Ex-Guard, 94, Is Tried in Juvenile Court for Crimes at Nazi Camp

[TomSea]

Ex-Guard, 94, Is Tried in Juvenile Court for Crimes at Nazi Camp

BERLIN — A 94-year-old man who served as a guard in Hitler’s SS clutched his cane as a bailiff wheeled him into a courtroom on Tuesday for the start of his trial on charges of assisting in the murder of hundreds of the 60,000 people who perished at the Stutthof concentration camp.

Johann Rehbogen was still a teenager when he began work as a guard at the camp, where he was stationed between June 1942 and September 1944. Because he was under the age of 21 at the time the alleged crimes were committed, the case is being tried before a juvenile court, where the maximum sentence he could face is 10 years in prison.

The indictment lists the deaths of more than 100 Polish prisoners and at least 77 Soviet P.O.W.s, as well as “an unknown number — at least several hundred — Jewish prisoners” killed in the gas chambers or by other means during his tenure at Stutthof, located on the Baltic Sea coast near what is now the city of Gdansk in Poland.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/world/europe/germany-nazi-trial-johann-rehbogen.html

I think anyone should be tried for such crimes, outrages, even if they are 'aged' or 'infirmed', it's not an ideal situation but justice should still be meted out.  Sometimes, one might hear people say things like, he's so old now, what good will it do?

[dfwgator]

I think anyone should be tried for such crimes, outrages, even if they are 'aged' or 'infirmed', it's not an ideal situation but justice should still be meted out.  Sometimes, one might hear people say things like, he's so old now, what good will it do?

At least this time, the guy on trial is a German, as opposed to a Ukrainian, who had the choice of either working as a guard, or getting shot.

[RoosGirl]

Yeah, who cares about all the crimes the Muslim migrants are committing.  At least this guy they can catch because he can't walk faster than the cops can.

[Cyber Liberty]

Yeah, who cares about all the crimes the Muslim migrants are committing.  At least this guy they can catch because he can't walk faster than the cops can.

Hey, catching crazed Moslem terrorists is dangerous work!  How else, besides avoiding them, can the police officers go home safely at night?

[Frank Cannon]

Yeah, who cares about all the crimes the Muslim migrants are committing.  At least this guy they can catch because he can't walk faster than the cops can.

Exactly. This is absurd. As far as I am concerned if you skated on that shit and made it to 90, you get a pass. We got a whole new batch of shitbags to track down and kill.

[Fishrrman]

I'm in agreement, Frank.

94 years old?
Forget it.
God will deal with him soon enough.

[RoosGirl]

I'm in agreement, Frank.

94 years old?
Forget it.
God will deal with him soon enough.

Oh, you agree with Frank and not me?  What kind of misogynist bullshit is allowed to go on in this place?

[Frank Cannon]

Oh, you agree with Frank and not me?  What kind of misogynist bullshit is allowed to go on in this place?

Bullshit. You know most people here think you are a dude.

[TomSea]

So if one was involved in 911 for example and that person was now 94 years old, one would say, well, let God sort it out. I thoroughly disagree.

Also, what if the man was 78 years old? Is that old enough now to live and let live? Because per one person we deported,  he was 78 when he was first found out but was able to fight deportation for 15 years. Then, he went to trial at 93. I definitely say prosecute him nonetheless.

American mobsters are sometimes brought to justice decades after their crimes, I think they still should pay.

Nowadays, we have people linked to decades old crimes through DNA.

You have people who quite easily run their businesses at 78 years old and older. Also, some of our Senators have even been older but still a vital part of the Senate whether one agrees with their views or not.

[RoosGirl]

Bullshit. You know most people here think you are a dude.

Because I have a woman in my avatar?  Oh wait...

[goodwithagun]

Yeah, who cares about all the crimes the Muslim migrants are committing.  At least this guy they can catch because he can't walk faster than the cops can.

This guy needs dealt with, and so do the cultists who follow Muhammad.

[Frank Cannon]

Because I have a woman in my avatar?  Oh wait...

No. Because you comport yourself like a truck driver with a speed habit around here.

[RoosGirl]

So if one was involved in 911 for example and that person was now 94 years old, one would say, well, let God sort it out. I thoroughly disagree.

Also, what if the man was 78 years old? Is that old enough now to live and let live? Because per one person we deported,  he was 78 when he was first found out but was able to fight deportation for 15 years. Then, he went to trial at 93. I definitely say prosecute him nonetheless.

American mobsters are sometimes brought to justice decades after their crimes, I think they still should pay.

Nowadays, we have people linked to decades old crimes through DNA.

You have people who quite easily run their businesses at 78 years old and older. Also, some of our Senators have even been older but still a vital part of the Senate whether one agrees with their views or not.

Bad shit happens in war. He was a guard and possibly directly killed fewer people than your average German soldier.  Should we round up every German soldier and try them for murder?

[Cyber Liberty]

No. Because you comport yourself like a truck driver with a speed habit around here.

You caught me.  That's why I love Roos. 

[Frank Cannon]

So if one was involved in 911 for example and that person was now 94 years old, one would say, well, let God sort it out. I thoroughly disagree.

911 was just a couple years ago Tommy. Running some 90 year old fossil through juvenile court because the battle was that damn long ago is absurd. It's over Tommy.......IT"S OVER!!!!

! No longer available

[Cyber Liberty]

Bad shit happens in war. He was a guard and possibly directly killed fewer people than your average German soldier.  Should we round up every German soldier and try them for murder?

I think the distinction that is drawn between war crimes and casualties is war crimes are against non-combatants.  Sure, there's always a chance of collateral damage with soldier vs soldier, but we're talking deliberate targeting of people who weren't fighting.

[RoosGirl]

I think the distinction that is drawn between war crimes and casualties is war crimes are against non-combatants.  Sure, there's always a chance of collateral damage with soldier vs soldier, but we're talking deliberate targeting of people who weren't fighting.

Yeah, I get that.  But the combination of this guy being a nobody guard, the war ending 75 years ago and the current issues with their invited conquerors, this seems pretty insignificant.

[Cyber Liberty]

Yeah, I get that.  But the combination of this guy being a nobody guard, the war ending 75 years ago and the current issues with their invited conquerors, this seems pretty insignificant.

I can't disagree with that...they seem to be picking and choosing which crimes/criminals to pursue based on the level of risk to themselves, rather than the aggregate risks to the country.  Police do that here, too.  All the time.

[GtHawk]

At least this time, the guy on trial is a German, as opposed to a Ukrainian, who had the choice of either working as a guard, or getting shot.

You seriously think that this German wouldn't have been shot if he didn't do what he was told to as a guard? That's like believing that the German people, as a whole agreed with what Hitler was doing, that they had a choice. Well they did if they disagreed with what Hitler was doing they could speak up and end up in prison or dead or shut up and live.

There were a lot of sick and evil people that did horrendous things in the war(actually in all wars), whether this guy was one of them who knows, is there anyone that survived that can definitively testify to his guilt? Why don't we ever talk about the Japanese atrocities or Russian that were committed during the war? I am not trying to take away from what Hitler and his German followers did, it was unspeakable, but they weren't the only villains of the war.