claimed, however, that he had only been passing by when the trouble took place and denied that he had taken any part in it. On the other hand, two police officers who gave evidence declared that they had seen Schuster going about with an open clasp knife shouting “Perish Judea”.

A gardener named Bonim, who had told the police under examination that the storm troop leader Fischer had issued the order “To the Kurfuerstendamm”, now repudiated his statement in court, declaring that no order had been issued, and that Fischer had only engaged in a comradely conversation with them.