Hirsch Barenblatt, the former Israeli opera conductor who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on charges of collaborating with the Nazis as chief Jewish officer in the wartime Bendin Ghetto in Poland, was acquitted by the Israel Supreme Court.
The musician had served three months of the five-year term. He said, after being freed, that he was happy not for himself but for the Judenrat, the Jewish council set up by the Nazis in Bendin. The issue of whether the Judenrat was an organization hostile to Jews was the principal point in the appeal heard by the Supreme Court.
As the Year Turns, Support the Journalism You Trust. JTA covers the stories shaping Jewish life around the world — with the depth this moment calls for. As you reflect on the year ahead, consider a gift that keeps independent Jewish journalism strong.
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.
