The German Supreme Court in Karlsruhe today referred the “Jewish Bank” case back to a local Frankfurt court for re-trial, thus upholding the appeal of Jewish attorney Joseph Klibansky against his 1953 conviction on charges deriving from the violation of foreign-currency regulations by the since liquidated bank. The bank, founded in 1949 with the aim of putting blocked Jewish restitution funds to work, was padlocked in 1950 because it had transferred such funds to their Jewish owners abroad, at a time when this was contrary to German law.
Klibansky, a Frankfurt-born Orthodox Jew, is still legal adviser to the Association of Jewish Communities in Hesse. Although he had been the bank’s counsel and not an employee, he was found guilty in 1953 of having aided and abetted the illegal transfer of blocked-mark accounts. The court acknowledged, however, that there was no evidence of his having enriched himself or having personally violated foreign currency regulations.
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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.
