German court seeks to convict alleged Nazi camp guard

December 21, 2009
German court seeks to convict alleged Nazi camp guard

The accused Ohio resident stands trial once again. Photo: Al Jazeera

Elderly Ohio resident John Demjanjuk is being tried in Germany as an accessory to the murder of almost 28,000 Jews.

Prosecutors allege that he served as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

Today, relatives of those killed in the camp testified — including Paul Hellmann, who lost his father.

Do you support the prosecution of an apparently ailing, 89-year-old accused Nazi guard?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Please be respectful and on-point. Malicious or offensive comments will be deleted, and repeat offenders will be banned.

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Tags: concentration camp, Germany, Holocaust, How You See It, John Demjanjuk, Nazi

Comments

74 comments

#74

12/22/2009 :: 11:35:18 AM
VITO Says:

How ironic is it that a German (of all countries) court seeks to convict a Ukrainian for Holocaust crimes? Seems like it should be the other way around? Are the Germans trying to cleanse themselves of their own atrocities, by scapegoating a former Ukrainain prisoner of war? How come no Nazis in Germany were prosecuted by Germany only the shrill screams of the Ukrainian haters that desperately want another trial before all of the WWII suvivors are dead.

#73

12/22/2009 :: 11:31:16 AM
R. Schwartz Says:

If this man if found guilty in the accessory of murder of almost 28,000 Jews, then he should be punished accordingly. Age does not matter. Palestine does not matter. Only guilt in this charge. The end.

#72

12/22/2009 :: 11:28:41 AM
Marvin Says:

The Jewish Rabbis have exonerated and justified anything the Nazis did through their pronouncements of Jewish Ethics as codified in the TORAH. This is JUST TWO of MANY:
April 10, 2008
“All of the Palestinians must be killed; men, women, infants, and even their beasts.” This was the religious opinion issued one week ago by Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, director of the Tsomet Institute, a long-established religious institute attended by students and soldiers in the Israeli settlements of the West Bank. In an article published by numerous religious Israeli newspapers two weeks ago and run by the liberal Haaretz on 26 March, Rosen asserted that there is evidence in the Torah to justify this stand. Rosen, an authority able to issue religious opinions for Jews, wrote that Palestinians are like the nation of Amalekites that attacked the Israelite tribes on their way to Jerusalem after they had fled from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. He wrote that the Lord sent down in the Torah a ruling that allowed the Jews to kill the Amalekites, and that this ruling is known in Jewish jurisprudence.
Rosen’s article, which created a lot of noise in Israel, included the text of the ruling in the Torah: “Annihilate the Amalekites from the beginning to the end. Kill them and wrest them from their possessions. Show them no mercy. Kill continuously, one after the other. Leave no child, plant, or tree. Kill their beasts, from camels to donkeys.” Rosen adds that the Amalekites are not a particular race or religion, but rather all those who hate the Jews for religious or national motives. Rosen goes as far as saying that the “Amalekites will remain as long as there are Jews. In every age Amalekites will surface from other races to attack the Jews, and thus the war against them must be global.” He urges application of the “Amalekites ruling” and says that the Jews must undertake to implement it in all eras because it is a “divine commandment”.
Rosen does not hesitate to define the “Amalekites of this age” as the Palestinians.
AND ANOTHER:
Popular Rabbi’s Comments on Treatment of Arabs Show a Different Side of Chabad
By Nathaniel Popper
Published June 03, 2009, issue of June 12, 2009.
Like the best Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis, Manis Friedman has won the hearts of many unaffiliated Jews with his charismatic talks about love and God; it was Friedman who helped lead Bob Dylan into a relationship with Chabad.
But Friedman, who today travels the country as a Chabad speaker, showed a less warm and cuddly side when he was asked how he thinks Jews should treat their Arab neighbors.
“The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle),” Friedman wrote in response to the question posed by Moment Magazine for its “Ask the Rabbis” feature.
Friedman argued that if Israel followed this wisdom, there would be “no civilian casualties, no children in the line of fire, no false sense of righteousness, in fact, no war.”
“I don’t believe in Western morality,” he wrote. “Living by Torah values will make us a light unto the nations who suffer defeat because of a disastrous morality of human invention.”

#71

12/22/2009 :: 11:12:07 AM
VITO Says:

All Ukrainians are victims of the Soviet and Nazis regimes. The killing of
innocent Ukrainians committed by the Romanians, Hungarians /Nazis
satellites/, terrorizing by Polish Armia Krajowa and Red NKVD forces and
for what-Ukrainian Independence? Ukraine has become one of the world’s greatest
tragedies, a land in which the oppressors would allow ten million citizens
to starve to death 1923-24,1932-33 KOMZET OZET and 1954 where the native
language and religion would be outlawed, and where all kinds of
depredations and deportations to the Soviet slave labor camps.
The main piece of Soviet-provided evidence against J. Demianiuk was a
supposed identity card requested by Armand Hammer from KGB showing his name
and picture at the training camp for guards. The authenticity of the
document was challenged as it was apparent that the picture had come from
another document and that the card contained other inaccuracies.

You are prosecuting an innocent man and perpetuating the lies of the Former Soviet Union and present Russia.

#70

12/22/2009 :: 10:58:43 AM
Yehuda Says:

Ok but who is going to stop those Nazis and bring them to justice who kill Palestinian youth and harvest their organs? Dr. Yehuda Hiss the former head of the Abu Kabir forensic institute near Tel Aviv stated admitted as a matter of fact (The Guardian 21-12-09). However fantastically Israel’s health ministry stated “yes we did what we did but the guidelines at that time were not clear,” Hmm! So from the inception of Israel all the Palestinian children and youth murdered by Israeli soldiers were killed for their organs because there was no clear guidance on how to treat the corpses of Palestinian children and youth killed. Makes the Palestinian youth a bit leery to walk anywhere in the refugee camps in the knowledge some Israeli solder with a wish list from an Israeli hospital has them in his crosshairs – but they should not worry as he will be sure not to hit any of the salvageable organs. Just a quick shot to the head, rush to the hospital where they zip out the cornea, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas and skin for grafts and return him duly wrapped to his parents. So who what were the Nazis accused of again?

#69

12/22/2009 :: 10:35:08 AM
Solomon Says:

Jgarbuz – I am afraid you perpetuate the never ending story of Jewish victimization. Tim eto get off it. Its bad enough you demands for compensation from everyone and anyone just do not end. Why is money so important to you?

#68

12/22/2009 :: 10:33:05 AM
Solomon Says:

Ok but who is going to bring to justice the Nazis who perpetrated this crime and continue to do so with impunity. In this case the world has completely lost its moral compass. No wonder they want to tear us apart:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/21/israeli-pathologists-harvested-organs

#67

12/22/2009 :: 10:16:52 AM
Geeta Says:

In item # 62 Jon Gianstein Says:

#66

12/22/2009 :: 09:40:29 AM
Jerry Says:

John Demjanjuk was merely a low level Nazi SS guard(a volunteer prisoner)who used his bayonet to prod or force men, women and children into the gas chambers. Others in his position managed to escape. I guess he chose to stay.

#65

12/22/2009 :: 09:20:31 AM
Alan F. Says:

John Demjanjuk is a native Ukrainian who
immigrated to the United States in 1952
and is an alleged Nazi death camp guard at
Sobibor camp in Nazi occupied Poland.
Demjanjuk now faces the court in Munich,
after some 30 years of efforts to prosecute
him. This statement of fact should
accompany any mention that Demjanjuk was
“an Ohio resident” prior to being deported
from the United States to Germany to be
tried for 29,000 murders as a Nazi death
camp guard.

The fact the World Focus would ask a
question such as “should Demjanjuk be tried
for these crimes being an ailing 89-year
old” troubles me greatly. What does World
Focus imply by this question? Why doesn’t
World Focus ask the following question:
Did Demjanjuk give the ailing elderly
people, or the helpless young people or
any of the other (over) 29,000 men, women
or children who he is alleged to have
murdered a chance to live or not undergo
inhuman torture because of their personal
“condition” at the time of their murder?

Demjanjuk does not deserve either to live
in peace in Ohio or anywhere else, and
certainly does not deserve to have a quick
and easy death. He should be given a
treatment, in his being executed, in a
manner that exceeds what he did to each
of his victims that he tortured and killed
and the time it takes for him to undergo
his punishment should be extended over
the longest time period possible while
remaining in solitary confinement.

This episode will be the final chapter of
some 30 years of efforts to prosecute a
putative “man” who has been attempting to
hide from the world after perpetrating
countless horrible murders at the Nazi
death camp at Sobibor.

#64

12/22/2009 :: 07:45:45 AM
L.Mantee Says:

I fully support the prosecution and then recommend capital punishment for his crimes against humanity…

#63

12/22/2009 :: 07:44:44 AM
L.Mantee Says:

I fully support the prosecution and then recommend slow suffocation as his punishment for his crimes against humanity…

#62

12/22/2009 :: 07:13:42 AM
Jon Gianstein Says:

If he was who the directors of this sham say he is, and if he was guilty, the Mossad knew where he was all these years – he would have been liquidated. Israel does not care about world opinion.
John Demjanjuk is nothing but a propaganda tool to keep holocaust business in the spotlight and keep agencies around the world funded to “investigate” criminals – it’s all a sham. If he was guilty why did the Israeli courts find him not guilty? Because he was? No because it makes greater propaganda sense to keep him alive and in the news. All hear say evidence and doctored documents – by way of deception are the ends achieved.
How many Israeli “Defense Forces” soldiers have been brought to trial for genocide of the Palestinian people? Belgium tried to try the butcher Sharron for crimes against humanity and war crimes, only to have all the “Free” countries in the West threaten to have the court pulled from its Belgium. And oh how convenient the prime witness, the Christian militia leader who took orders from Heir Sharron was assassinated
And what does accessory to murder mean, he was forced, assuming it was him, to be a guard – guard these prisoners or you will be killed – you make the choice.
This would set precedence for all the enhanced interrogations that resulted in murder for the soldiers and CIA handlers in the “war on terror” – but they didn’t get the right training is the story I hear.

#61

12/22/2009 :: 04:17:39 AM
zangetsu Says:

the people who was or stil belive to be a nazzi is the right way should not be exicuted. yes they belittle jews its the same as white people and blacks. so why not give isriel a trail? becuase they to commit criminal acts against palistein.

#60

12/22/2009 :: 02:57:18 AM
Eugene Brown Says:

His age means nothing, what matters is establishing jutice and lableing him
a criminal if he is convicted.

#59

12/22/2009 :: 02:43:27 AM
Ben Benson Says:

There is no time limit on an injustice!

The beast on two legs must face the full consequences of the law!

#58

12/22/2009 :: 01:41:00 AM
JEB Says:

A criminal needs to pay for crimes commited regardless of his age.

#57

12/22/2009 :: 01:15:17 AM
S. Crawford Says:

Demjanjuk aside, there is a wider issue here. People at all levels need know that if they participate in crimes against humanity and/or genocide the world will come after them, tirelessly and relentlessly–no matter how long it takes. Robert Mugabe, are you listening?

#56

12/22/2009 :: 01:01:05 AM
Alix Says:

It is obscene to still keep persecuting elderly people– enough with this relentless revenge 60 years after the fact–instead let’s bring to justice the perpetrators of today’s inhumanities as they go free in Israel, Darfur, Rwanda —

#55

12/22/2009 :: 12:53:32 AM
B. Kelly Says:

If there is solid evidence against him, then he should definitely be tried, as anyone who has committed war crimes should be.

#54

12/22/2009 :: 12:53:31 AM
Alan Says:

This only shows that the people putting and old and sick man through this are no better that the guards at Auschwitz themselves and they are just as hateful and vicious as the Guards at the concentration camps. What are they trying to prove?

#53

12/22/2009 :: 12:01:46 AM
Anne Says:

He deserves only the same mercy he gave as a guard. (Oh wait, I think that was… none!)
At least he is out of the U.S. Hopefully never to return

#52

12/21/2009 :: 11:55:05 PM
Raul Rivera Says:

if he did the crime then hang him high!

#51

12/21/2009 :: 11:52:16 PM
kk hla Says:

Was his case not brought up in the Israeli Supreme Court which declared him NOT GUILTY??????.

#50

12/21/2009 :: 11:45:13 PM
aniela Says:

I have been reading these comments, everyone is for justice, but you are all hypocrits. I would love each and everyone of you be in the situation he was put in during the time of war. Then stop killing the Palestines. Let them live in there homelands….

#49

12/21/2009 :: 11:36:29 PM
singh Says:

As the saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied”, and i say even if its delayed for whatever reason it shouldn’t be denied. Putting him on the trial not only sends a strong message but also strengthens our basic trust in democracy and judicial system.

#48

12/21/2009 :: 11:33:38 PM
frank Says:

The Israeli court that overturned John Demjanjuk’s conviction is to be commended. They chose justice over a justifiable desire for vengeance. If reasonable evidence establishing his identity as “Ivan the Terrible” now exists, he should certainly be tried. If not, further persecution of this man is anything but just.

#47

12/21/2009 :: 11:23:33 PM
Ann Tares Says:

I remember when Eichmann was executed someone asked why we didn’t instead study him to learn more about what makes a human being become an obedient mass murderer and whether there are ways to stop that behavior.

#46

12/21/2009 :: 10:58:20 PM
Myra Davis Says:

It is a disgrace that this man has been allowed to
live in peace and tranquility in the United States. He is old, but he is a guilty murderer.
I have read of him, off and on, for years.

#45

12/21/2009 :: 10:51:40 PM
Mark Says:

If convicted beyond the shadow of a doubt, then he must do the time, he did the crime. That should be the way it is with any criminal.

#44

12/21/2009 :: 10:15:31 PM
Beverly Says:

If you did the crime, especially murder, then you must do the time no matter how much time has passed, how old you are, or how sick. In this particularly horrendous mass murder case, justice and revenge should be sought.

#43

12/21/2009 :: 09:55:37 PM
SaraA Says:

He should be tried and then next the Israeli politicians who commit inhumanities against Palestinians should be tried next. Justice is for all – not just Jews.

#42

12/21/2009 :: 09:41:09 PM
Alise F Says:

How dare you even consider to let the atrocities this man committed go unpunished. The saying that came out of the Holocaust was “Never Again”. We cannot lose sight of the horrors committed under the Nazi’s reign. Being old and sick was never a choice given the millions of Holocaust victims that were sentenced to death as they stood on train platforms. In a week when the sign over Auschwitz was stolen and vandalized, and half the world doubts that the Holocaust even occurred, this man should be tried. He’s been married, had children, and probably danced at their weddings. Let them know what it’s like to wonder if he’ll ever come home again.

#41

12/21/2009 :: 09:39:18 PM
Jacob Says:

Even considering Project Paper Clip, where the CIA hired over 4000 Nazis like Klause Barbie (Butcher of Lyon, France’s number one wanted war criminal, killed and tortured thousands, let him retire to Bolivia) and Arthur Rudolph (sent 20,000 Jews to their death making V2 rockets deep in the ground), I still have to say he must be put on trail.

#40

12/21/2009 :: 09:11:57 PM
Richard Morris Says:

Trying Demjanjuk gains us nothing. Once again we advertize our hypocrisy. It’s as if Japan was trying a crew member of Enola Gay for killing a million Japanese men,women and children by dropping an atom bomb on Hiroshima.Best forgotten, move on.

#39

12/21/2009 :: 08:56:13 PM
leslie preger Says:

His role in the atrocities, guilty or innocent has to be estgablisehed by trial.Age is irrelevant. As a matter of holocausst protocol , Jews and others of his age were to be killed . The form of question is in itself, disingenuous ,you may as well ask since he has led an exemplary life in the US , is this a reason for forgiveness. He was kind to his children, Hitler was kind to his dog.The trial in Israel has no relevancy to this trial. He was exonerated from being Ivan the Terrible, this is not an issue in the current matter . In many war crimes the alleged Nazi perpetrators have been released for lack of ABSOLUTE
proof. I hope this does not happen this time. Beyond reasonable doubt should be sufficient. Similar trials have not prevented postwar genocide. The trials have shown that passage of time does not bring indemnity.Leslie Preger, Col USAR (retd), Clinical Professor Univ fo Calif San Francisco (Retd)

#38

12/21/2009 :: 08:50:31 PM
Daryl Sande Says:

There is no such thing as a statute of limitations on murder. “Following orders” has been repudiated as a defense. If found guilty, he must be sentenced; if found not guilty, set free. Age or chronic illness are not reasons to avoid trial. I am surprised his counsel hasn’t tried ‘diminished capacity’ or ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ as a defense, but I guess rolling the dice on this one is as good a defense as any….

#37

12/21/2009 :: 08:49:59 PM
Kabash Says:

I was drafted into the army durring the Korean war, and had to do as commanded or be court- martialed. I am Jewish and regret with much pain the mass murderes, but I think this chap has gone through quite enough already. He should be returned to the US and forget the whole matter.The trial is just throwing good money after bad. After all we are supposed to be a light unto mankind.

#36

12/21/2009 :: 08:45:03 PM
John H Gruver Says:

I do not believe there should ever be a statute of limitations or a perpetrator age limit for crimes against humanity. This man should be tried, and if found guilty, made to pay the maximum penalty – whatever that is currently. If he’d been tried and found guilty in 1946, he’d have been hung.

#35

12/21/2009 :: 08:44:15 PM
Peter M. Olsen Says:

The holocaust didn’t just happen then it reoccurs
periodically in every society on this planet. It was a terrible thing and those responsible should be punished. But, also those who granted those criminals a safe harbor should stand before a judge and jury. What ablout all those high Nazi officials who were imported into the U.S. to help fight the communists. Are they less guilty?
What will be proven by sentencing that one guard? Let him die in his memory and misery of what he did! Let God judge him!
I think we could take a lesson from Mandela. He forgave a whole nation and now they are living united and at peace with one another. I lived and worked in West GErmany for 27 years and I met and knew many, many Germans. I was resdented by some as an American and I would have returned the resentment, but I never met or talked with anyone who may have known what was going on during Hitler’s reign. I was discriminated against almost daily but I managed to survive and I forgave my mental tormentors. I still harbor some resentment but I don’t care anymore.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND PEACE ON EARTH!

#34

12/21/2009 :: 08:40:03 PM
RJK Says:

Too many war criminals are never found, tried, convicted or required to “pay” for their misdeeds and crimes against humanity. Unlike his victims, Demjanjuk has lived out a comfortable life. If convicted, Demjanjuk should pay his debt to society. Even in prison, I’m sure he’ll live a relatively royal lifestyle compared to the way he and his Nazi cronies treated THEIR prisoners. Demjanjuk’s age and physical condition should not be a consideration in whether or not he should be prosecuted. If convicted, he’s lucky to have enjoyed so many years free to go wherever he wanted and to start and later to enjoy his family.

What is disturbing is how Demjanjuk got into the United States under false pretenses, how long it took to prosecute Demjanjuk and how they waited till survivors of the camp where he was a guard were either dead or two old themselves and their memories will be questioned by the defense. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that Demjanjuk will not be convicted and justice will not be served.

Unfortunately, there are too many people in the world like “Edward” who is sadly ignorant of the greater world. My guess is that if his people were in a persecuted group he’d feel differently and be a more compassionate human being. It appears that Edward’s offensive comments (formerly commenter #7) were deleted.

#33

12/21/2009 :: 08:24:39 PM
Jerry Says:

What does George Lewycky think that these “low level” volunteer Ukrainian SS Guards did at these extermination camps? They used their bayonets to force or prod women and children into the gas chambers! Oh, no harm done to anybody?

#32

12/21/2009 :: 08:21:51 PM
Mike Gluck Says:

I cannot understand why John Demjanjuk was not retried in Lebanon. it sound like they didn’t have enough evidence to find him guilty.
Some of the inmates haven’t seen him for over 50 years how can thety be sure they have the right guy? If found guilty without any doubt. He sould me imprisoned for the rest of his life.

#31

12/21/2009 :: 08:21:29 PM
Mina Says:

I totally agree with you, Rocky (#12). He should be tried. Why should his illness, age, or whatever other reasons, should make no diffrence in trying him? The innocent Holocaust victims were killed by this murderer regardless of their age, illness or whatever.

#30

12/21/2009 :: 08:16:03 PM
michael Says:

This whole nazi/holocaust/anti german nonsense has gone on far to long. This man was put on trial by Israel years age and found NOT GUILTY. The U.S. Justice Dept. would not allow him back because it would expose that the Office of Special Investagations, headed by eli rosenbaum, deported the wrong man and are unwilling to admit it. So, now the Germans are being pressured by the U.S. to put on this show trial to appease the jews. The war ended 64 years ago. GET OVER IT.

#29

12/21/2009 :: 08:10:29 PM
Aniela Puzyk-Makohon Says:

I am appalled with the hypocracy of world politics. Lots of documents were found on John Demjanjuk thrown into garbage bins by state or dept. of justice or whomever,what was the purpose? Surely , not to help him? If, people look into history why he was taken into the German army ? The Akcia Visla Treaty would give people a whole lot of information why these people where put into situations.. Most of the German Reich supposedly killers were not killed or deported or sent to prison , but let go. America and England allowed the Russian “Stalin” to take Poland and reshift groups of people. My father and his siblings were forced out of there homelands to a sub-camp of Auschwitz in Germany called Jaworzno. Most men of that region were taken into either the german , polish or russian armies to fight. These people were a small minority of the area, and there asses got kicked. Not only that they were all deported and told to leave there homelands. I am a result of that deportation, and no one speaks of the autrosities that really incurred on these people. The Demjanjuk case has been torturing this man since the late 80’s and most the German Reich generals and killers were let free. This man by no means was a killer. He is another statistic everyone wants to crucify. The people exported from ancestral grounds were not given any monies for there homelands? Why does not anyone really understand who were the victims and who were the killers. My ancesters lived since the 1700’s in Eastern Europe , neither my family or me have any rights… So were is the justice ? The Treaty signed “Operation Visla”.

#28

12/21/2009 :: 08:04:09 PM
Max Graham Says:

Yes. There has to be a reckoning. It used to be that the ultmata reckoning was god’s final judgment. In this postmodern society this is dismissed. Therefor man must judge and seek retribution or there is no accountability for our actions. Time and his age are not the issue

#27

12/21/2009 :: 07:57:45 PM
Tim Says:

Nations and international law do not contain pardons and exceptions from crimes against humanity due to age and health status. Think about how very bizarre your question is. Your question is flawed on its face because its premise is that it may be acceptable to exempt from prosecution those who are aged and infirm.

That is a false premise in the legal sense.

Not prosecuting those guilty of crimes against humanity,like Demjanjuk, would send abosolutly the wrong signal to mass murderers and terrorists.

I am a little surpirised Israel has been so patient. It would have been more practical for Mousad to grab Demjanjuk and be done with it.

#26

12/21/2009 :: 07:54:16 PM
Suzanne Says:

He should be tried and gassed

#25

12/21/2009 :: 07:40:24 PM
yousryamin Says:

no ,they should not presceuted because of his age and this crime is too old . If the jew want prescuate him ,they should prescuate Sharon for his war crime in Lebanon

#24

12/21/2009 :: 07:38:28 PM
RobertCummins Says:

I have some doubt of the integrity of such a trial given the age of the individual and the ability of obtaining certainty of witnesses in their testimony.

#23

12/21/2009 :: 07:32:26 PM
Ken Maltz Says:

When his alleged victims include infants, children, the elderly and infirm, to ask what is to be gained by the prosecution of this elderly and infirm man is superfluous. Any harm incurred by him as a result of this prosecution is but a small fraction of the suffering he inflicted upon others; however, unlike his victims, his treatment is well-deserved.

#22

12/21/2009 :: 07:30:46 PM
Rafetto Says:

If, in fact, he was a guard in a concentration camp, he should punished. The age is irrelevant. If your parents were gassed in Auschwitz you would not ask this kind of inane question. Does the word “justice” means anything?

#21

12/21/2009 :: 07:27:11 PM
Debra Vales Says:

I hope and pray for the recovering health for Demjanjuk, and that he may live a long, long life. And I hope he is sentenced for life in prison.

#20

12/21/2009 :: 07:26:55 PM
Ivri Anochi Says:

Demjanjuk eagerly volunteered to be a guard at Trawniki and Oswiecim. He lied about his past. He must be tried for genocide and crimes against humanity in order that like-minded murderers may know that there is no time limiting their punishment. Regrettably, Germany has no death penalty. That is what he deserves. His ashes should be scattered in the Rhine and his name should be likened to Hitler as an historic monster. He drank anti-Semitism from the milk of his Ukrainian mother and it infected his body and soul. Death to him and all former and neo-Nazis. Free the world of terrorists and hate-mongers. Let justice reign supreme. In God we trust.

#19

12/21/2009 :: 07:26:33 PM
Dorn :L Says:

What a pity that Daljit Daliwal stated the question as such a leading question.

When General Pinochet was tried outside of Chile for crimes committed in Chile, as an old man, the same question could be posed.

The same could be asked of the recent trial of the old man who was guilty of helping murder those African American children decades ago.

#18

12/21/2009 :: 07:17:26 PM
Marion Cronin-Leibowitz Says:

No one was forced to do what this man did just to get extra food rations when he was a prisoner. I am not jewish but I believe this Ukrainian was anti-jewish as most people from East European countries were at that time. He lived a full life with his wife and his American children–a life which was denied to the millions of Nazi victims. He probably thought that he had gotten away with it especially after he was released by the Israelis for lack of evidence a few years ago.
I also recommend putting him in a cell in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. I do have some pity for his children who had no idea what he had done in WWII and I know they don’t want to believe it.
Finally, commenter #7 is vindictive,ignorant & should learn to spell or type correctly!!

#17

12/21/2009 :: 07:05:09 PM
George Lewycky Says:

I speak as a Christian survivor, as an infant, of the German Holocaust. Some 13,000,000 non-Jews were also murdered by the Germans.

This show trial, continues decades of what can only be described as the on-going torture of a now dying very old man; a man that there is absolutely no proof of that that he ever harmed anyone.

Past actions were based on fake KGB documents and phony legal actions by the U S OSI that were condemned by a federal asppeals judge. He was acquited of all charges by the Israeli Supreme Court, including those of having ever been at Sobidor.

#16

12/21/2009 :: 07:02:31 PM
Max K Liebmann Says:

Of course, he should be tried. He was part of vast
vast murdering machine.

#15

12/21/2009 :: 06:51:12 PM
M Will Says:

Yes he should be tried – for the people that survived and live every day with nightmares, for people that are dead and for all the children that didn’t have any family but most of all for all the Holocaust deniers. You just have to read “edward Says:” above and wonder if anything was learned and if things changed.

#14

12/21/2009 :: 06:46:15 PM
Ian Caplan Says:

I agree 100 %with ED #7. He was a soldier. He was taking orders. If you are a member of US army you are ardered to front line and u disobey orders, what would happen to you? You may be awarded a purple heart? How about millions of native Americans had been killed by our ancestors?
Jews are enjoying the genereous of USA help. But, that will end one day. Then what?

#13

12/21/2009 :: 06:46:04 PM
TomVA Says:

Would you ask the same question if he had committed these crimes last year?
Would you prosecute Hitler if he were still alive?

#12

12/21/2009 :: 06:33:14 PM
Rocky Says:

He has lived a full life surviving millions of Jewish adults and children, gypsies, Poles, cripples, gays, professors, priests and dissidents he helped put to death. Please note, we are not asking to put him to death;, gassed, shot, hung, tortured, experimented on, tattooed, gold teeth pulled, head shaved, starved, worked to death, and/or raped. We are asking for justice and justice is served when his life ends in a cell…ALONE with his conscience..if he has one.

#11

12/21/2009 :: 06:30:03 PM
jacquie gordon Says:

I see no reason to excuse him because of his age. IF he is tried and found guilty,the crime is the crime, the sentence is the sentence and in this rare case, (and though it is hard for me to admit), I would support a sentence
of prompt execution by hanging. God forgive me.

#10

12/21/2009 :: 06:27:47 PM
Truthspeaker Says:

I absolutely support his prosecution. He has lived many good years. So many victims of the Nazis did not have the opportunity to grow old.

If he is found guilty he should get the maximum penalty provided in the law. He should get no allowances due to his age.

12/21/2009 :: 06:26:41 PM
Chuckles Says:

Not sure if this trial will serve any purpose. He’s just a low level prison guard following orders.
At the end WW 2, Stalin proposed executing 50,000 German Army officers. Winston Churchill was strongly opposed to this idea. I think Churchill got it right.

12/21/2009 :: 06:25:39 PM
rose Says:

My parents are both holocaust survivors,aged 85 and 84. They remember and still suffer the abuse that was visited upon them by the Nazis. Not a day goes by ever, not a moment….when something does not remind them of what they have gone through and all the family members they lost because of Hitler and his Nazis. So, of course he should be tried, convicted when found guilty and punished by taking his life.

12/21/2009 :: 05:59:10 PM
natalie sandler Says:

The way your question is posed is revealing. Would you ask the same question if the murderer of Martin Luther King were brought to justice fifty years later, or the slayer of the three civil rights workers? I don’t think so.

12/21/2009 :: 05:38:13 PM
Helen Says:

It is probably necessary and just for this trial to happen especially because of the fact there are Holocaust deniers. He should have been tried by Germany before now, but the wheels of justice grind very slowly.

12/21/2009 :: 05:26:35 PM
jgarbuz Says:

I saw the trial of Demjanuk in Israel while I lived there in the mid 1980s and even briefly met his first lawyer. He was convicted, but the conviction was overturned when it was determined that he was MIS-identified as “Ivan the Terrible.” It became clear that he was not Ivan, but rather a different guard. So the conviction was overturned and he was released. But in the interim he had already served some years in an Israeli jail where my ex-wife was a social worker.
I myself am the “child” of Holocaust survivors so I have mixed feelings about it. I feel that this last trial of a murderer is mostly symbolic at this point. He’ll be dead very soon either way. But I don’t think he should have the luxury of dying peacefully at home surrounded by family. I think he should die as a prisoner the way his victims did. I could be wrong, but this is the way I feel. This is the last trial of a Nazi criminal, and so that is the fitting end – I think.

12/21/2009 :: 05:04:09 PM
Larry Says:

Yes, absolutely, he should be tried. IF found guilty, he has had a good life in the U.S……..which is a lot more than those whom he denied any life.

12/21/2009 :: 03:19:01 PM
The Melancholy Poet Says:

Look at his age (i.e. 89 years old)

…then, think (rationally):

Has this one Mortal, suddenly,
become, uniquely, Immortal that he
will (whether killed or not), himself,
(unlike many others) be able to refrain
from dying…
in any other time
than his appointed time?

As shall we all.

The answer is well known.
And one more death will not bring
back the many who have died.

This trial, then can only be, and is only,
for the living…
whose lives may have become
or, rather:
have long since been:
a trial…due, in part:
to this Mortal man.

12/21/2009 :: 02:56:49 PM
Brant Says:

Of course the guy should be tried !
If he was to be tried in Iran, he’d be elected to public after he got off !

12/21/2009 :: 02:44:55 PM
D Homan Says:

Yes, he should be tried. Why hasn’t that been done before now?

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