Nearly seventeen years ago Ludwig Dreyfuss, a Jew born in Mannheim, Germany; died here, leaving an estate of $1,029,446.
Among the bequests left by Dreyfuss, whose estate was finally evaluated on December 31, 1930, was one of $25,000 to the mayor and the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Mannheim, to be administered by them in the interests of various charities.
Yesterday, disclosing the existence of a bitter controversy that has raged over payment of the bequest, Surrogate James A. Delehanty ruled that the $25,000 must be turned over by the estate to the Mannheim officials.
The controversy arose over the anti-Jewish policies pursued by the Nazi regime in Germany.
OPPONENTS TO PAYMENT
Opposed to payment of the bequest are the following:
Walter S. Sachs, Howard J. Sachs, trustees of the estate; the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies and the Jewish Social Service Association, residuary legatees; and Robert Levy, formerly Robert Stein, a grand-nephew of Dreyfuss.
In a memorandum submitted to the Surrogate’s Court, the court was asked to invalidate the bequest on the ground that political conditions in Germany have changed drastically since Dreyfuss died.
Under the Nazi government, the memorandum pointed out, members of Dreyfuss’ own race would not benefit under the terms of the bequest. The memorandum asked a construction of the will invalidating the bequest because the trustees are incompetent to act and
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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.
