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Ex-Auschwitz guard talks of shame during trial over mass killings Ex-Auschwitz guard talks of shame during trial over mass killings
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A 94-year-old Auschwitz guard on trial in Germany has broken his silence to “apologise wholeheartedly” for playing a part in the mass killings at the concentration camp.A 94-year-old Auschwitz guard on trial in Germany has broken his silence to “apologise wholeheartedly” for playing a part in the mass killings at the concentration camp.
Speaking out for the first time after 12 days in court, ex-SS guard Reinhold Hanning told Detmold state court: “I deeply regret having been part of a criminal organisation responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people and destruction of countless families.” Speaking out for the first time after 12 days in court, the ex-SS guard Reinhold Hanning said: “I deeply regret having been part of a criminal organisation responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people and destruction of countless families.”
Talking with a weak voice into a microphone while seated in a wheelchair, Hanning said he was “ashamed that I watched on as injustice was being done and did nothing to stop it”. Talking in a weak voice into a microphone while sitting in a wheelchair, Hanning said he was “ashamed that I watched on as injustice was being done and did nothing to stop it”.
One of the Holocaust survivors who sat in the audience as the former guard spoke said he was dissatisfied with the apology: “That is not enough for me,” said 95-year-old Leon Schwarzbaum. “It may be the case that he is a different person now, but there is no apology for what happened then.” One of the Holocaust survivors who sat in the audience as the former guard spoke said he was dissatisfied with the apology. “That is not enough for me,” said 95-year-old Leon Schwarzbaum. “It may be the case that he is a different person now, but there is no apology for what happened then.”
Related: 'Your whole life is the Holocaust!' The woman who was born in AuschwitzRelated: 'Your whole life is the Holocaust!' The woman who was born in Auschwitz
Hanning stands accused of having played a part in the killing of at least 170,000 people imprisoned at Auschwitz concentration camp while working there as a guard between January 1943 and June 1944. Hanning stands accused of having played a part in the killing of at least 170,000 people imprisoned at Auschwitz concentration camp while working there as a guard between January 1943 and June 1944. More than 1.1 million people, mostly European Jews, were murdered in the Auschwitz camps during the second world war.
More than 1.1 million people, mostly European Jews, were murdered in the Auschwitz camps during the second world war. A 23-page statement read aloud to Detmold state court by the defence lawyer Johannes Salmen sketched out how a 13-year-old Hanning joined the Hitler Youth on the occasion of Adolf Hitler’s 46th birthday, on 20 April 1935. His stepmother, an impassioned national socialist, later encouraged him to join the SS, the Nazi party’s elite paramilitary organisation, rather than the armed forces of the Wehrmacht.
A 23-page statement read out by defence lawyer Johannes Salmen sketched out how a 13-year-old Hanning joined the Hitler Youth on the occasion of Adolf Hitler’s 46th birthday, on 20 April 1935. His stepmother, an impassioned national socialist, later encouraged him to join the SS, the nazi party’s elite paramilitary organisation, rather than the armed forces of the Wehrmacht. As a junior squad leader of the “Führer” SS regiment, Hanning served in France, the Netherlands and Russia before being moved to Auschwitz in January 1942, having been injured while fighting near Kiev.
As a junior squad leader of the “Der Führer” SS regiment, Hanning served in France, the Netherlands and Russia, before being moved to Auschwitz in January 1942, due to an injury obtained while fighting near Kiev. In his statement, Hanning insisted he was initially unaware of what kind of place he had been transferred to, but admitted he soon realised that the camp was used for mass killings.
In his statement, he insisted that he had initially been unaware of what kind of place he had been transferred to, but admitted that he soon realised the concentration camp was used for mass killings. “People were being shot, gassed and burned. I could see corpses being moving around and off the site, yes, one was aware of that. I noticed the smell of burning. I knew that corpses were being burned,” he said.
“People were being shot, gassed and burned. I could see corpses being moving around and off the site, yes, one was aware of that. I noticed the smell of burning. I knew that corpses were being burned,” he admitted.
“Of course I found out that trains arrived in Auschwitz crammed full of people. We were aware that the majority of people who arrived in the trains were killed.”“Of course I found out that trains arrived in Auschwitz crammed full of people. We were aware that the majority of people who arrived in the trains were killed.”
He said that no escapes were attempted under his watch, but that he would have made use of his weapon if people had tried to leave the camp. He said no escapes were attempted under his watch, but he would have made use of his weapon if people had tried to leave the camp.
In one instance, Hanning claimed to have personally delivered a letter to a prisoner’s wife while he was off duty. The former Auschwitz guard did not explain whether he read the letter before his delivery or whether he contacted the family after the war. At one point, Hanning claimed to have personally delivered a letter to a prisoner’s wife while he was off duty. The former Auschwitz guard did not explain whether he read the letter before his delivery or whether he contacted the family after the war.
Hanning said he had never spoken about his role at the concentration camp to his wife, his children or his grandchildren: “No one in my family knew that I was active at Auschwitz”. Hanning said he had never spoken about his role at the concentration camp to his wife, his children or his grandchildren. “No one in my family knew that I was active at Auschwitz,” he said.
Historically, the trial against Hanning is seen as part of a new wave of court cases against officers who worked at Nazi concentration camps. In a landmark trial in 2011, a Munich court found John Demjanjuk guilty of acting as accessory to murder of 28,060 Jews during his time as a guard at the Sobibór extermination camp, even though no direct involvement in the killings was proven during the trial. The trial of Hanning is seen as part of a new wave of court cases against officers who worked at Nazi concentration camps. In a landmark trial in 2011, a Munich court found John Demjanjuk guilty of acting as accessory to the murder of 28,060 Jews during his time as a guard at the Sobibór extermination camp, even though no direct involvement in the killings was proven during the trial.