Hundreds of Dutch Jews appealed today to Justice Minister Ivo Samkalde to arrange for a new trial of Dr. Frederick Weinreb, who was sentenced in 1948 in a sensational trial which involved charges he collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation of Holland.
The petitioning Jews, urging the rehabilitation of the one-time leader of the Dutch Jewish community, based their appeal on disclosures in recent publications dealing with Dr. Weinreb’s activities during the Nazi occupation.
After he was convicted for six years on charges of treason–after dropping of charges he had extorted money from Dutch Jews–various organizations came to his defense. The International League for the Rights of Man urged his release after he began his six-year term. The term was imposed by a Special Court of Appeals at The Hague. Many of his supporters, including Members of the Dutch Parliament, asserted that he had been railroaded to cover up the collaborationist activities of some Dutch officials.
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