Photo: REUTERS
Nazi trial in Germany
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According to the prosecution, the man personally shot Soviet prisoners of war and forced people into the gas chambers.
A hundred-year-old former guard of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Josef S., is accused of complicity in the murder of 3,518 prisoners during the Second World War. In particular, according to the prosecution, he personally shot Soviet prisoners of war and forced people into gas chambers. The trial takes place with increased security measures in the gymnasium of the Brandenburg-Görden prison.
No jail
Joseph S. is the oldest Nazi to be put on trial. He was brought to the hearing in a wheelchair with a briefcase in his hands.
Josef S. was 21 years old when he began his service at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1942. Between 1936 and 1945, over 200,000 people were held in the camp, including Jews, Roma, opponents of the regime and gays. Little is known about the accused. According to the Bild newspaper, he was released from captivity in 1947 and went to work as a locksmith in Brandenburg, then – the territory of East Germany. The Central Unit for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes transferred his case to the Brandenburg authorities in April 2019, and charges were brought against him on January 26, 2021.
Despite the age of Joseph S., the medical examination recognized him as capable of participating in the process within 2.5 hours a day.
The defendant’s lawyer, Stefan Waterkamp, said that his client would not make any statements on the merits of the charges, but at a court hearing on Friday he will talk about his personal circumstances that led him to serve the Nazis.
Thomas Walter, a lawyer representing several camp survivors and relatives of the victims, said he hoped Josef S. would change his mind. “He’s not a stone, not a machine,” he said. “Maybe he’ll say something else.”
The trial of Joseph S. will last until January 2022. During the hearing, he will remain at large, and even if convicted, he will most likely not go to jail: on November 16, Joseph S. will turn 101, which he proudly announced to the judge.
Not the first time
Last week, the trial began against 96-year-old Irmgard Fürchner, who worked as the personal secretary of the commandant of the Stutthof concentration camp in occupied Poland. Over the past year and a half, two more Stutthof guards – 93 and 97 years old – have appeared before the court. One of them – Bruno Dey – was recognized as an accomplice in the murder of more than five thousand people and was sentenced to two years’ suspended imprisonment. The second (name withheld) was declared unfit by the judge for health reasons.
Justice in Germany and other countries began to call to account the Nazis of the lower level about 10 years ago.
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