Statute of Limitations, NPD Rise, Major German Issues
By ALFRED WOLFMANN
JTA Correspondent in West
Germany
(Copyright 1965, JTA TIM)
BONN—There are two issues in
Germany that arouse concern be-
yond the borders of the Federal
Republic as they do inside the
country. They are the statute of
limitations on war crimes and the
political growth of the radical
right-wing National Democratic
Party, often described as neo-
Nazi.
Both issues are closely followed
by people who lived through the
era of the Third Reich and World
War II.
The uneasiness felt by the
American Jews over the possible
trend of events in Germany was
reflected in the visit paid to Chan-
cellor Kurt Kiesinger in January
by Dr. William A. Wexler, presi-
dent of Bnai Brith, and Herman
Edelsberg, director of the inter-
national council of Bnai •Brith.
The statute of limitations which
would bar the prosecution of war
criminals beyond a certain date,
was to have gone into effect in
1965. Only the pressure of world
opinion forced its postponement
until Dec. 31, 1969. The postpone-
ment applies only to war criminals
Charged with murder. Those ac-
cuced of beatings, torture and
manslaughter became immune to
prosecution by statutes adopted
years ago.
The extension to 19'70 of the
period when murderers may be
prosecuted will not prevent untold
numbers of them from escaping
the consequences of their crimes.
The new minister of justice,
Dr. Gustav Heineman, has left
no doubts that he would like to
see the statute abolished and
will work toward that end. But
he is encountering great diffi-
culties. A majority of the Bun-
destag (lower house) may also
favor abolition. But they dare
not go that far for fear of Ger-
man voter reaction. Most Ger-
mans, they believe, are sick and
tired of war crimes trials and
don't want to hear of them any-
more. Chancellor Kiesinger him-
self was equivocal in the reply
he gave to a question on the sub-
ject by this correspondent at a
press conference last December.
According to the latest public
polls, Dr. Kiesinger told the Bnai
Brith guests, 58 per cent of the
German people favor continuing
trials of Nazi war criminals and
oppose the statute of limitations.
Only 28 per cent favor the sta-
tute. He went on to tell his guests
that it is mainly the older Ger-
mans who oppose the statute of
limitations because they lived
through the era when the Nazi
crimes took place, whereas younger
Germans, who had no first hand
experience under Nazism, are in-
different. This is surprising in
itself. For as everybody in Ger7
many knows, the loudest opposi-
tion to war crimes trials has come
from older Germans who were
themselves Nazi party members or
otherwise involved with Hitler.
Also surprising was Dr. Kiesin-
ger's assertion that 38 per cent of
the supporters of the National
Democratic Party oppose the sta-
tute of limitations and want to see
war crimes trials go on. This, by
the way, is just the reverse of
stand taken by NPD chairman
Adolph van Thadden. In addition,
according to Dr. Kiesinger, a sub-
stantial number of NPD support-
ers sympathize with Israel in the
current Middle East dispute be-
cause they admire Israel's military
accomplishments and her defiance
of the Soviet Union. This too, is
at variance with van Thadden's
public statements.
As for efforts to ban the NPD,
the chancellor said that the gov-
ernment would not file a petition
in the Constitutional High Court
unless it was certain that the
court agreed that the party is
anti-democratic.
The court might be prompted
to such a conclusion, he said, if
the NPD demonstrated overt anti-
Semitism because, for the German
people, Nazism and anti-Semitism
are synonymous. In that case, the
court and the German people
would have sufficient grounds to
outlaw the NPD. But the chan-
cellor thought that the best way
to counter it was to build a healthy
democratic society.
The chancellor himself conceded
that a right-wing party could
achieve power in Germany in the
event of a major economic crisis.
Obviously,• no radical political
movement can flourish in times of
prosperity when a majority of the
people are interested in maintain-
ing the status quo. But what if an
economic crisis should occur in
Germany? Should we expect a re-
version to the right? The fact is
that, according to polls, van Thad-
den's NPD commands 10 per cent
of the German vote, now, in the
midst of prosperity. Hitler did not
have much support when he start-
NEW YORK — Dr. Avraham
Biran, the Israeli director of anti- ed out, in the depths of a de-
quities and museums, denied pression.
charges made by the director of
the American School of Oriental
Research in East Jerusalem that
the government of Israel was in-
terfering with archaeological re-
search in its newly occupied areas.
Rev. William Van Etten Casey,
director of the school, charged in
Beirut that the school was being
forced to operate in other parts
of the Moslem world. Father
Casey, a Jesuit professor of theo-
logy, claimed that 'We are being
forced out of our bailiwick into
other parts of the Fertile Cres-
cent."
The school plans to move from
East Jerusalem to Beirut, with
headquarters extending into Am-
man and Baghdad.
Father Casey said that the school
was involved with a tax contro-
versy with Israel, and that there
have been attempts by Israelis to
take over the school's administra-
tion.
The president of the American
Schools in Beirut and Jerusalem,
Dr. George Ernest Wright, profes-
sor of divinity at Harvard, said
that the relations of the Jerusalem
school with Israel were excellent,
in fact as cooperative as they were
with the Jordanian Department of
Antiquities. He said he felt that
the comment attributed to Fr.
Casey was a misstatement
Israeli Denies
Curb to Diggings
by U.S. School
DI$YENU
Friday, February 9, 1968-19
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
LBJ Asked Israel Halt Syria March
PARIS (ZINS)—The Paris news-
paper L'Express has revealed that
the "hot line" between Washing-
ton and Moscow was activated on
June 10 at 2 p.m.
On that day, the newspaper
writes, Israeli tanks had shattered
the Syrian front, and were pro-
ceeding in the direction of Damas-
cus, when Soviet Premier Kosygin
contacted President Johnson on the
"hot line" and warned him that if
Israel did not suspend its military
drive toward Damascus, Soviet
war planes would intervene on the
side of Syria. This, Kosygin said,
was an explicit warning by the
Soviet government which could
momentarily be translated into
action.
President Johnson—the L'Ex-
press continues—supported the So-
viet stand in order to avoid a mili-
tary confrontation between the two
powers, and forthwith asked Israel
to desist. Israel yielded, and at 6
p.m. ceased operations. In this
way, the L'Express concludes, the
"hot line saved the peace of the
world."
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A good suggestion,
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WEINZ
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