Former Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening, on trial for his role in the murder of 300,000 people in the concentration camp, is asking for forgiveness.
Groening, 93, tells the District Court of Luneburg on the first day of the trial that “for me, there is no question that I made myself morally complicit.”
Oskar Groening at the first day of his trial in Luneberg, Germany, to face charges of being an accomplice to the murder of 300,000 at Auschwitz, April 21, 2015. (photo credit JTA/Andreas Tamme/Getty Images)
The former Waffen-SS member tells the court that he learned about the gas chambers as soon as he reported for duty at Auschwitz in 1942, the German news agency DPA reports. He admits to gathering the money and valuables found in the baggage of murdered Jews and handing them over to the SS — something he has publicly discussed in interviews over the years.
“I beg for forgiveness,” he says in court, according to news reports. “When it comes to the question of criminal guilt, you must decide.”
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
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