Elderly German Woman Facing 260,000 Murder Charges For Her Role In Auschwitz
A 91-year-old German woman is facing charges of accessory to murder — 260,000 charges — for her role in running the infamous Auschwitz death camp in Nazi Germany, the Daily Mail is reporting.
German woman, 91, is charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder at Auschwitz http://t.co/XEcmzqnWD0
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 22, 2015
The woman, who can’t be identified due to German privacy laws, is alleged to have been a radio operator under the command of Rudoph Hoess between May and July of 1944. Hoess was hanged following his trial for war crimes after World War II. During that period of time, some 260,000 Jews from Hungary were brought to Auschwitz and immediately gassed to death. Authorities chose to charge the woman as an accessory to murder due to her role in running the death camp. Schleswig-Holstein prosecutors’ spokesman Heinz Doellel said in a statement that archival duty rosters from Auschwitz count as good enough evidence to proceed with a trial against the 91-year-old woman.
“There is sufficient evidence against her.”
Because the unnamed woman was 21 at the time she worked at Auschwitz — a juvenile under German law — she would be tried in juvenile court, according to the Guardian.
There is, in fact, a precedent in Germany for authorities prosecuting nonagenarian Germans for war crimes committed during World War II. In July of this year, 94-year-old former SS sergeant Oskar Groening (referred to as “The Bookkeeper of Auschwitz”) was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for his crimes at Auschwitz. Groening admitted to sorting through the personal items brought to the camp by condemned Jews, stealing money and other belongings. Groening, for his part, spoke openly of his Auschwitz crimes during his trial, though he also admitted to harboring deep personal guilt.
Other aged Germans accused of Nazi-era war crimes, however, have evaded prosecution on the basis of their age or mental state. Such an evasion may be unlikely for the unnamed 91-year-old former radio operator. Prosecutors believe she is fit to stand trial, although her fitness to stand trial won’t be ruled on by a court until next year.
‘Auschwitz bookkeeper’ Oskar Gröning appeals verdict http://t.co/MPuZV9KQsA pic.twitter.com/ciMPp717ca
— The Local Germany (@TheLocalGermany) July 21, 2015
Whether or not it’s just and moral to prosecute aged Germans for war crimes committed 70 or more years ago remains a matter of debate. In remarks made available via the New York Times, German prosecutor Kurt Schrimm said that advanced age does not excuse Nazi-era war crimes.
“My personal opinion is that in view of the monstrosity of these crimes, one owes it to the survivors and the victims not to simply say ‘a certain time has passed, it should be swept under the carpet.'”
Writer Melissa Eddy, however, points out that even some Germans believe in letting old and dying Germans — even those who committed atrocities — live out their remaining days in peace.
“The advanced age of the often frail suspects has brought forth sympathy among some in Germany, raising questions of whether it is just to pursue prosecutions now after having let them live out so many years in peace.”
Do you believe that prosecuting a 91-year-old German woman for her crimes at Auschwitz is just and moral? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[Image courtesy of Getty Images/Christopher Furlong]
