Intervention by the United States–a country he has never seen although it owns him as a citizen–may save Helmuth Hirsch from the headsman’s are, it was reported here tonight.
The 21-year-old German-born Jew is awaiting death in Berlin’s Ploetzensee prison after having been found guilty on March 8 by a People’s Tribunal of high treason against the Reich, involving a plot to assassinate Chancellor Adolf Hitler himself, according to unofficial advices.
Following a long talk United States Consul Raymond Geist held here today with Reich Justice Minister Franz Guertner, it was believed there was a good chance the Fuehrer would now step in an order Helmuth’s life spared.
The Washington Government took further steps today to save the man who owes allegiance to it only through the technicality that his father and grandfather before him were American citizens.
Several American embassy aides called at the Wilhelmstrasse and conferred on the situation with German foreign office representatives. It was understood Foreign Minister Constantin von Neurath was won around to a lenient view toward the young prisoner, and would so inform his Government.
Dr. Herbert Lautenbach, Hirsch’s lawyer, told Havas tonight he was convinced a commutation would be granted.
In accordance with German juridical practice, Hirsch’s trial was conducted in complete secrecy. Arrested on charges of having prepared a bomb arsenal for subversive use, he was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to die.
More explicit accusations against him were not divulged, but it was intimated in unofficial sources his plot had been aimed against Hitler himself.
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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.
