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Holocaust trial: Former Stutthof guard to go on trial in Germany | Holocaust trial: Former Stutthof guard to go on trial in Germany |
(about 11 hours later) | |
A 93-year-old man will go on trial in Germany on Thursday for crimes of complicity in mass murder at a Nazi death camp during World War Two. | A 93-year-old man will go on trial in Germany on Thursday for crimes of complicity in mass murder at a Nazi death camp during World War Two. |
Bruno Dey is accused of contributing to the killings of 5,230 prisoners between 1944 and 1945 in the Stutthof camp in what is now northern Poland. | Bruno Dey is accused of contributing to the killings of 5,230 prisoners between 1944 and 1945 in the Stutthof camp in what is now northern Poland. |
Mr Dey has admitted serving there and having knowledge of atrocities being carried out at the camp. | Mr Dey has admitted serving there and having knowledge of atrocities being carried out at the camp. |
But the former guard said he was not complicit in any murders. | But the former guard said he was not complicit in any murders. |
The trial is likely to be one of the last against a former Nazi guard. | The trial is likely to be one of the last against a former Nazi guard. |
The hearings will be restricted to two-hour sessions of no more than twice a week, because of Mr Dey's ill health. | The hearings will be restricted to two-hour sessions of no more than twice a week, because of Mr Dey's ill health. |
Why now? | Why now? |
The prosecution alleges that Mr Dey - who was about 17 when posted to Stutthof - was one of the "cogs of the murder machine". | The prosecution alleges that Mr Dey - who was about 17 when posted to Stutthof - was one of the "cogs of the murder machine". |
German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that he is accused specifically of killing 5,000 people by creating and maintaining hostile conditions, 200 by gassing and 30 using a Genickschussanlage - a device for surprise executions with victims shot in the back of the neck. | German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that he is accused specifically of killing 5,000 people by creating and maintaining hostile conditions, 200 by gassing and 30 using a Genickschussanlage - a device for surprise executions with victims shot in the back of the neck. |
The court will decide whether he "knowingly supported" the killing of Jewish prisoners in particular, as the prosecution alleges. | The court will decide whether he "knowingly supported" the killing of Jewish prisoners in particular, as the prosecution alleges. |
As he was not yet 21, Mr Dey will be tried in a juvenile court. | As he was not yet 21, Mr Dey will be tried in a juvenile court. |
Prosecutors only opened the case against Mr Dey in 2016, after investigators found SS clothing with his name and signature in the Stutthof archives. | Prosecutors only opened the case against Mr Dey in 2016, after investigators found SS clothing with his name and signature in the Stutthof archives. |
His trial comes after a landmark case that overturned a 1969 ruling that being a staff member at Auschwitz was not enough to secure a conviction. | His trial comes after a landmark case that overturned a 1969 ruling that being a staff member at Auschwitz was not enough to secure a conviction. |
Oskar Groening, known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz, was given a four-year prison sentence for being accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews in 2016, without evidence of involvement in a specific killing - a move hailed by Nazi hunters as a major shift. | |
But Mr Dey's advanced age could affect proceedings. Johann Rehbogen - also accused of complicity in mass murder at Stutthof - had his trial suspended in December 2018 after the 95-year-old was hospitalised. It is unlikely proceedings will be restarted. | But Mr Dey's advanced age could affect proceedings. Johann Rehbogen - also accused of complicity in mass murder at Stutthof - had his trial suspended in December 2018 after the 95-year-old was hospitalised. It is unlikely proceedings will be restarted. |
What was Stutthoff? | What was Stutthoff? |
Stutthof was set up in September 1939 east of Danzig - now the Polish city of Gdansk - as an internment camp in the wake of the Nazi invasion of Poland. It was officially designated a concentration camp in 1942. | Stutthof was set up in September 1939 east of Danzig - now the Polish city of Gdansk - as an internment camp in the wake of the Nazi invasion of Poland. It was officially designated a concentration camp in 1942. |
It was the first such camp built outside German borders in the war and the last to be liberated. Stutthof was liberated by the Soviet Army on 9 May 1945. | |
More than 65,000 people are thought to have died in the camp. Guards began using gas chambers in June 1944, while a number of forced labour factories were set up in the area to help make equipment for the Nazi war machine. | More than 65,000 people are thought to have died in the camp. Guards began using gas chambers in June 1944, while a number of forced labour factories were set up in the area to help make equipment for the Nazi war machine. |
There is evidence that Dr Rudolf Spanner used fat collected from human corpses at Stutthof to make soap. | There is evidence that Dr Rudolf Spanner used fat collected from human corpses at Stutthof to make soap. |