Demjanjuk was brought to Munich in May. Photo:DPA

Demjanjuk witness also suspected of mass murder involvement

Published: 1 Nov 09 10:18 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091101-22953.html

A witness in the forthcoming trial of accused war criminal John Demjanjuk is being investigated under suspicion of himself having been involved with the murder of at least 434,000 people.

The 88-year-old man, named only as Samuel K., is “suspected of having been accessory to the cruel murder of at least 434,000 people,” according to Der Spiegel magazine, quoting the Central Office of State Justice Administration for the Clarification of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg.

K. has a similar war history to that of Demjanjuk, but has never faced justice. Like Demjanjuk, he was recruited by the SS into the Trawnikis as a helper for the mass murder in Eastern Europe.

He worked as a guard at the Belzec extermination camp, according to the report, and held a higher rank than Demjanjuk.

He has been questioned by German authorities a number of times since 1969, and was even interviewed by Bavarian criminal investigators in June this year.

“It was clear to all of us that the Jews were being exterminated there, and later also burned,” he told them of his time in Belzec.

The investigation into K. is still in its preliminary stages, the magazine said.

Demjanjuk’s trial starts on November 30 in Munich. He is charged with 27,900 counts of accessory to murder for his part in the gassing of prisoners taken at the Sobibor camp in occupied Poland.

The trial is likely to command global attention, and around 20 of the 35 people have filed ancillary suits for close relatives killed in the camp are expected to attend.

Cornelius Nestler, a law professor in Cologne representing around 30 of the relatives, said the trial was revolutionary in that it would not only focus on what the accused had done.

“Here it is about the extermination machinery in which Demjanjuk had a function,” he said.

Demjanjuk becoming a Trawniki is understandable, as he wanted to save himself, said Nestler.

“His staying in Sobibor no longer had anything to do with rescue. While all around him in Eastern Europe the dangers of war threatened, the life in Sobibor was pleasant for the Trawniki – at the price of taking part in the continuing murder of thousands of Jews.”

DDP/DPA/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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14:44 November 1, 2009 by crunchy2k
This appears to be unraveling into Germany's darkest post war drama. Two ex-patriots being pitted against each other by people not even born then.
17:35 November 1, 2009 by wxman
The longer this goes on, the angrier I get. Relentlessly hounding two old men, who probably won't survive their trials, is the real criminality here. Two youthful nobodies at the time who in all probability did nothing wrong. Demjanjuk was just a camp guard and didn't execute anyone, and that poor Dutch guy who simply shot partisans as an act of war did not commit a crime. All of this to assuage German collective guilt for allowing a madman to drag the whole world to the precipice of hell. The German people should be on trial for Christ's sake.
10:57 November 2, 2009 by Alcala
it's easy to accuse someone when you weren't there and weren't simply trying to survive yourself....plenty of other nations have similar "black" periods in history so when does it end? As much as you want people to face justice this just drags on and on....personally I feel sorry for young Germans who carry this burden around with them!
11:15 November 2, 2009 by angelbeast
Very true Alcala. It is time we let the past be past.
12:47 November 2, 2009 by William Thirteen
unfortunately for the victims of these and other atrocities, in wartime and in peacetime - the past is now and always present.
22:11 November 2, 2009 by -GD-
The fact of the matter is that this man is innocent. He has not been convicted of anything. Contradictory and biased "eyewitness" testimony is not evidence, it's allegation.

It is up to the prosecution to present forensic evidence that proves not only that murder took place, but also the specific nature of the weapon used in the murder. They would then also have to prove Demjanjuk¦#39;s accessory to that murder.

Short of any forensic evidence, this case is nothing more than a soviet show trial. A witch hunt based on hearsay, pre-conceived notions, and denouncements.

All Germans should just stand up and say prove it.
00:32 November 4, 2009 by -GD-
Gratuitous name-calling coupled with absurd analogies, supported by bizarre accusations and blatantly transparent threats upon myself and my family do not address the topic of discussion, nor do they constitute forensic evidence in this case.
15:53 November 4, 2009 by Scottrocks9
I tkink George W. Bush and Tony Blair should also be charged with a few hundred thousand counts of murder in Iraq. And the evidence is there and was there for all to see.Why is no one doing anything about these war criminals that are still right here in our midst? I mean, I mean.... what's good for the goose is...
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