Harry Victor Inch discredited Nazi Grey Shirt leader, who was found guilty of perjury as an aftermath of the famous Grahamstown “Protocols” trial, was yesterday sentenced to serve six years and three months in prison for forging documents defaming the Jewish race and swearing under oath that those documents were genuine. Inch and his fellow defendants, David Hermanus Olivier and Johannes Strauss von Moltke still face other charges which grew out of the Grahams-town trial.
The result has been widely hailed here as a complete vindication of the Jewish people and of Rabbi Abraham Levy of Port Elizabeth, who brought suit against the Grey Shirt leaders.
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Another result expected here is the early dissolution and complete extinction of the Grey Shirt movement, which patterned itself after the Nazis and attempted to stir up race hatred in South Africa.
The case arose when Inch and his colleagues read a document at Nazi rallies which purported to be an account of a Jewish meeting held at the Western Road Synagogue, of which Rabbi Levy is the head. The document, written in bad English, told of an alleged Jewish plot to capture control of the world and also contained slanderous statements against Christianity. It closed by saying: “We shall achieve our wish. The Gentile dogs shall crave for mercy and our refusals. Our Bolshevic (sic) Propaganda Scheme.”
The document also contained Hebrew characters which was alleged to prove its authenticity, but turned out to be merely the phrase “May be used for Passover,” and other illegible Hebrew characters.
Inch claimed in court that he had stolen the document from a secret hiding place in the synagogue. Rabbi Levy then sued the
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.
