The Jews never loved Hitler. It was no different in the mid-1930s and one might suspect that, at least in Poland, no one defended them from expressing their own opinion. Nothing could be more wrong! After all, Adolf H. was head of state at the time, and every self-respecting country has clauses punishing a foreign leader. A Jewish entrepreneur who just wanted to leave him alone was painfully convinced of this ...
The man - Naum Abraham Halbersztadt - owned a pharmacy warehouse in Warsaw, which prospered without any obstacles at least until 1935. Let us add that our hero knew quite well what was happening in Europe then - and it was not very good in the Reich, especially from the Jewish perspective. The entrepreneur, mindful of the situation of his countrymen, rejected all offers of commercial cooperation presented to him by German companies. The well-known Elektrodental-Fischer factory was among the unwanted contractors.
This gentleman didn't like much to be said about him badly…
Halbersztadt, despite repeated requests to stop sending offers and proposals, constantly received letters from the employees of the aforementioned company. One fine day our hero simply could not stand it and wrote back in blunt words what he thought about this obsessiveness and the situation in Germany:
I have asked you countless times not to disturb me with their writings. Since the Nazi regime exists, I will not accept any offers as long as Hitler and his rabble rule in Germany and no decent person has relations with you.
According to the pre-war criminal code, Naum Abraham Halbersztadt could sit for up to three years for insulting Hitler.
The Jew crossed these words on the envelope, adding a short "phrase", and threw the letter into the mailbox. Unfortunately for him, in the territory of the Reich, the post office got interested in unusual correspondence. The letter was addressed to the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs of the German Reich.
Halbersztadt's short, yet blunt message caused consternation and pushed the office into action. The German authorities handed over the unfortunate letter of the Polish authorities, and the latter to the Polish equivalent of the above-mentioned ministry. From there he went to the prosecutor's office, which in the course of the proceedings quickly discovered that our nervous entrepreneur was behind the inclusion of the inscription on the list.
The Polish penal code left no doubt and in article 111 clearly stated that for an act committed by Naum Abraham Halbersztadt (an insult to the head of a foreign state) it provides for a penalty of three equal years in prison. The prosecutor's office obviously conducted an investigation, gathered evidence in the case and made an indictment, and then held the Jew criminally responsible .
The Court had to decide whether Naum Abraham Halbersztadt had violated Hitler's good name.
The newspapers picked up the topic as an undoubted curiosity, although none of them came up with the idea to stand up for the unfortunate entrepreneur.
From today's perspective, bringing a Jew to a Polish court for insulting the leader of the Third Reich sounds surprising, but let us remember that history has a very specific sense of humor ...