West Germany’s Minister of Justice Gustav Heinemann expressed concern today that some already convicted Nazi war criminals may get amnesties if the statute of limitations on war crimes prosecutions goes into effect as scheduled at the end of next year. Dr. Heinemann addressed a seminar of West German and Israeli journalists who are visiting here. The seminar was also addressed by Minister of Interior Ernst Benda.
Dr. Heinemann, who has long advocated abolition of the statute of limitations, said current war crimes investigations could not possibly be completed by the end of 1969 or even after next year although 50 state prosecutors are working at the Ludwigsburg central investigations office and 300 others are sifting evidence elsewhere in the Federal Republic. He noted that no statutes of limitations on war crimes exist in Austria, Italy or in the English-speaking countries. Asked about the light sentences that many former Nazis convicted of mass murder have received in West German courts, the Justice Minister said they were not only the fault of judges since the latter must consult with juries, which have an important role in determining sentences. In reply to another question, Dr. Heinemann said that war criminals convicted at the Auschwitz trials are still at large because their appeals are pending. Until the appeals are decided, the defendants are not considered to have been convicted, he said.
Mr. Benda said he did not share the belief of many West German political observers that the extreme right-wing National Democratic Party (NPD) was on the decline as a result of its poor showing in recent local elections. He predicted that the reputedly neo-Nazi party would win more than five percent of the vote required for entering the Bundestag (Lower House) in next year’s general elections.
In Dortmund, a former chief of police went on trial today on charges of having ordered the shooting of 3,000 Jews in Riga, Latvia, between 1941 and 1942. Gunter Tabbert was removed from his police post in 1952 and has been free on bail since 1955. One hundred witnesses from the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel and the Soviet Union are expected to testify.
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