The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-06-28
IN THE COURT
OF JUSTICE
The Felsenek Trial in Berlin

al socialists. The result of the pres
liminary investigation ended in 10
inhabitants of the colony and only
six national socialists being brought
to trial. In the Indictment, is Of
the colonists are accused of joint
manslaughter of the national so.
cialist Schwarz, and the nationals
lists are accused of joint manslaugh-
ter of the worker Klemke. In adj
dition, three of the inhabitants of
the colony are accused of serious
breach of the peace.
The trial commences. The court
is packed. The accused workers are
placed in the dock; the national
socialists however, are given seats
usually occupied by the press. The
storm troop leader Schulz, who led
the whole action, is NOT among
the accused.
The indefatigable activity of DIR,
Litten, who has been briefed by
the Red Aid to defend the workers,
subjects the national socialists to
a clsver cross-examination, and by
causing the national socialists to
incriminate each other, brings inn
portant facts to light. The public
prosecutor and the court find them
selves in an embarrassing situation.
The national socialist press carries
on a regular Indictment to murder
DR.. Litten. In the meantime GEM,
one of the accused workers who
is seriously i'll, again collapses in
the court, whereupon his release is
at last ordered. The bourgeois of
fetal defender, DR.. Picard, proves
that the police report of the evil
dence has been falsified. This
places the court and the public
prosecutor in an exceedingly dis
agreeable situation.
The highest point of the sensa-
tional trial is reached when the de-
Tending lawyer, DR.. Litten, informs
the court on May 26, that the Red
Aid has succeeded in ascertaining
who is the probable murderer of
Klemke-a thing which the public
prosecutor, in spite of all his EFF
forts" was unable to do. In order
to ensure the arrest of the man in
question, the lawyer does not men,
ZION his name in open court but
conveys it to the public prosecutor
during an interval which is ordered
for this purpose. At the same time
he demands of the public prosecutor
that the man be arrested by one
o'clock. as otherwise he will be
warned. But the public prosecutor
does not issue any order for arrest
but simply informs police, and the
supposed murderer, named Grewen,
disappears. After the supposed MUIR
derer has been given sufficient time
to cover up his traces and to get
rid of anything discriminating, he
appears before the court in answer
to a summon. When he enters the
witness box a fresh sensation oc-
ours. The police officer Oldenstedt,
who on the night of the murder
telephoned to the police station,
while making the telephone call, so
he says, placed his revolver on the
desk next to the telephone. The
revolver came into the hands of
Grewen, and it has been ascertain-
ed almost beyond doubt that Illem-
Ike was murdered with this revolt
YER. Oldenstedt had hitherto de-
MED on oath that he had let his
service revolver out of his hands.
Under cross examination, however,
he has to admit that he commits
ted perjury.
This trial is classical example of
how public justice has developed in
Prussia under the social democratic
government. This justice has served
to prepare the way for fascism,
and the sentences it has pronounced
on the national socialists have
served directly to encourage them.
The Felseneck trial will probably
last several weeks longer, but it 10
already plainly apparent that the
public prosecutor and the court
openly side with the national So
cialist murderers. Even the left
bourgeois press admonishes the
judges to preserve at least the APP
pearance of justice.