West German Press Raps Law Passed Quietly Exempting ‘desk Killers’ from Prosecution

The West German Press disclosed today — and sharply criticized — the fact that an amendment to the law on prosecution of Nazi criminals had been quietly approved by the West German Parliament to exempt “desk killers’ of the Nazi regime from prosecution for war crimes. The classification denotes officials of the Hitler era who approved orders to kill Jews and other victims of the Hitler genocide program without personal participation in the murders.

The amendment provides that any official of that period who took part in the mass murder program “but not from personal motives,” cannot be brought to trial or charged by state prosecutors as of 1965. The effect of the law is to exempt many former top Nazis who gave orders to kill Jews on instructions from Hitler and other Nazi leaders. Official juridical circles responded to the press criticism with the assertion that the amendment had been made law and that “nothing can be done about it.”