A Munich court today handed-down a 5 year suspended jail term to Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk also know as ‘Ivan the Terrible’ for his role in the murder of 28,000 prisoners.
The Globe and Mail:
Mr. Demjanjuk was found guilty of 28,060 counts of being an accessory to murder, one for each person who died during the time he was ruled to have been a guard at the Sobibor camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Presiding Judge Ralph Alt said the 91-year-old was a piece of the Nazis’ “machinery of destruction.”
“The court is convinced that the defendant … served as a guard at Sobibor from 27 March 1943 to mid September 1943,” Judge Alt said, closing a trial that has lasted nearly 18 months.
Mr. Demjanjuk sat in a wheelchair in front of the judges as they announced their verdict, but showed no reaction. He has denied the charges, but declined the opportunity to make a final statement to the court.
Mr. Demjanjuk’s son, John Demjanjuk Jr., said the defence would appeal. He asserted that “the Germans have built a house of cards and it will not stand for long.”
Charges of accessory to murder carry a maximum term of 15 years in Germany, which does not allow consecutive sentences for multiple counts of the same crime.
This conviction is part of a long and bizarre series of events. For a primer please visit the BBC profile of Demjanjuk.
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