John
Demjanjuk, a 91-year-old former Ohio auto worker, was convicted
in Germany's Munich district court for contributing to the
death of thousands of Jews during World War II. But he was
freed due to his age and time served.
Berlin
In what could be one of the final lawsuits against Nazi war
criminals, the Munich district court today convicted John
Demjanjuk for his part in the Nazi killing machinery.
As a prison guard at the camp Sobibor in Poland, Mr. Demjanjuk, now 91, had been
a willing part in the mass murder of 27,900 Jews, said Judge
Ralph Alt.
Even though he was sentenced to five years in prison, Judge Alt ruled that Demjanjuk
should be freed because of his age and the two years he already
spent in custody.
Efraim Zuroff, who directs the Jerusalem
office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which has documented
Nazi atrocities and tracked down war criminals, says he was
thrilled when he heard the verdict, but deeply disappointed
when Demjanjuk was set free. “A terrible decision,” says
Mr. Zuroff. “He belongs in prison!”
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During World War II, the Ukrainian-born
Demjanjuk was drafted into the Soviet Red Army but was later
taken prisoner by the Germans, who in 1943 used him as an
auxiliary guard – a travniki – according to the prosecution.
He later emigrated to the United States, where he lived outside
Cleveland and retired after a career as an auto worker.
Demjanjuk’s defense attorneys deny
that he was ever at the Sobibor camp and say they'll appeal
today's decision.
The court did not find any evidence
that Demjanjuk played an active part in the killing of prisoners,
but followed the argument of the prosecution that anyone
who aided the Nazis at Sobibor was an accessory to mass murder.
This case is not the first time Demjanjuk
has been on the dock for murder. Two decades ago, Israel
sentenced him to death for having committed the most sadistic
atrocities as notorious prison guard “Ivan the Terrible”
at the Treblinka camp. Israel's Supreme Court overruled the
verdict after new evidence showed he had actually not been
at the camp.
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Demjanjuk had followed the trial in
silence, wearing sunglasses and watching mostly from a wheelchair,
sometimes even lying down. He didn’t show any reaction when
the sentence was read.
Charlotte Knobloch, former president
of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, sees the sentence as
proof of the trustworthiness of Germany’s judicial system.
“Munich has sent a clear message today,” she said. “The perpetrators
of the Holocaust will have to face justice.”
csmonitor.com
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