An inconspicuous notice in the German Jewish newspapers today revealed that Dr. Ernst Fliess, well-known and respected Jewish lawyer, committed suicide on January 29 because his honor as a member of the bar had been tarnished.
Dr. Fleiss, 59 years old, shot himself in the Magdeburg courthouse where on January 16 he had been sentenced to nine months in prison for bringing a libel action against a Nazi lawyer. The small obituary notice revealed none of the details because of the censorship regulations.
The news of the suicide shocked members of the legal profession.
Dr. Fleiss’s widow stated simply in the notice:
“A life that knew nothing but work and love, my husband departed from this world on January 29, 1935 in his sixtieth year.”
The lawyer had been sentenced for resenting anti-Jewish insults by an opposing attorney, Dr. Kuhlmey, a high Nazi official, Dr. Fleiss summoned Dr. Kuhlmey before a court of honor and subsequently instituted a libel action against him.
The court, in dismissing the libel suit, held that the insults made by Dr. Kuhlmey were against Jews in general and not against Dr. Fleiss personally and sentenced the Jewish attorney “for bringing false charges” against “such a deserving party member.”
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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.
