A plot foiled by the West German Government, for the kidnapping of Dr. Nahum Goldmann and holding him in an Arab country as a hostage to be exchanged for Adolf Eichmann, was disclosed here today by the Arbeiter-Zeitung, organ of the dominant Socialist Party.
The plan envisaged the kidnapping of Dr. Goldmann, during a visit he had made last summer to Bonn. The plot had been reportedly hatched by Alois Brunner, a former Gestapo official who had worked with Eichmann during the war and supervised the deportation of Jews from Salonika and Slovakia. Later, at least until last November, Brunner lived in Damascus under the name of George Fischer, engaging in the arms trade. Brunner had been sentenced to death here in absentia for war crimes.
Brunner was reported as having hired a Lebanese to organize the kidnapping of Dr. Goldmann. He came to Austria, carrying large sums of money, and lived for a time with relatives of Brunner. In Austria, he discussed the plot with prominent former Nazis, including Jan Verbelen, the former Belgian SS leader, who is now under arrest here on charges of having committed war crimes.
During the plotting, the Lebanese agent contacted a former SS officer at Hamburg. The German Government got wind of the plot after the Hamburg man had been brought into the plot, and the scheme was foiled by West German counter-intelligence. According to the newspaper, several non-Germans involved in the plotting were, as a result, arrested in West Germany and expelled from the country.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
