Former Auschwitz Guard Charged With 300,000 Counts of Accessory to Murder
German prosecutors have charged a 93-year-old man with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for his service as a Nazi SS guard at Auschwitz.
Oskar Groening of Hannover, Germany, has acknowledged that he was a guard at Auschwitz but said he did not personally commit any of the atrocities, The Associated Press reported Monday.
He was a guard at the concentration camp in May-June 1944. Some 425,000 Hungarian Jews came to Auschwitz during that time; about 300,000 died in its gas chambers.
Groening, who reportedly is in good health, is one of about 30 former Auschwitz guards who German federal investigators recommended to state prosecutors to file charges against following the conviction of John Demjanjuk, who died while his case was under appeal.
Some 20 Auschwitz victims and their families are co-plaintiffs in the case against Groening, according to AP.
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