Nazi SS troops used whips to drive children of 3,300 German Jews away from their parents in the Minsk ghetto before murdering the children, a district judge of Minsk during the German occupation testified yesterday in the trial of 12 Nazis charged with murdering more than 35,000 Jews there during World War II.
Dr. Adalbert Reiff, in describing the massacre, said all the children were shot, but he did not know the exact number. Dr. Reiff, now an attorney in Aix-la-Chapelle, also testified he had lodged a complaint with the Nazi Ministry for the occupied Eastern territories about the savage treatment of Jews, Russians and others, and had at the same time refused to return to his duties at Minsk.
The defense attorneys made a joint request to the court, after Dr. Reiffre testimony, that Wilhelm Foge, public prosecutor at Kaiserslautern, be called as a defense witness. The unusual request was based on the fact that Foge had worked with Dr. Reiff in the legal division of the Nazi district office at Minsk.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
