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Nazi Who Made Pogroms on Jews Becomes Deputy Mayor in German Town

May 17, 1961
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The Central Council of Jews in Germany today called for the “democratization of key posts” in West Germany following the disclosure that Wilhelm Schepmann, the last commander of the Nazi S.A. paramilitary organization, had been named a Deputy Mayor of the town of Gifhorn, near Hanover. Schepmann’s election by the Gifhorn Town Council was revealed in the latest issue of Welt der Arbeit, a trade union paper which termed his election “unpardonable.”

In a resolution, the Central Council of Jews described Schepmann as a “pogrom activist” for his part in the Nazi’s burning of synagogues throughout Germany on the infamous “Crystal Night” in November 1938. The former Nazi won the third highest number of votes in the balloting for the Gifhorn Town Council on March 19.

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