Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Foreign News
October 7, 1933
The Daily Worker
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
What is this article about?
1933 correspondence between U.S. attorney David Levinson and Nazi lawyer Teichert, plus court documents, reveals refusal to allow Levinson to defend Bulgarian Blagoi Popoff in Leipzig's Reichstag fire high treason trial, blocking foreign counsel participation.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
Correspondence Between D. Levinson
and the Nazi Attorney
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, the undersigned Riika Popova (Riika Popova Petkova), wife of Blagoi Popoff, hereby grant power of attorney to Mr. D. Levinson, attorney, of Philadelphia, U. S. A. as defending counsel for the defendant Blagoi Popoff, before the Supreme Court, Leipzig, the examining magistrate, the German Attorney-General, and all other courts and official authorities, with the right to receive letters addressed to Blagoi Popoff.
(Signed) RIIKA POPOVA (Riika Popova Petkova)
Moscow, July 28. 1933.
I hereby certify this power of attorney and the signature of Mrs. Riika Popova (Riika Popova Petkova), residing at Danganerovskaya Sloboda, Building 14, Apt. 34, Moscow.
Receipt No. 29742 Stamp fee, 2 Roubles Moscow, July 28, 1933.
(Signed) Notary Public.
Berlin, August 15, 1933.
4th Criminal Senate Supreme Court Leipzig:
The defendant Popoff has given me power of attorney as defending counsel in the criminal proceedings pending against him for high treason.
I therefore request that I be admitted as defense counsel, and that I be allowed to speak in person with the defendant Blagoi Popoff.
(Signed) DAVID LEVINSON.
Sept. 3, 1933
Dr. Teichert, Attorney-at-law Leipzig.
My dear colleague:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter of Aug. 31, in which you inform me— at least that is how I take it—that I can appear alongside you as defense counsel.
However, your letter is not quite clear. In reply to my inquiry whether you are ready to consent to my defending the defendant Popoff con- jointly with you, you declare that you will do everything that may aid the accused. I can only interpret this as your agreement to my request, that is, that you agree to my participation alongside you.
On the other hand this explanation seems to me to contradict somewhat your statement that the attorney in question must personally fulfill the requirements for admission of a German as attorney. I cannot imagine that you mean to refer to my being a Jew.
It seems to me inconceivable that you demand of an American citizen, who comes from a country where equality for the Jews is part of the Constitution—where Jewish lawyers and non-Jewish lawyers are fully equal—that he be a non-Jew in order to appear before a German court.
I should be thankful for a clear answer on this point from you.
As for the evidence, I have discussed the matter with the commission of inquiry. They tell me that they are ready to hand the material in the possession of the commission of inquiry to a foreign defending counsel at any time, including myself, if I obtain your unmistakable agreement to my participation in the defense.
Moreover, as a lawyer, you will understand that an attorney must study the evidence before he can make trial motions. It would therefore be highly desirable that you let me have the indictment for inspection as soon as possible.
Awaiting your prompt reply, with fraternal greetings,
(Signed) David Levinson.
P. S. As for the Brown Book, the publishers tell me that a copy has been sent off to your address already, in compliance with your request. If you haven't gotten it yet, please wire me, and I shall at once endeavor to send you a second copy.
(Signed) D. L.
DECISION 15 J. 86/33 XII. H. 42|33 XI1. Tgb. 384/33
In the criminal proceedings against the student, Blagoi Popoff, residing in Berlin, born November 28, 1902 in Drjan near Sofia, Bulgaria,-for High Treason,-the Supreme Court of Germany, 5th Criminal Senate, decided in its session of August 24, 1933, that:
The motion for the admission of David Levinson, attorney, of Philadelphia, at present in Berlin. Zimmerstrasse 28, in care of Lochner, as chosen defense counsel of the defendant Popoff in accordance with Par. 138 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is herewith denied. Aside from the fact that the consent of the German defending counsel has not been obtained, there is no evident reason for admitting him alongside the officially appointed defense counsel Nor can he be granted permission to speak. However. there is no reason to object to his transmitting any material for the defense--outside of trial procedure--to the officially appointed German defense counsel.
(Signed) Dr. Buenger (Signed) Coonders (Signed) Rusch Drawn Up by (SEAL) Signed)Wedekind Ministerial Official as Certifying Official of the Office of the Court To Mr. David Levinson Hotel Central, Berlin,
Leipzig, Sept. 7, 1933.
Mr. David Levinson, Attorney-at-law, Philadelphia, Pa. At present in Paris.
Dear Sir:
I have received your undated letter. I also have received, in the interim, anonymously however, the "Brown Book." According to this volume, the essential material in the hands of the commission has been made use of in that book. You would therefore be unable to give me any further material.
Moreover, you confirm that the commission is unwilling to hand the material allegedly in its possession over to a German defending attorney.
You will no doubt understand that I cannot allow a commission of foreign lawyers, whose authorization is not proved at all, to prescribe whether and to whom it will hand out its material.
In doing this, the Commission has indicated that it does not want to aid the legal defense, and under these circumstances the legal defense is unable to do anything further.
I am convinced that you will understand my attitude and that in a trial taking place in America, you, as an American attorney. would reject the intervention of such a commission just as I am doing as a German in Germany.
Although the trial is a purely internal German affair, I expressed my readiness to accept joint defense by a foreign attorney. However, there are so many requests of this nature. that I can only give my consent to a compatriot of the Bulgarian, that is, a Bulgarian lawyer, as a matter justice. It would have been better if the foreign lawyers had agreed among themselves in advance upon which one of them was to be accepted.
In saying that the foreign lawyer whom I might accept as joint counsel would have to fulfill. personally, the requirements under which a German is allowed to practice law in Germany, this means something which is really self-understood. That is. a foreigner cannot, of course, be granted greater rights than a native. This is no doubt the case in America as well. The fact that you are a Jew would not be decisive in affecting my judgment, if you were really able to furnish evidence. But from your letter, I cannot assume that that is the case.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) TEICHERT. Attorney-at-law.
The correspondence between David Levinson, Philadelphia I.L.D. attorney, and Paul Teichert, official Nazi attorney for Blagoi Popoff in the Reichstag fire trial, and the documents of the German Supreme Court. reproduced here, show beyond argument the petty evasions and buck-passing of the Nazi lawyer and the Nazi court in their effort to keep every unprejudiced foreign attorney away from the defense table in the Leipzig courtroom.
When Levinson asked the Supreme Court for permission to help in Popoff's defense, the court said that Teichert had not consented.
When Levinson turned to Teichert, the latter replied that the Supreme Court has to decide.
This wriggling about of the Nazi judges and attorneys shows clearly enough that the Communist defendants Ernst Torgler, George Dimitroff. Blagoi Popoff and Vassili Taneff are being deprived of all rights to defend themselves.
Only Nazi lawyers may speak for them-they are not allowed to conduct their own defense-as the expulsion of Dimitroff from the courtroom yesterday proves.
The translation of the letters follows:
and the Nazi Attorney
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, the undersigned Riika Popova (Riika Popova Petkova), wife of Blagoi Popoff, hereby grant power of attorney to Mr. D. Levinson, attorney, of Philadelphia, U. S. A. as defending counsel for the defendant Blagoi Popoff, before the Supreme Court, Leipzig, the examining magistrate, the German Attorney-General, and all other courts and official authorities, with the right to receive letters addressed to Blagoi Popoff.
(Signed) RIIKA POPOVA (Riika Popova Petkova)
Moscow, July 28. 1933.
I hereby certify this power of attorney and the signature of Mrs. Riika Popova (Riika Popova Petkova), residing at Danganerovskaya Sloboda, Building 14, Apt. 34, Moscow.
Receipt No. 29742 Stamp fee, 2 Roubles Moscow, July 28, 1933.
(Signed) Notary Public.
Berlin, August 15, 1933.
4th Criminal Senate Supreme Court Leipzig:
The defendant Popoff has given me power of attorney as defending counsel in the criminal proceedings pending against him for high treason.
I therefore request that I be admitted as defense counsel, and that I be allowed to speak in person with the defendant Blagoi Popoff.
(Signed) DAVID LEVINSON.
Sept. 3, 1933
Dr. Teichert, Attorney-at-law Leipzig.
My dear colleague:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter of Aug. 31, in which you inform me— at least that is how I take it—that I can appear alongside you as defense counsel.
However, your letter is not quite clear. In reply to my inquiry whether you are ready to consent to my defending the defendant Popoff con- jointly with you, you declare that you will do everything that may aid the accused. I can only interpret this as your agreement to my request, that is, that you agree to my participation alongside you.
On the other hand this explanation seems to me to contradict somewhat your statement that the attorney in question must personally fulfill the requirements for admission of a German as attorney. I cannot imagine that you mean to refer to my being a Jew.
It seems to me inconceivable that you demand of an American citizen, who comes from a country where equality for the Jews is part of the Constitution—where Jewish lawyers and non-Jewish lawyers are fully equal—that he be a non-Jew in order to appear before a German court.
I should be thankful for a clear answer on this point from you.
As for the evidence, I have discussed the matter with the commission of inquiry. They tell me that they are ready to hand the material in the possession of the commission of inquiry to a foreign defending counsel at any time, including myself, if I obtain your unmistakable agreement to my participation in the defense.
Moreover, as a lawyer, you will understand that an attorney must study the evidence before he can make trial motions. It would therefore be highly desirable that you let me have the indictment for inspection as soon as possible.
Awaiting your prompt reply, with fraternal greetings,
(Signed) David Levinson.
P. S. As for the Brown Book, the publishers tell me that a copy has been sent off to your address already, in compliance with your request. If you haven't gotten it yet, please wire me, and I shall at once endeavor to send you a second copy.
(Signed) D. L.
DECISION 15 J. 86/33 XII. H. 42|33 XI1. Tgb. 384/33
In the criminal proceedings against the student, Blagoi Popoff, residing in Berlin, born November 28, 1902 in Drjan near Sofia, Bulgaria,-for High Treason,-the Supreme Court of Germany, 5th Criminal Senate, decided in its session of August 24, 1933, that:
The motion for the admission of David Levinson, attorney, of Philadelphia, at present in Berlin. Zimmerstrasse 28, in care of Lochner, as chosen defense counsel of the defendant Popoff in accordance with Par. 138 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is herewith denied. Aside from the fact that the consent of the German defending counsel has not been obtained, there is no evident reason for admitting him alongside the officially appointed defense counsel Nor can he be granted permission to speak. However. there is no reason to object to his transmitting any material for the defense--outside of trial procedure--to the officially appointed German defense counsel.
(Signed) Dr. Buenger (Signed) Coonders (Signed) Rusch Drawn Up by (SEAL) Signed)Wedekind Ministerial Official as Certifying Official of the Office of the Court To Mr. David Levinson Hotel Central, Berlin,
Leipzig, Sept. 7, 1933.
Mr. David Levinson, Attorney-at-law, Philadelphia, Pa. At present in Paris.
Dear Sir:
I have received your undated letter. I also have received, in the interim, anonymously however, the "Brown Book." According to this volume, the essential material in the hands of the commission has been made use of in that book. You would therefore be unable to give me any further material.
Moreover, you confirm that the commission is unwilling to hand the material allegedly in its possession over to a German defending attorney.
You will no doubt understand that I cannot allow a commission of foreign lawyers, whose authorization is not proved at all, to prescribe whether and to whom it will hand out its material.
In doing this, the Commission has indicated that it does not want to aid the legal defense, and under these circumstances the legal defense is unable to do anything further.
I am convinced that you will understand my attitude and that in a trial taking place in America, you, as an American attorney. would reject the intervention of such a commission just as I am doing as a German in Germany.
Although the trial is a purely internal German affair, I expressed my readiness to accept joint defense by a foreign attorney. However, there are so many requests of this nature. that I can only give my consent to a compatriot of the Bulgarian, that is, a Bulgarian lawyer, as a matter justice. It would have been better if the foreign lawyers had agreed among themselves in advance upon which one of them was to be accepted.
In saying that the foreign lawyer whom I might accept as joint counsel would have to fulfill. personally, the requirements under which a German is allowed to practice law in Germany, this means something which is really self-understood. That is. a foreigner cannot, of course, be granted greater rights than a native. This is no doubt the case in America as well. The fact that you are a Jew would not be decisive in affecting my judgment, if you were really able to furnish evidence. But from your letter, I cannot assume that that is the case.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) TEICHERT. Attorney-at-law.
The correspondence between David Levinson, Philadelphia I.L.D. attorney, and Paul Teichert, official Nazi attorney for Blagoi Popoff in the Reichstag fire trial, and the documents of the German Supreme Court. reproduced here, show beyond argument the petty evasions and buck-passing of the Nazi lawyer and the Nazi court in their effort to keep every unprejudiced foreign attorney away from the defense table in the Leipzig courtroom.
When Levinson asked the Supreme Court for permission to help in Popoff's defense, the court said that Teichert had not consented.
When Levinson turned to Teichert, the latter replied that the Supreme Court has to decide.
This wriggling about of the Nazi judges and attorneys shows clearly enough that the Communist defendants Ernst Torgler, George Dimitroff. Blagoi Popoff and Vassili Taneff are being deprived of all rights to defend themselves.
Only Nazi lawyers may speak for them-they are not allowed to conduct their own defense-as the expulsion of Dimitroff from the courtroom yesterday proves.
The translation of the letters follows:
What sub-type of article is it?
Political
What keywords are associated?
Reichstag Fire Trial
High Treason
Nazi Court
Foreign Counsel
Levinson Teichert
Blagoi Popoff
Defense Rights
What entities or persons were involved?
Blagoi Popoff
David Levinson
Riika Popova Petkova
Dr. Teichert
Ernst Torgler
George Dimitroff
Vassili Taneff
Where did it happen?
Leipzig, Germany
Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Leipzig, Germany
Event Date
July To September 1933
Key Persons
Blagoi Popoff
David Levinson
Riika Popova Petkova
Dr. Teichert
Ernst Torgler
George Dimitroff
Vassili Taneff
Outcome
the supreme court denied david levinson's admission as defense counsel for blagoi popoff, citing lack of consent from the german counsel and no evident reason for his involvement.
Event Details
Riika Popova Petkova granted power of attorney to David Levinson to defend her husband Blagoi Popoff in high treason proceedings before the Supreme Court in Leipzig. Levinson requested admission as counsel from the court and sought agreement from German attorney Dr. Teichert. Teichert expressed conditional willingness but emphasized requirements for foreign lawyers equivalent to German ones. The court denied Levinson's motion on August 24, 1933, allowing only transmission of materials to the official German counsel. Correspondence highlights efforts to exclude foreign attorneys from the defense in the Reichstag fire trial, depriving Communist defendants of unprejudiced representation.