Everyone knows about the Holocaust. Some want to forget it, others believe we need to remember the horrors in order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. As the years go by, less and less people have been directly affected by this devastating moment of human past. So how do we deal with the dwindling survivors? The Jewish people that escaped, should they have or should they receive compensation? Another pressing topic for more people, is how do we deal with those who were Nazis? Who were apart of the chaos, who helped, or didn’t do anything to oppose it.
Well the question is raised once again, this time with a slightly more important person than those who may have just been mere soldiers or pawns. This time, there is an Auschwitz guard put on the hot seat. 93 year old Oskar Groening has been charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. As an SS (Shutzstaffel) guard and member, he has a much higher bounty on his head. Accused of helping operate the death camp between May and June of 1944, 425,000 Jews were brought to the camp, 300,000 being gassed to death almost immediately. His job included, but was not limited to, dealing with belongings of the prisoners, and helping collect and tally the money that was found among the victims. The prosecutors believe this to say that he “helped the Nazi regime benefit economically, and supported the systematic killings,” while his attorney, Hans Holtermann, declined to comment on any of the charges.
WARNING, BRIEF GRAPHIC INCIDENT DESCRIBED. Groening has openly talked about his time as a guard, and even shared a specific incident with a German magazine. On “ramp duty” he heard a baby crying, and observed his fellow SS soldier grab the baby by the legs, and smashed the child’s head against the iron side of a truck until it was silent.
Groening is one of roughly 30 former Auschwitz guards who are going to be pursued and charged, regarding a new German law. Groening is the fourth case investigated, 2 being shelved due to the suspects being unfit for trial, the 3rd being closed after the suspect passed away. Groening is in good health though, so what is to happen to him will set precedent for the rest to come.
Do we really need to convict this man with said charges? He was cleared of any war crimes in 1948, and reportedly had nothing to do with killing and Jews directly. Of course there is something to be said for being a part of such an atrocious organization. Awful and completely inhumane things were done by humans, to other humans. While I personally believe the comment on how he helped the Nazi regime benefit economically is complete bull, it is a point many can and will make against this man. Think about all of this from a less literal perspective though, this man was in the middle of country trying, not just planning but trying and being very close to succeeding, at taking over the planet. It’s possible he was just trying to survive, and there isn't much we can do to blame him for wanting to survive. Aren't his memories enough torture for this man? He could have not had the guts to do any button pressing for murder. Of course these points are all multiple sided dice, and is up to you to decide, and the court to decide on a unanimous one.
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