Dr. Berthold Jacob, German-Jewish journalist kidnaped from Swiss soil by Nazi spies last March, has been handed over by German officials to the Swiss authorities after an agreement to this effect had been arrived at between the Swiss and German governments, it was announced here today.
The compromise between the two governments settles the case which had aroused considerable anti-Nazi feeling in Switzerland. The German official, Dr. Hans Wesemann, who admitted that he had acted on instructions from the Nazi secret police in luring the writer to Basle and delivering him to Nazis across the border, was punished, it was announced today.
Dr. Jacob, who was returned to Switzerland yesterday, was ordered expelled from the country by the Swiss authorities.
A refugee from Germany since the Nazis came to power in 1933, Jacob was accused by the Nazis of exposing German military secrets while in exile. Swiss authorities considered his kidnaping a violation of Swiss sovereignty and demanded his release under the German-Swiss Treaty of Arbitration of 1921. They threatened to bring the case before the World Court at the Hague unless Germany released Jacob.
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.