Tens of thousands of prisoners perished in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp before and during the Second World War.
A former security guard has to answer.
Neuruppin - 3518 - this is the number of murder cases for which a former concentration camp guard has to answer before the Neuruppin Regional Court in Brandenburg from October 7, 2021 because of his involvement. According to the indictment, the now 100-year-old defendant is alleged to have knowingly and willingly provided assistance to the cruel murder of camp inmates between 1942 and 1945 in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp under the leadership of the National Socialists near Berlin. It is about complicity in murder in 3518 cases.
The court has scheduled a total of 22 hearing days until January 2022.
The 100-year-old man is only partially able to negotiate, as an expert opinion stated.
Therefore it is only possible for him to take part in the negotiation for a few hours.
"That's why so many trial days have been set," said court spokeswoman Iris le Claire.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp: 100-year-old security guard in court
For the survivors of the camp inmates killed by the National Socialists, legal processing is important.
The central office of the state justice administrations for the investigation of National Socialist crimes, based in Ludwigsburg, investigates guards who are still alive.
If a former security guard is found, the procedure is passed on to the responsible public prosecutor's office.
But even then it is not certain that a trial will take place: Proceedings are repeatedly discontinued because the accused have died in the meantime or can no longer appear in court for health reasons.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp: Nazis imprison over 200,000 people
The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established on March 21, 1933 by a local SA standard in an empty factory building. According to the memorial site, more than 200,000 people were imprisoned there in the period before and during the Second World War between 1936 and 1945. Among the prisoners were political opponents of the Nazi regime, according to Nazi ideology "inferior" groups such as Jews, Sinti and Roma or "anti-social". Tens of thousands of prisoners perished there as a result of hunger, illness, forced labor, medical experiments and mistreatment or were victims of systematic extermination by the National Socialists. (marv / dpa)
