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Hamburg to Speed Up Trials of Nazi War Criminals

January 22, 1973
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A judicial source in Hamburg said yesterday that the city intends to speed up its trials of Nazi war criminals. Justice Hans-Joachim Seeler said that seven courts will be assigned to deal exclusively with Nazi criminals during the next few years.

He said that 28 years after the war, “This chapter must be closed as quickly as possible, for legal and political reasons.” The move follows protests in Hamburg over the long time required for justice to be done. It also followed a letter from Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in Vienna to Chancellor Willy Brandt which pointed out that 68 trials involving 2000 alleged Nazi war criminals are still pending.

Authoritative sources in Jerusalem said Friday that no changes were foreseen in the near future in the position of Israel’s Ambassador to England. Recent newspaper reports had suggested that Gideon Rafael, a former director-general in the Foreign Ministry, would replace the present Ambassador Michael Comay. The sources explained Friday that the newspaper reports were “purely speculative.”

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