(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The sentence of three months imprisonment imposed by the lower court on Theodor Fritsch, leader of the German anti-Semites and editor of “Der Hammer,” for his having published anti-Semitic articles libelling Max Warburg and Herr Melchior, German Jewish bankers, was modified by the Court of Appeals yesterday. Instead of serving three months in prison, Herr Fritsch will have to pay a fine of 1000 Marks.
In the opinion handed down by the court, the following reasons were given for reducing the penalty: 1. “Political and historic personalities must bear the exaggerated criticism of their contemporary world”; 2. “Theodor Fritsch’s advocacy of anti-Semitism for 40 years shows that he was consistent and not trivial in his views”; 3. “His age, 71, misled Herr Fritsch into committing an injustice.”
The opinion of the Hamburg Court of Appeals caused great astonishment in various circles and in the press.
Attorney Bartming, counsel for Mr. Warburg, declared an appeal will probably be made to the Supreme Court against the decision of the Court of Appeals.
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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.
