Riddle: Collaborator Had Help What provides Shearling's fashion, warmth, strength and durability without weight and bulk? Answer: ROZ & SHERM presents the premier Trunk Show of Paris/JTA A fter 18 years of legal maneuvering, convicted Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon is finally behind bars. But questions persist about the preferential treatment the 89-year-old former Vichy official appeared to have enjoyed. Swiss police seized Papon late last week in a hotel in the swanky ski resort of Gstaadt and whisked him back to France, where he was taken to a prison hospital. Papon had fled to Switzerland last week before a Supreme Court appeals hearing, which upheld his 10-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity. He was convicted of help- ing deport some 1,500 Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II, when he was supervisor of Bordeaux's Service for Jewish Questions and the second-ranking official in the area for the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. At the beginning of his trial in Bordeaux in October 1997, a presiding judge allowed Papon to remain free dur- ing the proceedings in an unusual deci- sion that triggered outrage among the civil plaintiffs — most of them relatives of Jews deported to Nazi death camps. This is why, even after his convic- tion, Papon stayed out of prison pend- ing his Supreme Court appeal. When he fled into exile on Oct. 10, he was certain he would lose his appeal. "The question that has to be answered is whether he benefitted from any collusion or help in fleeing," said Alain Jakubowicz, president of a regional branch of the CRIF, France's umbrella group for Jewish organizations, and lawyer for B'nai Brith France in the case. A number of measures could have been taken to avoid his flight. Months before his initial trial, Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld asked the Justice Ministry to confiscate Papon's passport. But because of Papon's age and the high positions he had held in postwar France — Paris police chief and bud- get minister — Klarsfeld's demand was ignored. From the moment the first charges were filed against Papon in 1981, French government officials repeatedly intervened to prevent the case from coming to court and dredging up mem- ories of France's collaboration with its Nazi occupiers. Papon is the only senior French official to be taken to account for Vichy's anti-Semitic policies. Sensuous, whisper-weight shearling, and shirred minks in wonderful colors for both men and women. Pierre Lang will be here to assist you Wednesday, November 3 through Saturday, November 6 In the Bloomfield Plaza Maple & Telegraph, Bloomfield Hills 248.855.8877 *One lucky person will win a fur-lined raincoat courtesy of ROZ & SHERM and HAKNA! 40% off Lane Venture special order and in-stock merchandise. .ftwaoft How great are the savings? This Grand Cayman series top quality rattan sofa was S1400 NOW $840! Jimmie always has the best furniture at the hottest prices. All prior sales and special orders excluded. Prices good through November 6th. 1999. RUSTICS TOLL FREE 1-888-560-JIMS BIRMINGHAM 248-644-1919 690 OLD S. WOODWARD LIVONIA 734-522-9200 29500 W. 6 MILE RD. THE CASUAL HOME FURNISHINGS STORE NOVI 248-348-0090 48700 GRAND RIVER Please call for store hours. s 10/29 1999 0