Auschwitz guard, 93, charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

when they turn 93 years old

They probably got bravery badges of Stalin and were labelled national heroes for the genocide and slave labor they implemented in Siberia.

a reply to: douglas5

Yes... And false confessions have never happened in history. Ever. /Sarcasm

I think it's also a distraction to deflect from the current war crimes going on in Palestine.

a reply to: Swills

Oskar Groening of Hannover, Germany, has acknowledged that he was a guard at Auschwitz but said he did not personally commit any of the atrocities,

Yah, he just looked the other way. Heres a portion of a book about the SS guards at Auchwitz.

pages 275 and 277 in here…

The Camp Guards

originally posted by: Not Authorized
a reply to: douglas5

Yes... And false confessions have never happened in history. Ever. /Sarcasm

I think it's also a distraction to deflect from the current war crimes going on in Palestine.

And the James Holmes show is just about to start now , i wonder what the Boston bomber is being kept for

a reply to: Not Authorized

That thought crossed my mind as well.

The number of jews in Hungary before, during, and after the holocaust are the same....

Either way I might start caring when they own up for the Bolshevik massacres.

a reply to: douglas5

Is there something specific about that trial? I have not heard much about it.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Swills

Oskar Groening of Hannover, Germany, has acknowledged that he was a guard at Auschwitz but said he did not personally commit any of the atrocities,

Yah, he just looked the other way. Heres a portion of a book about the SS guards at Auchwitz.

pages 275 and 277 in here…

The Camp Guards

I would question the accuracy of this book you linked. If you read more than what you suggested it says that there were many foreign born people that were guards there and were members of the SS. This is wrong they only let people who could prove their German heritage to become members of the SS. If the author got something as common knowledge as that wrong then I would have to say the rest of the book should be questioned on how accurate it really is. This wouldn't be the first book written about the camps that later turned out to be a work of fiction.
Nazi Germany - SchutzStaffel SS

The SchutzStaffel or SS was formed in April 1925 as a section of the SA and functioned as a personal bodyguard for the NSDAP leader, Adolf Hitler. The SS was considered to be an elite force and membership was restricted to those who were pure Aryan Germans.

I feel that sentencing him to prison at this point would just be pointless. Obviously great atrocities were committed, and people should be held responsible, but given his age I think nothing productive would come of it. Obviously getting him off the street is no concern. Putting him in jail is not going to make him think about anything he hasn't already thought about over all these years. He's come to grips with what he did in one way or another, whether he is sorry or not. If he does feel bad about what he has done, prison won't change that. If he doesn't feel bad about his actions, prison won't change that either, not at his age. So the only reason to imprison him would be as a punishment, but after all these years I don't see the point.

I will tread lightly here, but I want to bring up a point that I've often thought about. Everyone wants to condemn the actions of Nazi soldiers in general, which is understandable considering these actions were sometimes atrocious. However, I have a feeling that all of these people think that they would act differently in such a situation, while I postulate that many of those who condemn such actions would be right there in the thick of it if they were in the same position. This goes mainly for those who truly were following orders, not those actually making the decisions. If everything you know in life exists within a system such as that present in Nazi Germany, whether you live or die comes down to your obedience to the system. I think the majority of people would choose to keep their own life and do what they are told. In fact, I am quite convinced of this.

This doesn't mean the actions are justified by any means, which I want to make explicitly clear. History has shown that all peoples are capable of committing atrocities, and I don't think modern humans are any different. Human nature itself hasn't really changed. And deplorable actions of a violent nature probably become easier with time. And then there is the fact that within a group, such as the military, the presence of your comrades actually works kind of like a peer pressure type motivator. People are often natural followers.

You also must understand the Nazi rise to power initially. Roughly half of the German population did not support Hitler's coming to power, yet after attaining power one of his first acts was to make sure there was no opposition. This is something all modern citizens of the world should understand, as a similar situation could easily repeat itself in the future, especially if a country becomes unstable and the people are looking for a way back to prosperity, which is what Hitler played on to gain the support of maybe half of the population or so. So those in power will make examples of those who will not cooperate, and it doesn't take long before those people with "moral values" quickly lose them. So all I am saying is that, while such actions cannot be ignored, people should realize that the majority of the people claiming they would never participate in such violent acts actually would, whether they realize it now or not. Hopefully such scenarios will never arise in any advanced nation.

Anyway, my initial point was simply that people are imprisoned for multiple reasons. For one, isolating them from the general population keeps them from violating the population with their crime. Obviously this is not a concern in this case. Another reason is to punish them for their actions. This punishment comes in two forms. The criminal has lots of time to think about what they have done, as they are constantly reminded that they are in prison and that they are there for a reason. The other punishment is keeping them from living a normal life. The person in this case has already thought about his actions I'm sure, and has come to terms with them in one way or another. Thus prison is not likely to make him consider that what he did was wrong. He has already made up his mind regarding his actions. And the last punishment, keeping him from living his life normally...well it is a little late for that considering he is at the tail end of his life. Thus the punishments don't really make sense.

Then there is the idea that prison acts as a deterrent, and although I think this is a violation of a person's rights considering it has no bearing on their particular case, in this instance who are we trying to deter? All of the other Nazis working in concentration camps? So my point is that prison doesn't seem like a logical option at this point.

Hopefully Netanyahu will be charged waaaaay before hes 93...for all the atrocities HE'S responsible for.

a reply to: Swills

300,000 in 30 days? That's 10,000 per day out of one camp seems a little high to me.

originally posted by: guitarplayer
a reply to: Swills

300,000 in 30 days? That's 10,000 per day out of one camp seems a little high to me.

Yeah, it seems bloody stupid if you ask me..



Don't know how accurate those are but if so, the Germans were on Speed.

a reply to: VoidHawk

For the sake of humanity we should.

But someone needs a promotion.

Welcome to the new world where promotions are more valuable then entire countries.

And generations...

300,000 in a month?

That's 10,000 a day...

I'm not too sure about the numbers imo...


Edit: someone has already said this...
Need to read threads before I reply!!!


At least I'm not alone in wondering!

After all these years it's good to know justice will always be one step behind these criminals...Hope for Bush and Blair still.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
I cant help but wonder what good this will do?
Ninety three years old? Whats the point other than revenge?

Shouldn't we move on?

Absolutely not.

Its important to hold these people accountable. Its important we remember that those who died have names and are not simply numbers.

a reply to: Xcathdra

When are they going to release ALL the names?

It's the golden calf and will never be allowed to be forgotten.

originally posted by: 200Plus
a reply to: Xcathdra

When are they going to release ALL the names?

It's the golden calf and will never be allowed to be forgotten.

Good question.. How accurate were Nazis records when it came to who they killed?

As for your last comment, say what you will, but we should never forget.