A former SS officer accused of participating in the deportation and murder of numerous French Jews has been deprived by a court in Oldenburg, north Germany, of his right to practice as a lawyer. The action against Hans-Dietrich Ernst, wartime regional commander of the German Security Service and Security Police in France, followed representations by the French anti-Nazi lawyer, Serge Klarsfeld.
Ernst was sentenced to death four times by French courts, in absentia. The sentences were not recognized by West Germany although the Cologne State Prosecutor is currently investigating Ernst’s wartime activity. A spokesman for the Oldenburg court said the court assumed that Ernst, because of his senior position, was responsible for the deportation of elderly people, mothers and children and others to various concentration camps.
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.
