70 years after the events took place, “The accountant of Auschwitz”, as he is known in the media, has been convicted to 4 years of imprisonment for being an accessory to the murder of over 300.000 Jews.
94-year-old Oskar Groening was the one responsible with the belongings confiscated from the Jews in Auschwitz from September 1942 to October 1944. Over 1 million people died within Auschwitz’s walls, which spanned over 40 square kilometers.
Although he did not directly affect or took part in the mass-murders, Oskar admitted to ‘moral guilt’ over the murders that took place while he was dispatched there, since he did contribute to the ‘smooth functioning’ of the concentration camp.
His lawyers are expected to appeal the sentence due to Mr. Groening’s age.
Mr. Groening’s case is not the first of its kind. In 2011, John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian who worked in the Sobibor concentration camp in Poland, and was involved in the killing of 28.000 Jews, was sentenced to five years in prison. Mr. Demjanjuk died in 2012, before he could appeal the sentence.
Octavian Cătuşanu
Sursa foto: cbc.ca ; bbc.com