The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1951-08-11
Behind The
News
BY GEORGE GRIA

GNCis ituW anu tilGH q complex
picture is thrown
nto sharp focus by court case. |
The Hiss case in this country
was a notable example of a trial
serving to galvanize public at.
-ention to the dangers and issues
Of the day.
Now, Il case has come up in
the German courts to serve as a
nagnifying glass for the strange
drama of the Germans. The case
involves a German double agent.
a man who served both Russian
and Americans in the early DAYS
Of the ocCupation-before the
cold war
The man is Dr. Hans Kemritz.
a former Nazi and wartime in
officer. According to a
German court, DR.. Kemritz was
for delivering into
Russian hands Germans who
were sought by the Soviet secur-
lty police.
Kemritz had a home in al
hed-occuEied Western Berlin
and law office in the Soviet
sector of the city. Supposedly,
he lured the German victims
to his office where the Rus
SLAMS seized them.
Seventeen men and women are
said to have fallen into Russian
hands in this way. And four of
them died. The wife of one of
the dead sued Kemritz in a West
German court.
The Allied high commission
stepped in at this point, The
commission forbade the Germans
to take legal action against
kemritz. But the court defied
the order, and it awarded dam
ages of $1,000 and monthly
to the widow.
The office of U. S. High
Commissioner John J. McCloy
then ordered West Berlin May
or Ernst Reuter- to quash the
suit. Reuter- refused. He said
he couldn't interfere with the
courts. and he declared the al.
lied order violated the German
constitution.
There the matter rests at the
moment The Americans took
Kemritz to a hideout two months
ago. It's rumored that he may be
receiving American help to emil
CRATE to d foreign country.
The clash between Reuter- and
the American occupation officials
has naturally caused sensation
in Germany.
AS the tough Mayor of West
Berlin. Reuter- is regarded as
key man in the battle against
the Russians, Reuter- gained fame
for his stand against the Rus
SLAMS during the Soviet blockade
of Berlin. He has visited the
u. S. twice in the last two years.
Explaining the American posi-
ton, u. S. Commissioners McCloy
has declared that his protection
of DR.. Kemritz is part of policy
of safeguarding thousands of
Germans who helped the allies
take suspected Nazi war Grim
inals into custody after the war.
McCloy added that former
of the Nazi SIS elite
guard are beginning TO come out
in the western zones to start
court actions against Germans
who worked with us. And Nc
Cloy observed that if this "de-i
velops into pitting b r o t her
against brother, it will lead to
very dangerous situation"
That's the u. S. position.
Reuters stand SENS TO be
that to interfere with a judy
ment of the courts would be
dictatorial and would run COM
pleteiY counter 10 the demo-
cratic principles which the
Americans have been trying to
instill in the Germans since
the end of the war.
But it's also being sand in
Berlin that Reuter- is making po-
litical capital of the incident,
using it to show his enemies
that he's not a tool of the Amer
leans.
Among other things, the Kem-
ritz case has served to under
line the pitfalls which lie in the
path of restoring sovereignty to
the Germans without necessary
guarantees against an epidemic
of suits and counter-suits.
McCloy has now declared that
the powers by which he inter
vened in the Kemrit2 case will
be retained in some form after
the Germans receive limited SOW
ereignty in a few months.
The u. S. High Commissioner
said he has to retain the powers
to protect what he called the
security and the prestige of our
troops in this country"