Posted on 04/23/2015 7:42:28 AM PDT by Jan_Sobieski
A former Auschwitz guard being tried on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder has testified that it was clear to him Jews were not expected to leave the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland alive.
"I couldn't imagine that" happening, former SS Sgt. Oskar Groening told the Lueneburg state court on Thursday during the third day of his trial, the DPA news agency reported.
The 93-year-old's answer came in response to a question from attorneys representing Auschwitz survivors who have joined the trial as co-plaintiffs, as allowed under German law...
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
From what I can tell, there is little or no direct proof that Sgt. Groening killed anyone. They are having this “trial” to make an example out of him. Therefore it is a show trial. Sgt. Groening was 23 years old at the end of WWII in 1945. This is of course does not mean he did not commit any war crimes. He could have. The Nazis indoctrinated all of youth in Germany from 1933 on requiring the young to join the Hitler Youth, including the former pope. Sgt. Groening was only 11 years old when Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933. And no doubt for many years he was indoctrinated for many years and taught that Jews and Slavs were subhuman vermin. I would take all of this into account. Unless there is direct evidence against him, I would also take his advanced age under account as well. He is going to be judged anyways. Give it a rest and rest assured, he will be judged anyways. Dragging a 93 year old through a show trial like this makes no sense.
He previously requested transfer out of Auschwitz in ‘42 but was denied.
I also did not like them going after Demjanjuk, who was a captured Red Army soldier, given the choice to either work as a Camp Guard or get shot by the Germans.
Exactly.
youre certainly entitled to your opinion but at the time it was determined that anyone that volunteered to join the SS and was later involved in what the ss did in the camps was culpable. we’re not talking about conscripted standard army soldiers or even volunteer standard army soldiers. im not an expert but I know there were literally thousands of trials after the war of all levels of ss members. most served prison time and then went on to live their lives. the higher ranked ones or ones more directly involved in the murders were executed or given life sentences. in the 50’s through the 80’s these kinds of trials were commonplace. not so much now because obviously they have all died off.
many were caught in the years after the war but yeah most got away. it just wasn’t international headline news at the time when they did catch them. it is now because of the very fact that there are any even alive.
The "Nazi hunters" are running out of excuses to stay relevant and justify funding. The only former SS left alive at this point are in their 90's, and they were lowly privates or lieutenants in the war.
In five years, when the only people left to go after will be those who were children in the Hitler Youth, what will they do then?
they were the paratroopers right? I didn’t know that. all of them or just certain units?
This guy lived for decades after the war in obscurity, bringing attention to himself only when he started speaking out against the growing Holocaust denial movement.
The nazi’s were socialists.
Liberals today are different only in the speed of the killing. Difference between a socialist and a communist is communists are in a hurry.
obamacare is a way to denied care to millions resulting in the death of untold millions over the years. You may have read about Bill Gates desire to reduce the world’s population. In europe they use their socialized medicine to kill people. 80,000 were on a death list in England last year and who knows how many in prior years. They have a list of people who if they show up in a hospital they will be denied water and will die. Same if they call emergency, the ambulance will not ever arrive.
The guy was an SS sergeant,the SS members had to meet the political standards of the Nazi party.Plus,each and every one of them read Mein Kamph from cover to cover-they knew why they were there and what was expected of them.
Don't forget the Japanese, they were no pikers either.
Every former Nazi regardless of his/her function who were involved with the killing of millions of Jews and others need to be hunted down like the animals they were...
Age, health, status...does not matter...
There are no innocent Nazi’s...
Thank you, I was just getting ready to say the same...in some cases, the Japanese were far worse than the Nazis...
Taking POW’s and performing live vivisections without anesthesia, medical experimentations, etc...
Watched Unbroken last weekend, dear wife got to the point where she said she “really disliked” Watanabe...I told her that what was being shown was severly reduced in scale and scope of what actually occurred.
And “Bird” escaped justice as one of the top 40 most wanted Japanese war criminals...
OK Fine. Agreed there is no statute of limitations when it comes to murder. So what proof is there that he killed anyone?
Based in part on reading about this subject, it’s about politics...
Not about justice in any way, like is being exhibited with the SS and Nazis.
That’s ridiculous. The SS never recruited with “Hey, come join us and gas the Jews.” People join organizations like this for power and opportunity, no different than most members of the Communists in the USSR. I doubt many of them knew of what went on in the Gulags when they decided on joining the Gulags... etc, etc.
If you can prove this guy was involved directly in the killings or was in a position where he was ordering them fine, but that doesn’t sound remotely like what this guy was involved in, I haven’t heard any arguments even from the prosecution so far that link him in any way to anything other than being in the SS and stationed at a camp.
Unless they can, its nothing more than a circus/revenge and not justice.
Yes, yes, in a totalitarian system, everyone is guilty by association because of the actions of a few in charge.
What nonsense.
Unless they can tie this guy to actually killing, or being in a position to order it, this is about revenge not justice.
Why don’t you study a bit how the Nazis were organized,and how they operated.
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