'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz' former Nazi officer denied mercy plea

[Eugene]

Source: CNN

'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz' former Nazi officer denied mercy plea

By Judith Vonberg, CNN
Updated 1302 GMT (2102 HKT) January 17, 2018

(CNN) — A former Nazi officer known as "the bookkeeper of Auschwitz" has been told he must serve out his four-year prison sentence, despite lodging an appeal for clemency.

Oskar Groening's plea for mercy was denied by German prosecutors in Lueneberg on Wednesday, one day after his appeal was made public.

Groening, 96, was sentenced in 2015 after being found guilty of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.

He was accused of counting the cash found in the belongings of new arrivals at the camp, where more than 1 million Jews died, and sending it to Nazi headquarters in Berlin.

-snip-

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/17/europe/bookkeeper-of-auschwitz-nazi-denied-mercy-plea-intl/index.html

[janterry]

1. IDK, he's 96

I didn't have any family that died in Germany. My Jewish relatives had immigrated to this country by that time. But I feel a strong connection to what happened. My grandfather and father fought in WWII.

I guess at this point, though, I believe in mercy. I know that others do not - and of course, that's why Groening's request was not granted.

But I would rather that he was granted mercy.

[COLGATE4]

2. Any mercy that he's going to receive

will have to come from a higher quarter. Somehow I doubt that it will be forthcoming.

[sarisataka]

3. Imprisoning a 96 yro

May seem pointless however I can't help but note that is far more mercy than a similar person would have received if they survived the travel to the camp...

[mitch96]

5. Agreed

He will be well cared for in prison. Food,clothes and medical care if needed. Just not his freedom..
He will getting far more than the people in Auschwitz got...
m

[janterry]

7. It's true

but you should read the rest of the story (my post #6). It won't change peoples minds - of course, but it adds information to the narrative.

[sdfernando]

4. I dont agree

If we are to stop these things from happening again the examples and punishments must be severe.

I lived in Dauchau (the camp, not the town). It is sobering knowing how many innocent people were murdered there. Not just Jews, but Gypsies, Gays, Intellectuals, political prisoners. No I have no mercy for this man I at 96.

[janterry]

6. Did you read how he came to the attention of authorities?

Had he not spoken out against Holocaust deniers, he would have lived out the remainder of his life in freedom.

However, he spoke out against those that denied what happened.

It might not change your mind, of course (didn't change the courts mind), but it's part of the story.

Here's the text from wiki:
Upon his return to Germany he led a normal life, reluctant to talk about his time in Auschwitz. However, more than 40 years later, he decided to make his activities at Auschwitz public after learning about Holocaust denial. He has since openly criticised those who deny the events that he witnessed, and the ideology to which he once subscribed. The recorded accounts he provided to the BBC, however, contributed to the decision and ability to prosecute him. His record as an activist against Holocaust deniers since 1985 was not taken into consideration. Gröning has been notable as a German willing to make public statements about his experience as an SS soldier, which are self-incriminating and have exposed his life to public scrutiny.

[sdfernando]

8. I did not but Id doesnt change my mind

If Charles Manson was never caught 40 years later made statements that led to his imprisonment should he have been released later?

[janterry]

9. Manson never felt guilty

Last edited Wed Jan 17, 2018, 04:10 PM - Edit history (1)

he wasn't stable - and I think throughout his life remained a danger to others.

He never could have been released. Had he not been caught for that crime, he would have been caught for another.

I'm not sure his pathology fits with this man. What happened in his life was different - but - and you certainly know better than I, was also (very profoundly) horrific.

A very sad time in our worlds history