German Court Tosses 1944 Nazi Massacre Case Against 89-Year-Old
A German court has thrown out a case against a Cologne man for his alleged involvement in the June 1944 massacre of hundreds of civilians in France.
Named only as Werner C., the 89-year-old defendant was charged by the prosecutor in the western German city of Dortmund with gunning down 25 civilians in Oradour-sur-Glane along with other members of his SS tank infantry unit called Der Fuhrer.
In all, 642 village residents were murdered. More than half were women and children locked into a church that was set ablaze. The defendant reportedly also was charged as an accessory in the church massacre by cordoning off and guarding the church or by bringing flammable material inside.
A Cologne state court threw out the case saying there was not enough evidence to connect him to the massacre, the Associated Press reported.
Werner C. has said he was in the village at the time but did not take part in the killings.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
