89-year-old former Auschwitz guard arrested in Philadelphia

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It always fills my heart with glee to see Nazi scum get what's coming to them.

89 years old? All that shows is that he had 70 years to enjoy the life that the war machine he worked for took from untold others.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I feel safer today than yesterday. 

[bore]

What is wrong with you people?

Obviously this guy is not going to harm anyone at 89 year olds but that's hardly the point, or at least not the whole point.

He was a willing accomplice in the most evil thing humanity has ever done and I think you all need to remember that when you're bravely rolling your eyes or calling it shenanigans.

[Brittain33]

lol @ people literally defending a concentration camp guard. Congrats, forum, you have reached a new low today.

What threat does this man pose to society?  Do you feel threatened by an 89 year old man being at large?

It's happening when he is 89 because after World War II for many decades afterward, there was no interest or concern in tracking down or bringing justice to the men who committed these crimes against humanity, and because he successfully covered up that he killed large numbers of civilians (some as old as he is now), he enjoyed a full life in peace. When the world came around to caring, "oh, do you think he's going to go set up a death camp at age 89 and kill more victims?" That's not what this is about.

Look, even if he is found guilty he is never going to serve a day in jail because of his age and health. It's important for the cause of justice to have this on the record and have him answer for what he did. I don't see the benefit in pretending he's a victim here.

[Brittain33]

I feel safer today than yesterday. 

Would you feel differently about him if it came out he'd deserted his post at Auschwitz?

[Mordecai]

It always fills my heart with glee to see Nazi scum get what's coming to them.

89 years old? All that shows is that he had 70 years to enjoy the life that the war machine he worked for took from untold others.

If he's 89 years old in 2014 that means he was only about 19 or 20 years old when the war ended. Barely an adult, a small fry in comparison to the high-ranking officers who actually ordered and committed the war crimes. For goodness sake, he was a nobody, a lowly guard. Not Hitler's bodyguard or whatever.

I feel like going after guys like this is over-doing it and I doubt he holds his tenure as a guard to a concentration camp to be a fantastic moment of his life.

[Hash]

Jesus Christ Atlas.

[Brittain33]

Jesus Christ Atlas.

It seems like some people aren't familiar with what guards at concentration camps actually did. They weren't protecting the camps from outside attack.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I feel safer today than yesterday. 

Would you feel differently about him if it came out he'd deserted his post at Auschwitz?

Ha ha, touche'  Yeah, shoot him dead in that case. 

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Due to magnitude of Nazi crimes, age is not an excuse. While I don't see a point of actually locking a 89-year old man in jail, he should face justice.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Due to magnitude of Nazi crimes, age is not an excuse. While I don't see a point of actually locking a 89-year old man in jail, he should face justice.

Trying him and sentencing him with no actual prison time wouldn't be a bad way to handle this; he's gonna face justice worse than anything man can ever do in a short while.

[TDAS04]

I like it when Nazi-scum is tracked down and brought to justice.

No matter how old they are ...

[Badger]

lol @ people literally defending a concentration camp guard. Congrats, forum, you have reached a new low today.

What threat does this man pose to society?  Do you feel threatened by an 89 year old man being at large?

It's happening when he is 89 because after World War II for many decades afterward, there was no interest or concern in tracking down or bringing justice to the men who committed these crimes against humanity, and because he successfully covered up that he killed large numbers of civilians (some as old as he is now), he enjoyed a full life in peace. When the world came around to caring, "oh, do you think he's going to go set up a death camp at age 89 and kill more victims?" That's not what this is about.

Look, even if he is found guilty he is never going to serve a day in jail because of his age and health. It's important for the cause of justice to have this on the record and have him answer for what he did. I don't see the benefit in pretending he's a victim here.

bingo.

Can people understand there's a time and place for determining whether he was merely an uninvolved cog and/or too old/reformed to seriously punish (which a disheartening number of Forumites seem so ready to conclude)? It's called a courtroom.

We aren't talking about an old man suspected of 70 years ago dealing drugs on the corner, or even shooting someone in a barroom brawl. He's allegedly involved in the mass murder SS operation at AUSCHWITZ!! F@*KING AUSCHWITZ!!!!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Excellent news.

It is extremely important that these people live in fear for the rest of their lives. It's the closest thing to justice as can ever be found.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

[Boris]

[The Dowager Mod]

The man was a willing accomplice in the murders of upwards of 1.1 million innocent people, simply because he managed to escape justice for 70 years makes it no less important to obtain that justice for all of the victims, just because he is old and harmless now makes his crimes no less heinous.

[pbrower2a]

I still don't see the point of punishing the guardsmen. They would have been shot if they didn't do what Hitler wanted to be done.

If this was 1954, I wouldn't be so opposed to the arrest. But this man is going to be dead within a few years. If he truly did commit atrocities, God will judge him for it.

The guards were given loaded firearms and to shoot stragglers  and anyone who tried to make a dash for freedom.

The German place name for the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The man was a willing accomplice in the murders of upwards of 1.1 million innocent people, simply because he managed to escape justice for 70 years makes it no less important to obtain that justice for all of the victims, just because he is old and harmless now makes his crimes no less heinous.

I still don't see the point of punishing the guardsmen. They would have been shot if they didn't do what Hitler wanted to be done.

If this was 1954, I wouldn't be so opposed to the arrest. But this man is going to be dead within a few years. If he truly did commit atrocities, God will judge him for it.

The guards were given loaded firearms and to shoot stragglers  and anyone who tried to make a dash for freedom.

The German place name for the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Again, the concept of hell exists for this reason. Nature will do him justice in and of itself.

[The Dowager Mod]

None of the victims were allowed to die peacefully from old age, neither should he.

[Badger]

The man was a willing accomplice in the murders of upwards of 1.1 million innocent people, simply because he managed to escape justice for 70 years makes it no less important to obtain that justice for all of the victims, just because he is old and harmless now makes his crimes no less heinous.

I still don't see the point of punishing the guardsmen. They would have been shot if they didn't do what Hitler wanted to be done.

If this was 1954, I wouldn't be so opposed to the arrest. But this man is going to be dead within a few years. If he truly did commit atrocities, God will judge him for it.

The guards were given loaded firearms and to shoot stragglers  and anyone who tried to make a dash for freedom.

The German place name for the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Again, the concept of hell exists for this reason. Nature will do him justice in and of itself.

The existence of hell does not foreclose the need for prisons or the judicial system, even where the person found guilty is too infirm to be a further threat.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The man was a willing accomplice in the murders of upwards of 1.1 million innocent people, simply because he managed to escape justice for 70 years makes it no less important to obtain that justice for all of the victims, just because he is old and harmless now makes his crimes no less heinous.

I still don't see the point of punishing the guardsmen. They would have been shot if they didn't do what Hitler wanted to be done.

If this was 1954, I wouldn't be so opposed to the arrest. But this man is going to be dead within a few years. If he truly did commit atrocities, God will judge him for it.

The guards were given loaded firearms and to shoot stragglers  and anyone who tried to make a dash for freedom.

The German place name for the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Again, the concept of hell exists for this reason. Nature will do him justice in and of itself.

The existence of hell does not foreclose the need for prisons or the judicial system, even where the person found guilty is too infirm to be a further threat.

No, we shouldn't let people like Anders Brevik out on the streets again because "oh, well he'll die and burn for eternity in forty years." You're absolutely right on that point, but in this individual case, all we are going to end up doing is hastening this man’s death. He isn’t going to be alive in two years when this case gets a verdict. I wouldn’t be surprised if he croaked from the agony of waiting for the trial to begin, which is justice in and of itself.

Why did they not go after these people twenty years ago, is what I am wondering?

[Badger]

The man was a willing accomplice in the murders of upwards of 1.1 million innocent people, simply because he managed to escape justice for 70 years makes it no less important to obtain that justice for all of the victims, just because he is old and harmless now makes his crimes no less heinous.

I still don't see the point of punishing the guardsmen. They would have been shot if they didn't do what Hitler wanted to be done.

If this was 1954, I wouldn't be so opposed to the arrest. But this man is going to be dead within a few years. If he truly did commit atrocities, God will judge him for it.

The guards were given loaded firearms and to shoot stragglers  and anyone who tried to make a dash for freedom.

The German place name for the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Again, the concept of hell exists for this reason. Nature will do him justice in and of itself.

The existence of hell does not foreclose the need for prisons or the judicial system, even where the person found guilty is too infirm to be a further threat.

No, we shouldn't let people like Anders Brevik out on the streets again because "oh, well he'll die and burn for eternity in forty years." You're absolutely right on that point, but in this individual case, all we are going to end up doing is hastening this man’s death. He isn’t going to be alive in two years when this case gets a verdict. I wouldn’t be surprised if he croaked from the agony of waiting for the trial to begin, which is justice in and of itself.

Why did they not go after these people twenty years ago, is what I am wondering?

Two years to verdict is probably optimistic, Chairman S.

That's a very good question about the delay in prosecution, though. This guy's background has been on the government's radar since they tried revoking his citizenship in 92. I could understand if additional investigation was needed to sustain a criminal case, but that shouldn't have taken over 20 years.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It always fills my heart with glee to see Nazi scum get what's coming to them.

89 years old? All that shows is that he had 70 years to enjoy the life that the war machine he worked for took from untold others.

If he's 89 years old in 2014 that means he was only about 19 or 20 years old when the war ended. Barely an adult, a small fry in comparison to the high-ranking officers who actually ordered and committed the war crimes. For goodness sake, he was a nobody, a lowly guard. Not Hitler's bodyguard or whatever.

I feel like going after guys like this is over-doing it and I doubt he holds his tenure as a guard to a concentration camp to be a fantastic moment of his life.

Sorry, I can't have any sympathy based on his age at the time.

If children and teenagers were old enough to be butchered while he stood outside making sure no one escaped, a young adult is old enough to be held accountable for his role in their murder.

I doubt he'll ever see a day in prison based on his health, but every participant who is finally dragged into the light of justice is a good thing.

[Brittain33]

One of the articles said that he was investigated 20 years ago and the new investigation is because they found evidence that he lied then about his time in the Waffen SS and when he was at Auschwitz.