The Federal Court of Justice today ordered the re-trial of four former Gestapo officials who were charged with playing leading parts in the deportation of 2,500 Jews to Nazi-held territories in Eastern Europe.
Earlier, a Stuttgart court had stopped the proceedings against the men, ruling that their belief that they were helping in “legal resettlement” of Jews could not be disproved. The court also said that the men had not regarded “resettlements” of Jews as illegal because the Gestapo was empowered to imprison anybody.
In ordering a re-trial of the accused, the Federal Court declared that the ruling of the court in Stuttgart would imply that all Gestapo activities should be considered legal–a view which the Federal Court considers untenable.
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