GUILTY Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021

[Charlot123]

German court sets trial date for former Nazi guard, aged 100

A spokeswoman for the Neuruppin state court said Monday that the trial is set to begin in early October. The centenarian’s name wasn’t released in line with German privacy laws.

The suspect is alleged to have worked at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1942 and 1945 as an enlisted member of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing.

Authorities say that despite his advanced age, the suspect is considered fit enough to stand trial, though the number of hours per day the court is in session may have to be limited.

I am always thinking, how easy it is to blame them for being complicit, and where would we have been had we the misfortune of being born in their time, at that place?

No authoritarian regime can be established without approval of its citizens, but are there many ways to escape when the regime is established?

My great-grandfather, who joined the Bolshevik party before the revolution and did not like what he saw afterwards, found a good way to escape. He stopped paying party membership dues, systematically drinking them away. So he was shamed and kicked out of the party but never prosecuted… because he did not go against it.

I never met him. I admire him.

 

[Niner]

My parents were in Latvia when the Nazi came in, but when the Soviet Union came back in 1943 - they fled to Sweden in a small fishing boat. Thank goodness!!

 

[JerseyGirl]

Nazi war crimes suspect, 96, caught after fleeing trial
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/europe/german-96-year-old-nazi-intl-grm/index.html
The next hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19

Previously…

German 96-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect flees ahead of trial

A 96-year-old German woman fled ahead of her trial on Thursday on charges of aiding and abetting mass murder in a Nazi-run concentration camp during World War II, a court spokesperson said.

The defendant, whom Reuters named as Irmgard Furchner, is "on the run and has left her home residence in Quickborn this morning by cab in the direction of Ochsenhofer Nordenstadt," Frederike Milhoffer, spokesperson at the court in Itzehoe, near Hamburg,

 

[Cryptic]

A 96-year-old German woman fled ahead of her trial on Thursday on charges of aiding and abetting mass murder in a Nazi-run concentration camp during World War II, a court spokesperson said.

Wow, at 96 she is probably going to put more stress on herself via flight than if she had stayed around for the trial.

As a then 18 year old secretary with no guard role of any kind, let alone a documented history individual cruelty, I imagine her sentence would be entirely symbolic.

Just thinking about the "96" and "18 year old secretary" components of the case.....

Though I understand the need to respect the memory of the victims via prosecuting those who participated, the Germans only prosecuted a relatively small number of big fish, direct participants.

I could support the trial if she had been charged in a support role after she testified against her former boss.

I could also support it if prosecutors could say: "She was an 18 yr old secretary, but.... we just found evidence that she also took part in a speaking tour praising the camps and encouraging girls to volunteer as support staff"

But, there is apparently no evidence like that. The totality seems strange. I think there is a publicity seeking prosecutor at work.... .

 

[Charlot123]

It is political. I just looked at the polls. In general, there is a change

POLITICO Poll of Polls — German polls, trends and election news for Germany

But AfD, the alt-right party of Germany, got over 10%. Not that much, but measurable. And I think everyone is afraid of that trend. The two processes over the old Nazis, 96 and 101, are somehow, in my mind, linked to German elections.

This poor 96-year old secretary is probably less culpable that anyone who worked under the Nazi regime. When so many truly involved in Germany ruining Europe, and the Holocaust, died in own beds, it is a shame to persecute a 96-year old.

My example of hypocrisy is Albert Speer, the charming minister of labor of Hitler's Germany. Camps were run by his ministry, and they are now having evidence of him visiting at least two of them. (There are photos of him in Mauthausen, you can easily find them even on Wikipedia now).

After Nuremberg, he spent twenty years in Spandau prison, but on getting out, he became a rich man. On publications of his books and lectures. In US, there is a movie about him - "the Nazi who said, I am sorry".

Speer's ministry ran the camps with the infamous slogan "albeit Macht frei", where people died from cold and hold or were gassed and burned. And Speer died better than in own bed - he died in a 5-star hotel in London, with a young woman next to him.

So I support this 96-year old's flee. She didn't want to die in prison, only because at 18, she was a nazi secretary, and lived into 96. She didn't want to die as a criminal, she didn't want her family to be associated with a "Nazi criminal". The flight might shorten her days, but she will die free.

 

[Charlot123]

My parents were in Latvia when the Nazi came in, but when the Soviet Union came back in 1943 - they fled to Sweden in a small fishing boat. Thank goodness!!

In the museum of Riga, there was a map of old Hansa (Hanseatic League) cities, Riga and Novgorod among them. My husband asked the museum curator, "why didn't you stay with the Hanza?"

Riga was too far from Lubeck. This is how geography determines history.

 

[Cryptic]

When so many truly involved in Germany ruining Europe, and the Holocaust, died in own beds, it is a shame to persecute a 96-year old.

So I support this 96-year old's flee. She didn't want to die in prison....

I agree with you that given the totality of the circumstances, it is a shame to prosecute a 96 year old secretary with out aggravating evidence.

In fairness, however, it is very unlikely that she would have died in prison- or even served anytime in a prison. Elderly small fish, or in this very small fish enablers have gotten symbolic sentences.

For example, a then 17 year old ethnic Belarsusan conscript (parents had fled the Soviet's return and wound up in Germany) was recently given a suspended sentence for guarding concentration camp inmates making death marches.

The defendant had no history of SS ties and was assigned to a rear area "guard things" unit. After guarding bridges, rail lines etc. , his unit was suddenly ordered to guard columns of marching concentration camp inmates. None of the survivors had previously identified him as being individually cruel.

 

[Cryptic]

Evidently, she has been found.....

96-year-old woman who fled Nazi war crimes trial is found - CNN

 

[JerseyGirl]

A 100-year-old former Nazi guard has gone on trial, facing charges for 3,518 deaths

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, October 19th:
*Arraignment Hearing (@ am CEU) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Followed a five-year investigation. Because she was under 21 at the time of the offenses she is accused of, she would be tried in a juvenile court, where she is likely to receive a milder sentence. The woman worked between June of 1943 & April of 1945 as a secretary for the camp commander at the Stutthof camp, 20 miles from the Polish city of Gdansk, which was known as Danzig under German rule at the time. Prosecutors said that she had admitted that much of the correspondence related to the camp & many files crossed her desk & that she knew of some killings of inmates. But she maintains that she did not know that large numbers of the camp’s inmates were being killed by gas during the time she worked there. She has also said that her office window pointed away from the camp, so that she could not see what was going on, according to media reports. She testified in her boss' trial decades ago, said boss was convicted & incarcerated.
Trial was set to begin on Sept. 29, 2021 was vacated.
9/29/21 Update: A 96-year-old German woman fled ahead of her trial on Thursday on charges of aiding & abetting mass murder in a Nazi-run concentration camp during World War II & was caught hours after failing to turn up for her trial on Thursday. The defendant, whom Reuters named as Irmgard Furchner, is "on the run & has left her home residence in Quickborn this morning by cab in the direction of Ochsenhofer Nordenstadt," Frederike Milhoffer, spokesperson at the court in Itzehoe, near Hamburg. Next arraignment hearing on 10/19/21.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial Begins For Alleged Former Concentration Camp Worker In Latest Action Against An Elderly Suspected Nazi

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, October 20th:
*Trial continues (Day 2) (@ am CEU) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Followed a five-year investigation. Because she was under 21 at the time of the offenses she is accused of, she would be tried in a juvenile court, where she is likely to receive a milder sentence. The woman worked between June of 1943 & April of 1945 as a secretary for the camp commander at the Stutthof camp, 20 miles from the Polish city of Gdansk, which was known as Danzig under German rule at the time. Prosecutors said that she had admitted that much of the correspondence related to the camp & many files crossed her desk & that she knew of some killings of inmates. But she maintains that she did not know that large numbers of the camp’s inmates were being killed by gas during the time she worked there. She has also said that her office window pointed away from the camp, so that she could not see what was going on, according to media reports. She testified in her boss' trial decades ago, said boss was convicted & incarcerated.
Trial was set to begin on Sept. 29, 2021, but moved to October 19, 2021.
Sept. 29, 2021 update: A 96-year-old German woman fled ahead of her trial on Thursday on charges of aiding & abetting mass murder in a Nazi-run concentration camp during World War II & was caught hours after failing to turn up for her trial on Thursday. The defendant, whom Reuters named as Irmgard Furchner, is "on the run & has left her home residence in Quickborn this morning by cab in the direction of Ochsenhofer Nordenstadt," Frederike Milhoffer, spokesperson at the court in Itzehoe, near Hamburg. Next hearing on Oct. 19, 2021.
Oct. 19, 2021 Update: Furchner faced a judge in Itzehoe on Tuesday morning for her contribution to the murder of 11,412 people at Stuthoff while she allegedly worked at the camp as a typist. Following a five-year investigation, Furchner was indicted in February, 2021 for being an accessory to murder. Charges could not be read until Furchner, who faces trial in an adolescent court because of her young age at the time of the alleged crimes, was present in court. Trial began with charges being read. Trial continues on Oct. 20, 2021.

 

[Cryptic]

But she maintains that she did not know that large numbers of the camp’s inmates were being killed by gas during the time she worked there.

This claim maybe accurate. Evidently, Stutthof was not used for truly large scale gassings- at least not truly large scale by holocaust standards (4,000 inmates murdered by gassing).

As a result, if she chose not to read too deeply into the records she might have seen as a typist, she might not of had direct knowledge of gassing deaths. Her degree of knowledge might also have been dependent on how the deaths were compiled in reports. Ie- "rolled" into a general statistic, or tabulated into sub categories.

 

[Niner]

Only found an article about Tuesday's hearing, nothing yet on yesterday's.

Former Nazi camp secretary who fled trial appears in court

It is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.

 

[Niner]

Thursday, October 21st:
*Trial continues (Day 3) (@ am CEU) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1 (Oct. 19, 2021) reference post #72 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Trial was set to begin on Sept. 29, 2021, but moved to Oct. 19, 2021.
Oct. 20, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 2: No info available yet. Trial continues on Oct. 21, 2021.

 

[Niner]

Not finding any current articles - only from Tuesday's trial hearing. So I'll go ahead and keep posting this until I do...

Friday, October 22nd:
*Trial continues (Day 4) (@ am CEU) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1 (Oct. 19, 2021) reference post #72 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Trial began on Oct. 19, 2021. Trial is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.
Oct. 20, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 2: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 21, 2021.
Oct. 21, 2021 Thursday, Trial Day 3: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 22, 2021.

 

[Niner]

Still not finding anything on this trial... but will keep posting until maybe someone else finds something!

Monday, October 25th:
*Trial continues (Day 5) (@ am CET) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Trial began on Oct. 19, 2021. Trial is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.
After trying to escape the trial in late September, leaving the retirement home in Quickborn where she lives & traveling by taxi to the outskirts of Hamburg, she was arrested several hours later & placed in police custody for five days before being fitted with an electronic wrist tag.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1 (Oct. 19, 2021) reference post #72 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Oct. 20, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 2: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 21, 2021.
Oct. 21, 2021 Thursday, Trial Day 3: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 22, 2021.
Oct. 22, 2021 Friday, Trial Day 4: No info available. Trial continues on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.

 

[Niner]

I don't know about this one - no articles on current events....

Tuesday, October 26th:
*Trial continues (Day 6) (@ am CET) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Trial began on Oct. 19, 2021. Trial is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.
After trying to escape the trial in late September, leaving the retirement home in Quickborn where she lives & traveling by taxi to the outskirts of Hamburg, she was arrested several hours later & placed in police custody for five days before being fitted with an electronic wrist tag.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1 (Oct. 19, 2021) reference post #72 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Oct. 20, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 2: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 21, 2021.
Oct. 21, 2021 Thursday, Trial Day 3: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 22, 2021.
Oct. 22, 2021 Friday, Trial Day 4: No info available. Trial continues on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.
Oct. 25, 2021 Monday, Trial Day 5: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 26, 2021.

 

[Niner]

Still no updates on this trial...

Wednesday, October 27th:
*Trial continues (Day 7) (@ am CET) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Trial began on Oct. 19, 2021. Trial is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.
After trying to escape the trial in late September, leaving the retirement home in Quickborn where she lives & traveling by taxi to the outskirts of Hamburg, she was arrested several hours later & placed in police custody for five days before being fitted with an electronic wrist tag.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1 (Oct. 19, 2021) reference post #72 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Oct. 20, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 2: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 21, 2021.
Oct. 21, 2021 Thursday, Trial Day 3: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 22, 2021.
Oct. 22, 2021 Friday, Trial Day 4: No info available. Trial continues on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021.
Oct. 25, 2021 Monday, Trial Day 5: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 26, 2021.
Oct. 26, 2021 Tuesday, Trial Day 6: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 27, 2021.

 

[Niner]

Anyone following this trial? Nothing in the news about this...

Thursday, October 28th:
*Trial continues (Day 8) (@ am CET) - Germany - *Irmgard Furchner (18 @ time of crime/95/now 96) Indicted (Feb. 5, 2021) on 10,000 counts of accessory to murder in Nazi Camp. Fuchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 & 1945.
Trial began on Oct. 19, 2021. Trial is scheduled to continue over the next few months. Sessions are limited to about two hours a day, based on medical advice.
After trying to escape the trial in late September, leaving the retirement home in Quickborn where she lives & traveling by taxi to the outskirts of Hamburg, she was arrested several hours later & placed in police custody for five days before being fitted with an electronic wrist tag.
Case & court info from Feb. 5, 2021 to Sept. 29, 2021 & trial day 1-6 (Oct. 19, 2021-Oct. 26, 2021) reference post #70 here:
Germany - Woman, 95, Indicted on 10,000 Counts, Accessory to Murder, 1943-1945 Nazi Camp, 5 Feb 2021
Oct. 27, 2021 Wednesday, Trial Day 7: No info available. Trial continues on Oct. 28, 2021.