A claim for indemnification from a person who had been sentenced to death by the German People’s Court in 1944, and who languished in Nazi prisons until he was liberated by the Allied forces, was turned down by the Bavarian Restitution Office here on the pretext that the claimant had resisted the Nazi regime for reasons of “self-interest,” and not because of his political convictions.
The argument that the person involved opposed the Nazi regime for reasons of “self interest” was used by the Nazi court when sentencing the man to death. The fact that the Bavarian Restitution Office based its rejection of the claim on this argument may have repercussions on claims from other persons against whom the Nazis advanced the allegation that they were fighting Nazism for reasons of self interest.
Max Troberg, president of the Bavarian Restitution Office, today reported that his office is now functioning smoothly. He said he would welcome any justified criticism. At the same time, he pointed out that his office was being attacked for what were in fact deficiencies in the indemnification regulations themselves.
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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.
