Weltbühne trial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Weltbühne trial[1] was an important criminal proceeding during the Weimar Republic against the press and journalists who were critical of the military. The editor of the weekly Die Weltbühne, Carl von Ossietzky, and the journalist and aviation expert Walter Kreiser were charged with treason and betrayal of military secrets for revealing that the Reichswehr was secretly building up an air force in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. They were sentenced in November 1931 to 18 months imprisonment. The outcome of the trial raised a considerable outcry among the German political left and in the foreign press, which saw it as evidence that Germany was returning to its prewar militarism.
Kreiser avoided prison by fleeing to France. Ossietzky was released from prison under a Christmas amnesty after serving just under eight months.