Only two of the 20 witnesses who testified today at the trial of 20 Jewish Dp’s accused of participation in the disturbance at Landsberg on April 28 were able to identify any of the defendants as among the men who molested them.
Richard Hoffman, a German farm hand, pointed to Solomon Korona, 22, as one of the men who attacked him while he was bicycling. Ludwig Huttinger, a butcher, charged that Josef Specht, 39, had threatened him with a piece of iron.
The defense objected to the introduction of the testimony of the 18 other prosecution witnesses who were unable to identify any of the defendants. Its objections were taken under advisement by the court.
Another witness was Sgt. Walter Diver, whom the prosecution introduced out of turn because he is returning to the United States. Diver said that, accompanied by Provost Marshal Maj. Clair Thurston, he went to Landsberg on the morning of April 28. When they arrived, he added, they saw many people milling around, but by noon the front of the camp had quieted down.
He then rushed to the rear of the camp, where five MP’s had surrounded 35 Jews but, he said, they were forced to release them in order to avoid shooting the DP’s. Maj. Thurston released three Dp’s on the demand of a large group of Jews. The MP’s, however, arrested 18 of the 20 who are now standing trial. Only one, Schmuel Nussbaum, had a knife in his possession and he was ordered taken to jail in a jeep. Isak Rosen, another defendant, then was instructed to lead the others to jail, which he did, Diver said.
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.
