Support to the forthcoming trial of Adolf Eichmann, the Gestapo leader who directed the mass murder of 6,000,000 European Jews under the Nazi regime, was given here today by the West German War Crimes office, which revealed that 80,000 Germans took part in the mass murders of Jews during World War II.
The impact of the figures, especially upon public opinion in West Germany, is to deflate claims that are made in some circles here that “only a handful” of Germans took part in the wartime atrocities against Jews. The direct relationship between the newly announced figures and the Eichmann case was seen in the fact that the data was furnished to German newspaper correspondents today, on the eve of their departure to Israel to cover the Eichmann trial, which gets under way April 11.
The figures were announced to the German newspapermen by the Government’s chief-expert on the subject, Ernest Schuele, director of and chief prosecutor for the West German Central War Crimes Commission. The Commission was established in 1958 to coordinate and probe into war crimes and arrange for prosecutions prior to the expiration of the statutory deadline for such prosecutions in 1965.
Mr. Schuele told the press that at least 1,000 persons will be tried in German courts during the next two years non charges of murdering “countless numbers of human beings” during the Nazi regime. He further related Israel’s and Germany’s own efforts to track down and prosecute the Nazi war criminals by revealing that Israel had furnished West Germany with a list of 3,000 Nazi war criminals. All 3,000, he said, “were involved in criminal complexes which have either already been investigated or that we are beginning to probe right now.”
According to Mr. Schuele, 100 to 150 Nazi war criminals are living abroad, “and we even know the whereabouts of some of them.” But, he said, West Germany “has encountered great difficulty in attempting to obtain the aid of the International Police authorities and of other foreign authorities” in apprehending the war criminals living abroad.
“Interpol, the International Police Organization, considers such persons as men accused of political crimes, and refuses for that reason to aid in their capture or extradition.” Mr. Schuele said. “Otherwise, we could have captured Adolf Eichmann a long time ago.” He said that a warrant for the arrest of Eichmann was issued by a West German court at Frankfurt as long ago as 1946.
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.
