The District Attorney of Munich has turned down a plea for the release of Dr. Aron Ohrenstein, onetime Chief Rabbi of Bavaria, who was arrested at the airport here two weeks ago as he was about to board a plane for a one-day business trip to Zurich. He was picked up as a possible fugitive, because at the time he was free on bail in an appeal against a one-year prison sentence.
Dr. Ohrenstein’s original conviction, on charges of fraud in certifying applications for indemnification of Nazi victims, came in 1952 and has twice been before the German Supreme Court, each time resulting in an unfavorable decision. He has instituted action in preparation for a new appeal to the Supreme Court.
Dr. Philip Auerbach, one-time Bavarian Commissioner for Persecutees, who committed suicide, had also been charged with fraudulent certification of signatures in the case that led to Dr. Ohrenstein’s conviction. However, a German court completely exonerated and acquitted him of this count.
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