The recent action of the Frankfurt Court of Appeals in rejecting a prosecution complaint against the release of a former Nazi police officer may have serious consequences for many other cases pending against former Nazi criminals, Dr. Fritz Bauer, Hessian Attorney General told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here today.
The appeals court confirmed the release of Erich Bunke, a 54-year-old customs inspector, who was detained on charges of shooting 22 Danish resistance fighters. The appeals court found that Bunke had acted on the basis of a Hitler order at the end of 1943 to kill captured resistance fighters “in secret.”
The court ruled that at that time the shooting of partisans was not considered a violation of international law and that therefore Hitler’s order, and its execution, could be considered only an act of homicide. The court further ruled that the statute of limitations was effective in homicide cases, rejecting the prosecution’s formal interruption of the 15-year limitations period in April of last year.
Dr. Bauer said the decision “may become a precedent in numerous other cases pending which last year we took the precaution of registering before the statute of limitations on homicide charges went into effect.”
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.
