Freyburg officials announced today that two former Gestapo agents will go on trial here soon in the murder of some 200 Polish Jews in the Cracow area. More than 200 witnesses will be called. A trial date has not been set.
The defendants are Robert Weissmann, 56, and Arno Sehmisch, 59, both of Freyburg. Weissman was SS major in charge of the Gestapo headquarters in the Cracow district from 1942 to 1943. Sehmisch was chief of the Gestapo in Zakopane. They are charged with giving orders to execute the 200 Polish Jews and allegedly took part in some of the killings personally. They also are accused of ordering the deportation of 4,000 to 5,000 Jews to concentration camps.
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