Investigations were under way here today against 13 former leading jurists allegedly responsible for having planned and carried out the murder of insane persons during the Hitler period, it was announced by Dr. Fritz Bauer, the chief West German prosecutor.
One of the leading members of the accused group is Dr. Harry Hassen, former president of the Volksgerichshof, Hitler’s so-called highest people’s court. The procedure marks the first time that high-ranking German jurists have been charged with crimes against insane persons. All of the 13 are former general state prosecutors, judges and other law-enforcing officials.
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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.