Dr. Martin Marx and Herr Ferdinand Muerdel, have been transferred to prison, it was officially stated today. Both men must serve two months in prison, since they were sentenced to seven months imprisonment by the Frankfurt court and their detention before trial only lasted five months.
Dr. Marx, representative of the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, was charged with having bribed Herr Ferdinand Muerdel, former chief of the Frankfurt political police. On October 20, the two men were acquitted of the charges against them and sentenced to seven months imprisonment for illegal activities. However, in view of their long detention, the court ordered that they be freed. Immediately after they were re-arrested for “self-protection.”
Dr. Marx and Herr Muerdel were arrested last spring and only brought to trial on October 12. Dr. Marx was accused of having bribed Herr Muerdel in order to obtain confidential information in the possession of the Frankfurt police. The charges grew out of an attempt made by the Nazis soon after they attained power to prove that the Central Union, prominent Jewish organization, was collaborating with the Communists. Since no evidence was discovered to prove this, the Nazis charged Dr. Marx with bribery. All through the trial, the two men stoutly denied the charge and Dr. Marx defended the Central Union against the attacks of the prosecutor.
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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.
