Of the hundreds of counts of murder, made to John R. in the concentration camp Stutthof aid should have, he didn’t catch anything. The former SS-man says it this Tuesday before the regional court of Münster. He lets his defender Andreas Tinkl his statement read. It is 17.5 pages. A lot of cracks in it, little in Detail is executed.
In his presentation, Johann R. has landed a very important component in the SS. The testimony of the 94-Year-old ends with the words: “I’m not a Nazi, never was one and will also be in the few time that remains me to live, never.” In eight days, R. 95.
It is a cleverly worded statement. Unlike Oskar Groening, the so-called bookkeeper of Auschwitz, can not lose Johann R. in his memories or in Nazi jargon to expire, as Groening had happened in his trial before the regional court of Lüneburg. An immediate impression of the personality of the accused from the lawyer presented a statement does not however allow.
While defender Tinkl reads the statement, it seems his client against the tears. With a cloth bag cloth Johann R. wipes again and again on the eyes. It remains unclear what stirred him to tears. His defender reads more, always more, three quarters of an hour.
Grew up in Romania, was Johann R. in April 1942, convened at the age of 18 years as a so-called ethnic Germans for military service. He had not volunteered for the SS, but had been drafted “under duress”. In cattle cars, he and hundreds of others had been deported to Germany. “I wanted to be safely collected and transported to Germany. I wanted to stay with my family”, R. tell.
“of Course I’m ashamed of me”
be first to Debica near Krakow. In “Quax, der bruchpilot”, a movie with Heinz Rühmann, he can still remember, had you been there on a military training ground for the welcome. In d?bica, he saw for the first time, prisoners, the “would have really looked very miserable”. He tried to add himself to his fate. At the same time, it is pleasing to him “as a Christian-bred person” is very difficult to be among those, “so people worked around”. What is Johann R. mean, “so”, he said. “Of course I am ashamed to have this all taken so”, his lawyer for him.
SS-man Johann R. was transferred in 1942 to the Stutthof concentration camp. There it will be up to September 1944, as a member of the 3. Company of the SS death’s-head sturmbanns Bahsine for the guarding of the camp and the supervision of work details outside the camp in charge, most recently with the rank of SS-storm man. To his company commander R. has only the best memories. This pitying him, because he had reminded him perhaps of his deceased son.
As one of the Youngest among the SS-men he got from his comrades the nickname of “Bubi”. And that he had frequently had the most popular guard service, directly at the entrance of the camp. “Unpopular”, however, was the Post near the crematorium, “the smell wouldn’t be able to remain hidden”. It was “emotionally safe is the most difficult Post”.
In his presentation, Johann R. remains to be all at a distance. Active actions he describes. The “horrible condition” of the concentration camp inmates that he had perceived. They were very emaciated. But the fact that you shot and killed systematically, the dogs rushed up to them, they were murdered in the gas chamber, of which he says nothing.
The Stutthof concentration camp he had held for a prison camp, the information of the accused. The many deaths were not a coincidence, it had become only later. “Systematic killings, I have noticed at the time, personally nothing”, Johann R. present. “The existence of a gas chamber I was not aware of.” The gas chamber, he had held for a “delousing chamber”.
dozens
follow The fate of the prisoners was indifferent. It was difficult to please, “all clear.” Among his comrades he had to talk openly, never dared to: “I lived in fear that I could then pull himself the displeasure of the Nazis to me.”
Johann R. Constitution on this day in relatively good physical. The 94-Year-old holds two and a half instead of two hours of negotiations. So time for the questions of the court, the prosecution and the court representatives. It’s a lot of questions. The process involved dictate that defenders Tinkl on she writes.
There are questions like the presiding judge Rainer Brackhane: “Dr. R., when you speak of many dead, who had come to the crematorium, about how many Deaths are we talking about? How are these people to death?” And the Associate judge asks how R. got his role in the Nazi Regime seen. “How were you in the NS-ideology in General?” Dozens of other questions follow.
Whether the time is sufficient until the next trial date, in order to formulate and Johann R. the answers, remains to be seen. The court assumes, the defense is skeptical.
