Former Auschwitz administrator again fit for trial in Germany

After two sessions canceled due to defendant’s illness, trial of Oskar Groening resumes

By AP 12 May 2015, 6:45 pm

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Oskar Groening, center, being led into the courtroom for his trial in Lueneburg, northern Germany, Tuesday, May 12, 2015. (photo credit: Philipp Schulze/Pool/AP)

BERLIN — The trial of a 93-year-old former Auschwitz death camp administrator resumed Tuesday after the suspect was deemed fit to face the court following a canceled session last week.

Presiding Judge Franz Kompisch told the Lueneburg state court that defendant Oskar Groening had suffered from an infection and that, in deference to his age and health, he would limit future trial sessions to three hours a day, the dpa news agency reported.

One session was cut short last week, and then the following day’s proceedings were canceled, after the court said Groening was too sick to stand trial.

The former SS sergeant is being tried on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder and faces a possible sentence of three years to 15 years if convicted. Prosecutors argue his role sorting prisoners’ stolen valuables, which he admits, helped Auschwitz function.

Groening’s trial began in April and is scheduled through July, though it was not immediately clear whether the shortened days would mean more trial sessions are necessary.