Paris (AP)—A 17-year-old Polish
Jew, declaring he had come to
avenge his countrymen who have
been expelled from Germany, today
shot and gravely wounded a secre-
tary of the German embassy.
  The secretary, Ernst Vom Rath,
32-year-old nephew of the late Ro-
land Koester, former German am-
bassador to France, was taken to
a hospital where he underwent an
operation for removal of bullets
from his abdomen and one shoul-
der.
  The assailant, who gave his name
as Herschel Grynszpan, formerly
of Hanover, Germany, was captured
by embassy attaches after a brief
scuffle and handed over to the
French police.
  The embassy spokesman said the
youth who fired the shot declared
he “wanted to avenge his Polish
brethren.” (Germany last week sent
back to Poland several thousand
resident Polish Jews, fearing new
Polish passport regulations might
deprive them of citizenship and
leave them in Germany as German
charges.)
  The youth entered the embassy at
9:35. He was taken to the office of
Vom Rath, who is attached to Ger-
man legation service as well as to
the embassy.
  Two pistol shots rang out, and
other attaches came on the run.
  Both shots struck Vom Rath and
wounded him gravely. He was taken
to a nearby hospital.
  The spokesman identified the as-
sailant as Herschel Grynszpan, 17,
a former resident of Hanover, Ger-
many.
  The embassy said the youth first
made a short speech to the secre-
tary telling him he had come to
avenge his countrymen.
  One bullet entered Vom Rath’s
right shoulder, the other the left
part of the abdomen.
  The youth carried a Polish pass-
port, although born in Hanover, the
embassy said.

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