The West German Government asked the Government of Egypt today for the extradition of Hans Walter Zech-Nenntwich, who escaped from a Brunswick maximum security prison on April 23 four days after he was sentenced to four years for complicity in the murder of 5,200 Jews in the Nazi-held Pinsk Ghetto. A warden at the Brunswick prison has been arrested in the case.
Der Stern, a West German magazine, reported last night that two of its reporters recognized the former SS officer as he emerged from a Cairo hotel Sunday. Der Stern reported that in a tape recording of an interview the Nazi gave the reporters, he said his escape had been arranged by an organization of former Nazi officers and that other convicted Nazis would be helped to escape.
He was quoted as saying “I could have left my cell at any time I wanted, even in evening dress. You will see that others also will disappear.” Der Stern said that its reporters traced the Nazi through Greece and Lebanon. He fled from West Germany in a private plane that landed him in Basle, Switzerland.
There is no extradition treaty between West Germany and Egypt and it appeared unlikely that the Government of Egypt, a haven for former Nazis, would comply with Bonn’s extradition request. The West German Government acted after it was learned that the former SS Cavalry colonel had turned up in Cairo. A spokesman for the Justice Ministry of Lower Saxony, said a warrant for the fugitive’s arrest was en route to Cairo.
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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.
