The public prosecutor had asked for the death penalty.
The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery 7593 B
Fuehrer Headquarters, 29 May 1941
1. To Under Secretary Dr. Schlegelberger
[Handwritten] Charged with the management of the affairs of the Reich Minister of Justice.
Subject: Crimes committed under cover of the black-out
Enclose copy of enclosure of Reich Chancellery 7593 B
Dear Mr. Schlegelberger:
The Fuehrer took from the Munich edition of the “Voelkischer Beobachter” dated 24 May, a report, a copy of which is enclosed, according to which the Special Court of Munich in a session in Augsburg sentenced the 19-year-old Anton Scharff to 10 years’ penitentiary for theft under cover of the black-out; the public prosecutor had asked for the death penalty. The Fuehrer considers this sentence entirely incomprehensible. The Fuehrer believes that in such cases the death penalty must definitely be given, if crimes committed under cover of the black-out are to be kept down to a minimum from the outset. The Fuehrer has also emphasized time and again that the criminals should receive especially severe punishment considering the heroic fighting of our soldiers.