Heinz Pinner, 93, Anti-Nazi Lawyer, Dies

Heinz Albert Pinner, an anti-Nazi German lawyer who later became an American citizen and aided many victims of Hitler’s oppression in winning restitution from the West German government, has died of cancer in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. He was 93.

A native of Berlin, Pinner served as a cavalry officer on the Western front during World War I. After the war, he practiced corporate and economic law in Berlin.

In 1938, the Nazis denied him the right to practice his profession, and a year later he and his family fled the country. They settled in Los Angeles in 1940 and he became a successful accountant.

He became an American citizen in 1945 and returned to West Germany to win accreditation from courts there. He was one of the few German-born lawyers permitted to seek restitution from the new German government for survivors of Nazi persecution. When not in Germany, he continued to work in this country as an accountant.

For his work on behalf of victims of the Nazis, Pinner was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit last year by the West German government. In presenting the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles, German Deputy Counsel General Dieter Koepke said that Pinner “has contributed to my country’s efforts to make good what Germans (once) inflicted on other human beings. He represents to us all the image not only of a good German and a good Berliner, but also of a wise old man whose unique and helpful advice has been . . . sought by so many Germans.”

Pinner died last Wednesday. He is survived by Ilse, his wife of 65 years, and sons Karl and John.

The family requests that contributions in his name be made to the Discovery Fund for Eye Research, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 90048.