The Hitler government, in an amnesty decree today, will free from 8,000 to 10,000 minor criminal offenders and political prisoners. Hitler will deliver a plea for popular support on August 17, two days before the scheduled plebiscite on his policies, it was also learned today.
It was indicated that no Communists will be liberated. The decree will affect most of the Nazi storm troops incarcerated in connection with the alleged Roehm plot.
Offenses made subject to amnesty by Hitler’s decree include: ###ts arising from overzealousness in the Nazi cause, acts against the national prestige if they were not deliberate, and slander against the Hitler government.
Prisoners convicted of treason, violence and terrorism will not be freed.
Observers saw the amnesty decree as a move by Hitler for popular support in the August 19 plebiscite.
Hitler accompanied his decree with an explanation that it was issued as a mark of generosity to make memorable the accession of a new chief executive.
Preparations are going forward for Hitler’s speech on August 17. Loud speakers are being installed in every public square. Nazis in towns throughout Germany are inviting families without radios to come to their homes to hear the speech.
Hitler’s “election campaign”—a campaign in which he is unopposed—will wind up August 18 with an address by Propaganda Minister Goebbels.
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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.
