A British prosecutor here today told a court in this city that he favored the extradition to the U.S.S.R. or Poland of Erich Koch, former Gauleiter of East Prussia and Reich commissioner for the Ukraine during the war. Both countries have asked that Koch be released to stand trial for war crimes.
The prosecutor, M. Skinner, said that the requests for extradition are “fair” and that Koch was responsible for the shooting and hanging of tens of thousands of Jews and Russians in the town of Rovno. He revealed that at Koch’s orders, Jews and Russians were executed twice a month and their bodies were piled up in the open, five deep, until the stench of decaying bodies hung over the entire city. Although the defendant admitted responsibility for the crimes, he said he never knew of the extent of the murders.
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.
