Continuation of the great trial
Appeal proceedings and revision
Gröning’s unfavorable starting position
At the appeal hearing in January 1958, it was to Bruno Gröning's disadvantage that it was the state prosecutor who had appealed, and not he. Not only did this carelessness on the part of his then solicitor damage him; the delay in handing over the dossier material to Gröning’s new legal aide also hindered the preparation for the hearing.
The prosecution witnesses’ much more confident and unified appearance served as a further disadvantage . They appeared to have reached an agreement on the subject of “prohibition of the doctor.”
Prison, a fine, and probation, “a disgrace” without clarification of the healing question
This time the sentence was as follows: eight months in prison for causing death by negligence, and a 5000 DM fine for violation of the Non-Medical Practitioners act. The sentence was suspended.
Anny Freiin Ebner von Eschenbach, who attended not only the second, but also the first court trial, as a spectator in the court room, described the judgment as a disgrace for Germany.
Bruno Gröning declared that he was punished because he did Good. He complained that during the entire time of the trials, not a single person, not even his solicitor, had taken the slightest interest in how a healing came about. Had this question been pursued, it would have become evident that his work had absolutely no connection to medical treatment. The case would have had to be withdrawn. But the clarification of this issue in court had interested nobody. They had preconceived opinions about Gröning and were not prepared to budge.
Petition for appeal shortly before his death
However, this was not the end of the case. This time Bruno Gröning appealed. The date for the hearing was set for January 22, 1959, to take place before the Higher Regional Court in Munich. But this did not occur, for Bruno Gröning died in the same month.