A German civil court has sentenced to prison a German Jewish emigre who is employed by the British Army in the British zone of Germany for striking a former member of the Hitler Youth movement, it was revealed here today.
The Jew, 23-year-old Kurt Berger, and two of his brothers fled Germany in 1939. The brothers served in the British armed forces while Kurt worked in a war plant. After the war the Berger brothers returned to Germany as civilian employees with the occupation forces. Recently, Kurt recognized and turned over to the police Hans Helmke, whom he recognized as a Hither Youth member.
During the interrogation, Kurt, who could not control his emotions while reciting the Nazi’s persecutions of his family, struck Helmke and blackened his eye. The British authorities took no action in the case, but Helmke later complained to the German police who arrested the Jew in the presence of Allied officers. The German court tried and sentenced him to a two-month term.
The details of the case were made known at a press conference today by Eva Elkunor, a German-born Jewish woman, who was appointed to carry the case to Britain by a mass protest meeting of civilian employees of the Allied occupation forces. It is expected that the matter will be brought up for discussion in the House of Commons this week.
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.
