Germany: 100-year-old suspected former Nazi camp guard charged with over 3,500 murders

A 100-year-old man has been charged in Germany by local authorities over allegations that he worked with Hitler's Nazi party during World War II and knowingly aided in at least 3,500 murders. According to reports, the man allegedly worked at the Sachsenhausen camp in Oranienburg, Germany between 1942 to 1945. Cyrill Klement, who led the investigation on behalf of Neuruppin prosecutors’ office, said the man was allegedly an enlisted member of the Nazi party's paramilitary wing - SS or Protection Squadron.

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The centenarian, whose identity has been kept secret due to privacy reasons, has been ruled fit by the authorities and is expected to stand trial in court. However, due to his old age, the man may have some concession in regards to the number of hours per day in court during the trial, among other things. The Neuruppin prosecutors were handed the case of the 100-year-old by the special federal prosecutor's office in 2019. 

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Conviction likely

The 100-year-old could face jail time if convicted, which seems highly likely because of the recent legal precedent set by German courts. In 2011, a German court convicted John Demjanjuk as an accessory to murder over allegations that he served as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland during Hitler's rule. In 2015, Oskar Groening was convicted as an accessory to murder over allegations that he served as a guard at Auschwitz camp. 

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Prior to 2011, German courts required prosecutors to provide concrete evidence to prove the direct involvement of the suspect in any murder during the Nazi party's rule. However, this always proved to be a Herculean task for the prosecutors who would often face difficulties establishing the case because of lack of evidence due to the passage of time and other reasons. 

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(Image Credit: AP)