By Matthias Lukashevich
It is probably one of the last trials of the Nazi killing machine. One of the last chances for the few surviving victims to hope for justice…
After 34 days of negotiations, it is clear: concentration camp guard Josef S. (101) is guilty. The court ruled on Tuesday that he was sentenced to five years in prison.
For many days of the trial, the accused listened to the words of the victim’s attorney without emotion, almost indifferently. In his closing remarks on Monday, S. continued to protest his innocence. “I don’t know what I should have done at all,” said the 101-year-old. He comes from Lithuania and does not know what was discussed in the process. “I don’t know why I’m sitting here in the penalty box,” he lamented. “I have nothing to do with it.”
According to the indictment, S. is said to be jointly responsible for the murder and death of 3,516 prisoners in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Josef S. served there from October 1941 to February 1945.
► The public prosecutor had asked for five years in prison for the man. Co-plaintiff representative Thomas Walther pleaded for a prison sentence of several years, which should not be less than five years. Two other co-plaintiffs asked for a guilty verdict without naming a specific sentence.
► The defense attorney had demanded an acquittal for his client. Defense attorney Stefan Waterkamp said in his pleading on Monday that the 101-year-old could not have been shown to have acted as an accessory to the murder of thousands of camp inmates. According to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice, general activity in the security service of a concentration camp is not sufficient for a conviction for aiding and abetting.
S.’s defense attorneys have already announced an appeal for a sentence of imprisonment. In this case, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) would have to decide on legality or retrial – and that can take time!
In the process that has been ongoing since October last year, the 101-year-old has consistently denied that he worked in the concentration camp at all and stated that he worked as a farmhand near Pasewalk (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) during the period in question from 1942 to early 1945. However, the public prosecutor’s office bases its indictment on documents relating to an SS guard with the man’s name, date of birth and place of birth, as well as other documents.
The process was interrupted for a long time due to corona disease and an ulcer on the foot of the 101-year-old. Because of his advanced age, he was only allowed to negotiate for two to two and a half hours a day. For organizational reasons, the trial was conducted at the defendant’s place of residence in Brandenburg/Havel.