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Josef Schuetz was charged with more than 3,000 accessory murders in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin.
A 100-year-old man was tried on suspicion of serving as a Nazi SS guard in a concentration camp during World War II. He told the German court that he was innocent.
Defendant Josef Schuetz was charged with 3,518 accessory murders in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin. He allegedly worked in a concentration camp as a member of the paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party from 1942 to 1945.
On Friday, the day after his trial in the Neuruppin State Court, Schutz denied the charges against him and insisted that he knew nothing about what happened in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
“I am innocent,” he said.
His claim of innocence triggered strong protests from the co-plaintiffs.
The 84-year-old co-plaintiff Christoffel Heijer pointed a finger at the defendant and told the court: “I want to tell Mr. Schuetz-I can understand that you are not willing to leave your job because you are afraid of the Nazis, but how do you sleep like this? Has it been for a long time? Haven’t you thought about it? Never felt guilty?”
Tens of thousands of people died
Between 1936 and 1945, more than 200,000 people were imprisoned in Sachsenhausen.
Tens of thousands of prisoners died of starvation, disease, forced labor, and other causes, as well as through medical experiments and systematic SS extermination operations, including shootings, hangings, and poisonous gas.
The exact number of victims varies, and the highest estimate is about 100,000, but scholars believe that the number of 40,000 to 50,000 may be more accurate.
Prosecutor Cyril Clement said in the court: “The defendant at least helped and abetted this knowledge and willingly by carefully performing his duties as a guard, which is seamlessly integrated with the killing system.”
On Friday, two witnesses from France and the Netherlands also spoke in court. They told the hearing that their father was killed in Sachsenhausen for participating in the resistance to the Nazis.
The authorities believe that although Schutz is old, he is still good enough for trial, despite the limited time for court sessions each day.
Further hearings are scheduled for January. Schutz remained free during the trial.
Germany races to try the Nazi perpetrators
More than 70 years after the end of World War II, German prosecutors are racing to bring the last surviving Nazi perpetrators to justice.
In 2011, former guard John Demjanjuk was convicted because he was part of Adolf Hitler’s killing machine, which set a legal precedent and set aside several cases of late justice The case paved the way.
Since then, the court has issued several convictions for murder or atrocities directly related to the defendant on these grounds rather than on the individual.
Those brought to justice include Auschwitz accountant Oscar Groening and Auschwitz former SS guard Reinhold Hanning.
Both were convicted of participating in mass murder at the age of 94, but died before going to prison.
Recently, former SS guard Bruno Dey was convicted last year at the age of 93 and sentenced to two years of probation.
In addition, in the northern German town of Itzehoe, a 96-year-old secretary of a former Nazi concentration camp was arrested. On trial Complicity for the murder.
She ran away dramatically before the trial began, but was caught a few hours later. Her trial will resume on October 19.
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