ALLEGED SPY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 123, 6 March 1936, Page 5

ALLEGED SPY

GOERTZ RECOUNTS HIS LIFE. HIS OBJECT IN ENGLAND. DATA FOR POST-WAR BOOK. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) LONDON, March 5. The trial of Dr. Herman Goertz for alleged espionage was continued at the Old Bailey. He is indicted on two counts: Firstly, making a sketch plan or note of the Royal Air Force station at Manston calculated to be useful to an enemy; with conspiring with Marianne Emil, a young German woman, to commit offences against the Official Secrets Act, 1920. After the court had heard three Crown witnesses secretly, Goertz gave evidence. In good English he said he joined the German army at the outbreak of the Great War und served in East Prussia and on the Western Front. He was some time in the Prussian Guards. He was wounded and transferred to the Air 1< orco in 1915 and received the Iron Cross in 1917. He was invalided to Germany and sent as an insructor in a flying school. He returned to the front ax air intelligence officer for duty in interrogating British, French and American pilots taken prisoner. Counsel: You have been described as a dangerous intelligence officer. Goertz: My method was successful. I generally treated every pilot as a gentleman and comrade and enteitained them to dinner or lunch. They, m the excitement of being brought down, generally told me more than I wanted to know. After the War, said Goertz, lie practised law in the United States for j.B months, and returned to Hamburg, where he wrote a book on his experiences, and law hooks. Between 192.) and 1931 he was engaged m the preparation of the Siemen’s arbitration case, which occupied 40 sittings at the London law courts. His claim for remuneration; against Siemens tailed. i Germany, consequently he was m debt, having had a wife, three children, and an office to maintain m Germany. While in London he sought admission to the German air force as flying officer, hut was refused because he was over 40 years of age His letter of application, read yesterday, referie to intelligence work such as was done by officers attached to the Embassy in London or Washington. He had never applied! for secret service employment, which was quite a different Goertz had not finished his evidence when the court adjourned. His counsel, in a previous speech, said that Goertz conceived the idea of writing a post-war story being laid in Germany and East An crlia He intended to show u hat would happen in the future. He anc the gill went to England for the .sole purpose of collecting information tot the book.