The Association for Freedom and Justice of Bavaria today demanded an immediate government investigation into the background and conduct of the trial of the late Philip Auerbach, one-time head of the Bavarian Restitution Office, on charges of fraud in office. Auerbach was convicted by a five-man court, three of whose members were former Nazi judges. Immediately after his conviction last month he committed suicide.
The Axis Victims League of New York and the New York Committee for Fair Play in the Auerbach Case have asked the Bavarian Ministry of Justice to take disciplinary action against the presiding judge in the Auerbach trial because he had stated that “Rabbi Ohrenstein and Auerbach had not said the full truth for religious and ethnic reasons.” The Ministry was also urged in the future not to use judges with Nazi records in future trials involving Jews.
Meanwhile, Joseph Klibansky, chief defense counsel for Auerbach, said here today that he welcomes proceedings ordered against him by the Bavarian Ministry of Justice, explaining that thus he will be given an opportunity to point out the “real background of the Auerbach trial” and make known the reasons for the sentence imposed on the former head of the Bavarian Restitution Office.
Dr. Klibansky also charged the Bavarian Justice Minister with “clear anti-Semitic tendencies” for having asked for proceedings against him only, and not against Auerbach’s second defense counsel, Dr. Panholzer, who “made the same statements.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
