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President Asked in Senate to Warn Germans of Responsibility for Murder of Jews

April 20, 1945
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A statement by President Harry S. Truman or Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius impressing on the German people thoir rosponsibility for crimes against Jews of Axis nationality as well as atrocities in slave labor camps is asked in a resolution introduced today in the senate by Sonators Claude Peppor of Florida and Leverett Saltonstall of Masachusetts.

The resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, asks not only that the German people be informed of their responsibility for such crimes to be classified as war crimes, but that the statement be combined with “an appeal to the Germans expressing the abhorrence of the American people to the mass murder of Jews, and warning the Germans that just punishment will be meted out to every participant in this appalling crime.”

The resolution further asks announcement by a “responsible authority” that the asked for declaration by the President or Secretary of State will be official policy to be implemented by the United Nations War Crimes Commission and by the Army of Occupation in Germany.

The late Major General Maurice B. Rose of Denver, who was killed by the Germans after having been captured, was lauded as a great soldier by Representative Dean H. Gilespie of Denver yesterday in the House, and announcement was made of the non-sectarian hospital to be built in Denver in honor of Rose. Doclaring General Rose’s military record “a credit to the flag he served and to the country which deplores what appears to be his cold blooded murder.” Representative Gilespie said the hospital association planning the memorial received contributions of several hundred thousand dollars within a few hours of the announcement.

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