German woman, 91, is charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder

[Tallguy88]

German woman, 91, is charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder as prosecutors accuse her of being a Nazi SS radio operator who served in Auschwitz

A 91-year-old woman has been charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations she was a member of the Nazi SS who served in Auschwitz, German prosecutors claim.

Schleswig-Holstein prosecutors' spokesman Heinz Doellel said Monday the woman is alleged to have served as a radio operator for the camp commandant from April to July 1944.

Prosecutors argue that the accused, whose name wasn't disclosed due to German privacy laws, can be charged as an accessory because she helped the death camp function.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Nazi-SS-radio-operator-served-Auschwitz.html

 

[MehGuy]

She should get seven months of house arrest. Make her wear one of those tracking bracelets on her ankle.

 

[brinny]

Why now?

Not sure if this very same thing going after this woman can possibly be used in other forms of accessory to mass murders...have they thought about that? (I can elaborate if you wish).

 

[Nithavela]

German courts have established that anyone helping out in the concentration camps, even those that did seemingly harmless things (like watching over bagagge or cooking for the guards), can be tried and judged for accessory to murder. The reason for this is because individual guilt is hard to pin down in such a large scale case of mass murder, comitted by thousands of people.

 

[seashale76]

This would have been more appropriate, oh, say, seventy years ago. Germany has more problems these days than dealing with 91-year-old women.


ETA- to change seventy-five to seventy- as someone pointed out. Math isn't my thing.

 

[heatedmonk]

A 91 year old radio operator.

That's desperate.

German woman, 91, is charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder as prosecutors accuse her of being a Nazi SS radio operator who served in Auschwitz



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Nazi-SS-radio-operator-served-Auschwitz.html

 

[JCFantasy23]

It is strange on how long they waited.

 

[brinny]

It is strange on how long they waited.

I agree.

 

[Jesus' Follower]

The world has more pressing issues than this 91 year old lady.
What is she going to do now at this age, set-up Nazi 2?
It'll be pointless doing anything now...too much time has passed.

 

[brinny]

A 91 year old radio operator.

That's desperate.

Strangely, that's the same word that came to mind for me.

Except for this:

"Say what"?

 

[brinny]

The world has more pressing issues than this 91 year old lady.
What is she going to do now at this age, set-up Nazi 2?
It'll be pointless doing anything now...too much time has passed.

i agree.

 

[mindlight]

This would have been more appropriate, oh, say, seventy-five years ago. Germany has more problems these days than dealing with 91-year-old women.

I have met some of these old people living in Germany. You would have thought that it was so long ago that who cares. But some still carry the horrors of those times with them and their frail old bodies cannot conceal the ugly violence inside them still and the guilt that remains. Some of these people are really nasty pieces of work. Germany is coming to the end of this process cause most of them are dead now but while they still remain it remains an important feature of a national cleansing process to bring them to justice. Mercy does triumph over judgment but only with genuine repentance.

 

[abysmul]

So is she somehow absolved of her guilt because she's old, or because the crime happened x# of time units ago?

 

[Jesus' Follower]

So is she somehow absolved of her guilt because she's old, or because the crime happened x# of time units ago?

Not at all, however it is not worth charging her now, she's at that age where her time is limited.
What's throwing her in jail going to accomplish?

 

[brinny]

I have met some of these old people living in Germany. You would have thought that it was so long ago that who cares. But some still carry the horrors of those times with them and their frail old bodies cannot conceal the ugly violence inside them still and the guilt that remains. Some of these people are really nasty pieces of work. Germany is coming to the end of this process cause most of them are dead now but while they still remain it remains an important feature of a national cleansing process to bring them to justice. Mercy does triumph over judgment but only with genuine repentance.

Corrie Ten Boom may disagree with you. (Ask me why.)

 

[brinny]

Not at all, however it is not worth charging her now, she's at that age where her time is limited.
What's throwing her in jail going to accomplish?

i agree.

 

[Hetta]

So is she somehow absolved of her guilt because she's old, or because the crime happened x# of time units ago?

ITA. All should stand trial that they can find for the evil they perpetrated. IDC whether she's 100 years old, she should not die in the kind of comfort that she helped to destroy for all of those millions of victims of the Nazi regime.

 

[brinny]

So is she somehow absolved of her guilt because she's old, or because the crime happened x# of time units ago?

To not participate when asked by the Nazi regime meant punishment and/or death. In addition there was much deceit and many did what they were told because they were possibly mis-informed or told that it is the duty of a good citizen (without being given many details).

 

[Jesus' Follower]

To not participate when asked by the Nazi regime meant punishment and/or death. In addition there was much deceit and many did what they were told because they were possibly mis-informed or told that it is the duty of a good citizen (without being given many details).

Agreed.

 

[KwanLove]

The justice of the law means that you're supposed to be tried for your crimes no matter how old you are. Theoretically, we are all equal in the eyes of the law (after reaching the legal age of adulthood) and can be brought to justice for crimes if there is no statute of limitation for your crime. If her age has caused dementia or another mental handicap that makes her unable to stand trial, then that is another issue entirely.