Nine youths ranging in age from 16 to 21 were indicted here today on charges of harassing a Jewish couple with telephone calls in which they praised Hitler, hailed Adolf Eichmann and used anti-Semitic slogans. All of the arrested youths were described by police as “from good families. ” One boy was the son of a fire department officer, two were the sons of policemen. Another was a psychology student at a local college.
Police said the youths started their “prank” 15 months ago by telephoning the home of William Bowman, an Austrian-born Jew, and his wife, who came here from Hungary 41 years ago. Continuing the harassment, the youths telephoned the Bowmans sometimes as many as 30 times within a 24-hour span. More recently, they set fire to the Bowman’s car. Police finally traced one telephone call to two youths, who implicated the others.
The Bowmans told police they were so fearful of this campaign of “Nazi terror” that they barricaded themselves in their home. They said they lost 20 to 25 pounds each during the period of harassment.
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.
