Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

ERICH KOCH: Warsaw – The Polish Supreme Court has ratified a death sentence against the former Gauleiter Erich Koch, the last of the Nazi leaders to be tried in Warsaw for war crimes. The court rejected an appeal by Koch against a death sentence handed down last March, after a long trial lasting five months. Koch was convicted of ordering the deaths of 232,000 people when he was Hitler’s envoy in eastern Poland. Koch, who is ill and being treated in the prison hospital, was not present in court when the verdict was announced. He has the right to lodge a second appeal to the Council of State, but is also able to avoid execution according to a law which says that a sick person cannot be executed. (Ed. note: Koch died in prison of natural causes in 1986.) The court referred to Koch’s personal contacts with Hitler in rejecting the appeal which was based on the argument that Koch had no control over actions committed by the Gestapo or the SS in his area of jurisdiction. CONSTANTINE: His Royal Highness Crown Prince Constantine began attending courses at Athens University’s law school. His Highness will be attending as a regular student.