The Government Does A Deal
Facing the dilemma that further persecution and legal wrangling simply promoted Kisch’s cause, the Lyons Government proposed a compromise. On 26 February 1935, the Melbourne Argus reported:
- "Provided that Egon Erwin Kisch, the Czechoslovakian author, gives certain undertakings to the authorities, the Federal Ministry is willing to recommend His Excellency the Governor-General to remit the sentence of imprisonment for three months with hard labour imposed on him in Sydney ... there is no desire on the part of the Ministry to compel him to serve a term of imprisonment if he is willing to leave immediately."
Ultimately, the Lyons government agreed to cut its losses and offered to remit Kisch's sentence, stop all legal proceedings and pay Kisch AU£450 for his costs in exchange for an agreed exit date of 11 March 1935. Having achieved notoriety above and beyond anyone's expectations, and public exposure of his warnings of Adolf Hitler and the dangers of fascism, Kisch accepted their offer and departed Sydney on the Orient liner Ormonde, bound for Marseille.
Read more about this topic: Attempted Exclusion Of Egon Kisch From Australia
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