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Justice delayed
THE world’s oldest convicted war criminal, Josef Schütz, died in Germany at age of 102 on Wednesday, April 26.
Schütz was found guilty last June of aiding and abetting the murders of thousands at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin between 1942 and 1945. He was given a five year sentence.
Schütz always denied being an SS guard at the camp,
NORWAY criticised Sweden’s response after a research rocket malfunction which saw it crashland in Norway’s territory. Sweden is investigating the matter, but Norwegian officials released a statement on Wednesday, April 26, expressing their concerns.
The rocket was launched from the Esrange Space Centre on Monday, April 25 and then fell into a mountain range in neighbouring Norway, without prior warning.
The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), which owns and claiming instead that he had worked as a farm labourer. However, documents showed his name and birth details as an SS guard at the camp. During his trial, Schütz expressed no regret, saying, “I don’t know why I’m sitting here in the sin bin. I really had nothing to do with it.” Despite his claims, he was found guilty of aiding the murders of a shocking 3,518 people.
Germany has been working to bring Nazi war criminals to court in recent years, prompted by a landmark case in 2011.
Schütz’s death marks the end of a long journey to bring him to justice. While he never served a day in jail due to a series of appeals, his conviction stands as a reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.
