German Nazi investigators have identified 20 guards that served at the Majdanek death camp. They could face charges in Germany for being accessories to murder at the death camp.
Thomas Will, who is the lead investigator, said that 30 suspects were identified, but out of those 30, 10 had already died. The remaining 20 men and women all reside in Germany. More than 200 others are still under investigation, but their whereabouts have not yet been located.
Kurt Schrimm, the federal prosecutor, said that he will be turning the case over to state investigators in the coming weeks, so that they can pursue charges.
Jul 23 ’44. #Soviets liberate #Majdanek death camp, #Lublin and convert it to ‘process’ #Poland‘s #Underground #Army pic.twitter.com/8RJoajJ5kt
— Inside Poland (@InsidePoland) July 23, 2013
In 2011, John Demjanjuk became the first person to be convicted in Germany for being a death camp guard. There was no evidence that showed he was involved in the killing of people at the death camp. His case sparked the Majdanek investigation.
Demjanjuk died before his appeal, but his case caused the prosecutors to pursue charges against 30 other guards who served in Auschwitz.
Majdanek concentration camp was located near Lublin, and was established during the German occupation in Poland. Reports say that around 360,000 Jews were killed in the camp. Not all the guards who served at the camp are being investigated, since Majdanek was also a labor camp and some of the guards were not involved in genocide.
Prosecutors are now concentrating on the investigation of guards who were present at the time of the killings.
Schrimm stated that they will be announcing more suspects within the coming months. Head Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff is urging state prosecutors to give importance to new cases, since the suspects are old, and they want to move on with the case before they pass away. “We are very hopeful that the work will be expedited so as many people as possible can be brought to justice,” said Zuroff.
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