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Austrian Students Protest Acquittal of Nazis Who Killed Jews

February 21, 1966
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The acquittal by a Salzburg jury of two Nazi collaborators on charges of mass murder of Jews in occupied Poland touched off student protest demonstrations here this weekend and stinging editorial denunciations. The target of the criticisms was the jury which last week found that Johann Maurer, 52, and his brother, Wilhelm, 48, had participated in mass shooting of Jews in the Stanislavov ghetto in 1941, but that they had acted under “irresistible coercion, ” and were therefore not responsible.

The judge immediately announced he could not accept this finding, which was tantamount to acquittal and which he said totally disregarded the evidence given by 200 survivors as witnesses. He ordered the case referred to the Supreme Court for review as spectators indicated disapproval of his announcement.

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