Hamburg Court Reserves Judgment in Warburg-fritsch Libel Case

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Judgment was reserved by the Court of Appeals here in the case of Max Warburg and Herr Melchior against Theodor Fritsch, former deputy of the Reichstag and editor of the anti-Semitic weekly paper, “Der Hammer.”

Theodor Fritsch, the 71-year-old anti-Semitic leader in Leipzig, appealed against a sentence to three months imprisonment, pronounced against him on December 6th of last year for libel charges brought against him by Max Warburg. In his periodical “Der Hammer” and in a number of leaflets Fritsch alleged that Max Warburg, who was Germany’s financial expert at the Peace Conference of Versailles, had been acting with his brothers Paul and Felix Warburg, to betray Germany to the Allies. The decision will be rendered next week.

During the proceedings, Theodor Fritsch, who at first charged Mr. Warburg and Melchior with treason, displayed an exceedingly concilatory attitude. He was ready to modify his previous statements. “Max Warburg,” he declared, “has done beneficial work for Germany. He is nevertheless a representative of world Jewry and it is impossible for him to be fully German,” Theodor Fritsch stated.

Mr. Warburg declared in court that be was proud of being a Jew. “The Jewish religion is the most beautiful set of moral teachings. It gave to Christianity the idea of loving one’s neighbor,” he declared. He denied the charges of Theodor Fritsch that he “trained” Jewish diplomats and that he participated in the Stockholm negotiations in 1916 with the then Russian Prime Minister, Protopopoff, concerning a separate peace with Russia, although, he declared, it might have been useful. Not he, but his brother Fritz; participated in the Stockholm negotiations on behalf of Germany. The American Federal Reserve Board, of which Paul Warburg was one of the founders, is not under the influence of the Jews, he stated.

“Herr Fritsch displayed ignorance when he declared that Ford’s capital was productive and Jewish capital unproductive. My role at Versailles was not a pleasant one because I had to defend the interests of the vanquished against the conquerors. German anti-Semitism is a double misfortune, first, because it make it impossible for the German Jews who feel German to work for Germany and, secondly, it distracts the attention of the German people from thinking of real ways and means of bettering the position of the country,” he declared. Mr. Melchior supported the arguments of Max Warburg.

The court rejected the “thirty-three points of evidence” submitted by Mr. Fritsch.