Startling revelations that the Austrian government sought to frame treason charges against Jewish leaders were made in court today during the proceedings against the twenty-one leaders of the Schutzbund who are now facing trial for the rebellion they organized against the Dollfuss regime last year.
S. I. Speller, one of the defendants, testified in court today that the police put him through a third degree trying to force him to accuse the Jewish leaders of his organization of being the only organizers of the plot.
“You do not want to be hanged for sheer idealism,” the police allegedly told Speller, urging him to testify against his Jewish comrades.
Herr Speller also accused the Vienna police of using anti-Semitic language during the general inquiry following the arrest. Among the twenty-one on trial are two Jews.
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.
