The American Jewish Congress this weekend urged that West Germany’s 20-year statute of limitations against prosecution for major Nazi war crimes, due to become effective next year, be extended for another 20 years.
In letters to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Karl Heinrich Kneppstein, West German Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of the Congress, declared: “Our purpose is not the endless pursuit of these criminals merely for retribution, We are concerned to make clear to all the peoples of the world that guilt for the crimes of the Nazi era is indelible and inexpungible.”
Dr. Prinz, noted that most of the states of the United States allow no statute of limitations for crimes involving murder or for crimes for which a capital sentence may be imposed. “There are some acts too gross to gain absolution by the mere passage of time,” he declared. “For this reason, we urge the West German parliament to amend its criminal code to allow prosecution of war crimes involving a charge of murder for at least an additional 20 year period.
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