D O C . 1 3 5 F O R T H E R E L E A S E O F R O E T T C H E R 1 4 5 135. “For the Release of Fritz Roettcher”[1] [Einstein et al. 1928] Published 20 January 1928 In: Vossische Zeitung, 20 January 1928, p. [3]. On 23 January 1928, before the criminal division of the Imperial court, the ha- beas corpus hearing in the state proceeding against the pacifist Roettcher took place. Roettcher had been arrested a few months earlier and accused of treason be- cause the periodical Die Menschheit, of which he is the editor in chief, had pub- lished documents regarding the alleged rearmament of the Imperial Army. Roettcher’s defense lawyers will repeat their application for his release, possibly in exchange for posting bail. They argue that there is no reason to suspect that Ro- ettcher might flee the country because during the trial he traveled abroad on several occasions, but always returned to Germany. In the habeas corpus hearing, the criminal division refers to a declaration made by the German League for Human Rights, which was signed by numerous associ- ations and individuals. This declaration states, among other things, that: “The un- dersigned associations and individuals do not intend to take a position regarding the question of whether or not Roettcher committed or might have committed trea- son. However, on the basis of their knowledge of the person in question, they feel obliged to openly declare that the prisoner, no matter what one thinks regarding his opinions and actions, doubtless acted out of pure loyalty to his convictions and sin- cere philosophical motives. The maintenance of the arrest warrant therefore seems to them—especially since the prisoner is seriously ill—to be unnecessarily and un- justifiably harsh.” The signers of this declaration include, among others, Frau Katharina von Kardoff-Oheimb, Philipp Scheidemann, M. d. R, Professor Dr. von After-Gießen, Dr. Julius Beder-Genf, Hufemann M. d. R., Bod. M. d. R., General von Deimling, General von Schoenaich, Prof. Driesch, Undersecretary Falckenberg, Pastor Frese- nius, Professor Dr. Holde, Prof. Kantorowicz, President a. D. Loeb, Professor Beit Ballentin, Grammar School Principal Dr. Wegscheiber, Count von Wedell, Gertrud Woler-Bern, W. Gollmann M. d. R., Rudolf Wissel, Regional Court Judge Dosen- heimer, Felix Fechenbach, Minister of State a. D. Hirsch, Hermann Fleißner M. d. R., Hans Unterleitner, M. d. R., Ministerial Department Head a. D. Spiecker, Count