Justice Minister Ivo Samkalden rejected today an appeal from hundreds of Dutch Jews for a new trial for Dr. Frederick Weinreb, who was sentenced in 1948 in a sensational trial which involved charges he collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation of Holland.
The petitioning Jews urged the rehabilitation of the one-time leader of the Dutch Jewish community, basing their appeal on disclosures in recent publications dealing with Dr. Weinreb’s activities during the Nazi occupation. Their appeal was submitted to Dr. Samkalden, himself a Jew, by a number of Dutch Jewish Socialists and Sen. Frederik Polak.
Dr. Weinreb was convicted and sentenced to six years on charges of treason after charges were dropped that he had extorted money from Dutch Jews. Various organizations came to his defense, including the International League for the Rights of Man, which urged his release after he started his prison term, imposed by a Special Court of Appeals at The Hague.
Many of his supporters, including members of the Dutch Parliament, charged that Dr. Weinreb, had been railroaded to jail to cover up the collaborationist activities of some Dutch officials. In rejecting the plea for a new trial, the Justice Minister said today that no new information had been found to justify a new hearing.
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