The Jewish community here has been stirred by the imposition of the most severe hard-labor sentence on record for the crime of smuggling money because the defendant was a Jew. The case was tried before the Berlin Spcial Court.
Eugen Herodes, 27 years old, a Latvian citizen, appeared before the court on charges of exporting German money to foreign countries. Such cases occur daily but normally the sentence imposed is never higher than five or six months’ imprisonment and a fine.
In this case, however, the defendant was sentenced to thirteen years of hard-labor and fined 100,00 marks. The severity of the sentence is heightened if it will be remembered that sentence for murder in Germany is nver higher than fifteen years of hard labor.
In addition the father of the youth, who was also accused of participating in the crime, was sentenced to eight years of hard labor and fined 50,000 marks; his mother to three years and 15,000 marks; his wife to five years; and his two daughters each to three years of hard labor.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
