BGH confirms conviction: 99-year-old guilty in the concentration camp process

23. August 2024, 01:42 Uhr

Von Kl Redaktion

The focus of the German case law is again a significant case from the time of National Socialism, which has now reached a new dimension with the confirmation of a judgment against the former concentration camp secretary Irmgard F. The now 99 -year -old woman was convicted by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Leipzig in more than 10,000 cases. Your job as a writer in the command of the Stutthof concentration camp has made a significant contribution to the legal reassessment of helper activities in Nazi procedures.

Irmgard F., born on May 29, 1925, worked from June 1943 to April 1945 in the Stutthof concentration camp and was involved in the documentation of the core activities of the camp. The guilty verdict of the district court Itzehoe, which brought her a two -year youth penalty in 2022, remained long controversial. The defense argued that she could not be clearly demonstrated that she was aware of the systematic killings. But the judges of the BGH significantly reduced this debate with their decision.

legal basis and meaning

When checking the revision, it was not about repeating the taking of evidence, but about the correct application of the legal situation in the current procedure. The decision is a turning point because it is one of the last concentration camp processes that were negotiated before the highest German courts. With the clarification of the BGH judges, the judgment is now final, and the results of this procedure could have far-reaching consequences for future procedures of this kind.

The debates about Irmgard F.'s guilt lag a light on a complicated history of justice. In this context, their activities as an administrative employee are considered crucial in this context, since the coordination of brutalities and killings often also required participation in the bureaucratic processes. Their judgment promotes the discussion about the responsibility, which results from working in the Nazi destruction camps, even without direct violence.

comparison with earlier processes

The case is not the first of its kind. It is in the shadow of earlier legal disputes, for example against Oskar Gröning, who was convicted of his role in Auschwitz concentration camp in 2015. These decisions show a trend in which supporters who were not directly involved in the murder acts can be held accountable for their role. One of the leaders in the legal reassessment was the procedure against Iwan "John" Demjanjuk, in which the dishes found that an indirect participation was sufficient to express a conviction for murder.

Despite her non -physical participation,

IRMGARD F. A statement from 1954 is intended to show that it was also aware of the cruel reality of the area, despite all the efforts to deny this. Judge said that she worked at a central interface and could therefore not remain unnoticed by the events in the camp.

"It is simply outside of any imagination that it could not have noticed the death," said a judge, underlining the argument that executive employees who were in direct contact with the office's offices have a certain responsibility.

A look behind the scenes

Part of the investigation of the case also includes Irmgard F.'s behavior after the war. Their statements reflect a continuity of denial and ignorance, which were attested by many historical figures of this period. Your marriage connection to a former SS non-commissioned officer and your constant contact with key figures of the SS raise questions about the degree of your personal responsibility. During the process, she expressed remorse and said: "I'm sorry what has happened", which leaves the impression that her insight only came from active responsibility after decades.

Despite this remorse, the concentration camp secretary is not detained in public. The decision not to bring her into prison, although she experienced a custody based on an attempt to escape, raises questions about the perception of judiciary and justice in relation to the very old defendants. Their in-depth integration into the Nazi administration remains a critical point in the historical and legal examination of the Holocaust.

The legal framework for processes against former concentration camp officers have changed significantly over the decades. During the early post -war years, the focus was on the persecution of direct perpetrators who were physically involved in the murder actions. Over time, however, lawyers and historians recognized that the system of National Socialist annihilation required far -reaching bureaucratic support. Former administrative employees such as Irmgard F. were increasingly taken into account because their activities directly contributed to the functioning and existence of the concentration camps. This shows the change in the legal view of aid to murder and the associated moral and social issues.

Another important aspect is the role of the pain and suffering payments to survivors and their families. The Federal Republic of Germany has posted numerous compensation programs to compensate for the suffering of the victims, which has often led to lively discussions about the value of money in comparison to justice. In cases such as that of Irmgard F.

The social perception of the concentration camp processes

In German society there is an ambivalent attitude towards the processes against former concentration camp officials. While some support a stringent conviction and the pursuit of justice, there are also voices that express concerns about the age and state of health of the accused. Critics argue that the pursuit of a kind of justice is becoming more and more a lying spectacle, especially when it comes to very old people like Irmgard F.

On the other hand, victim associations and numerous historians emphasize the importance of also holding these “smaller bikes in the system” responsible. They argue that the processing and remembering of the crimes of National Socialism may not only affect the immediate offense, but also the people who maintained the system through their everyday bureaucracy and decisions. This raises social memory and a sign is set that these acts are not forgotten.

relevant statistics for prosecution of Nazi criminals

The then and current procedures against Nazi criminals show that the number of people accused has fluctuated over the years. According to the documentation center "Topography of Terror", many processes have been conducted against former concentration camp employees worldwide since 1945, with a revival of these procedures in recent decades, especially after the judgment against Oskar Gröning.

by the end of 2021, according to news reports, there were at least 70 procedures for helping to murder in connection with Nazi crimes, which were initiated by survivors or their descendants.
According to a survey by the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach from 2022, 75% of Germans supported the criminal prosecution of Nazi criminals, regardless of their age.
The number of processes against over 90-year-olds has increased significantly: While only two such cases were known in the Federal Republic in 2011, there were already over 15.

These statistics underline the importance of dealing with the National Socialist crimes and show that social pressure on the judiciary to deal with the past of the past is unbroken. The debates about the prosecution of Irmgard F. and others like her will continue to remain a central topic in German society.