Auschwitz guard charged

[Wolferz]

Leveling these charges on this guy seems excessive. Especially when you consider that every German citizen at that time knew what was going on and did little or nothing to curb it. If we all wished to be anal about it, the general population of 1940's Germany could be named as accessories to murder. Each and every one of them.
Have they all paid penance?
I think they have.

[Aktungbby]

HE's 93 years old..."Unlike most of the others, Groening has openly talked about his time as a guard and says while he witnessed horrific atrocities, he didn't commit any crimes himself." Sounds like a well considered retirement plan to me-ie: "let the state pay for his geriatric costs in a minimum-security institution"?? I doubt his military pen$ion is worth mentioning

[BrucePartington]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

Leveling these charges on this guy seems excessive. Especially when you consider that every German citizen at that time knew what was going on and did little or nothing to curb it. If we all wished to be anal about it, the general population of 1940's Germany could be named as accessories to murder. Each and every one of them.
Have they all paid penance?
I think they have.

Exactly what I think. The German people endured terror as the Nazi party rose to power. To openly oppose it or even speak against it would earn you a guided tour to the Gestapo catacombs. Finally, an entire nation was levelled as its population was decimated to the limit.
IMHO, the German people at large paid for sins they did not commit, and then paid for it again.

Let's not forget the White Rose movement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose .
Also, please read about Kurt Gerstein, an SS officer who tried to pass information to the allies about the concentration camps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Gerstein

Having said that, I agree all those who activelly pursued to commit genocide should be brought to justice and punished accordingly.

Above all, let's try not to repeat History.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Are you ready and willing to make that case against the 20 families bringing the charges?

I would have only one question for them...

"Will it restore anyone to living status again?"


"Revenge is a dish best served cold"
Old Klingon proverb

[BrucePartington]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ng-moment.html

""Groening said memories of the camp occupied his 'every waking moment' - adding: 'I will never be free of them'.

'One time a drunken SS man discovered a crying baby on the platform, he said. 'He grabbed the waif by its legs and smashed its head against the side of a truck. My blood froze when I saw it.
'When I saw this I went to my superior officers and made an application for a transfer to the front, to anywhere. But he refused. Down the years I have heard the cries of the dead in my dreams and in every waking moment. I will never be free of them.
'It was becoming harder and harder to suppress everything I saw. On one night in January 1943 I saw for the first time how the Jews were actually gassed. It was in a half-built farmyard near to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. A gas chamber was built there. We were searching the wood nearby for prisoners who had escaped. (...)

'I again made an application for a transfer and at the end of October 1944 I was shipped to the Belgian Ardennes where I served with a fighting unit until capture.'
Since the war, Groening admitted he has been driven back to Auschwitz because of his 'shame'.""