Belgium has transferred 6000 photocopies of military documents to West German authorities enabling a Kiel court to try four former Nazis for complicity in the deportation and murder of 12,000 Belgian Jews during World War II, it was disclosed today. The four men, Ernst Ehlers, 65; Constantin Canaris, 68; Kurt Ashe, 65; and Karl Fielitz, managed to escape trial so far because the Belgian authorities were unable to obtain their extradition. All four were ranking members of the Sicherheitsdienst, the security police section of the SS.
RELUCTANT TO GIVE TESTIMONY
Meanwhile, Dr. Adelbert Rueckerl, head of the Nazi war criminal tracing center at Ludwigsburg, West Germany, reported that 30 percent of all witnesses called to give evidence at war crimes trials refuse to do so, it was reported from Bonn today. Addressing a Christian-Jewish “Brotherhood Week” meeting in Cologne, Dr. Rueckerl attributed this situation to the reluctance of many Nazi
Dr. Rueckerl said that 30 years after the war, “Nazi trials should not be held at all costs,” but only “where this is possible.” The Cologne meeting was also attended by Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld who accused German legal authorities of dragging their feet in bringing Nazis to justice, She charged that German authorities had protected former Nazis and given them too much consideration since the West German Republic was founded.
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.
