Berne Trial

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The Berne Trial. A famous trial, in 1934-1935, held in Berne, Switzerland, under an obscenity related statute invoving the plagiarism and forgery of the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The defendants were financed in their defense by Nazi agents working for the German government. Although the verdict favorable to plaintiff was set aside on appeal because the statute under which plaintiffs sought relief was not applicable, the various findings of the court, regarding the series of events that led to the publication of the infamous Protocols of Zion are regard as a treasure trove of archival material for scholars and historians.

Former Israeli Judge Hadassa Ben-Itto retired from her bench to study the record of the trial in Berne, and her book on the results of her research was published in 2005. She points out that the judge had appointed experts to answer four questions:

    1. Are the Protocols of the Elders of Zion a forgery?
    2. Are they a plagiarism?
    3. If they are, what was their source?
    4. Do the Protocols fall under the term Schundliterature