- Court upholds conviction of ex-concentration camp administrative official
The Supreme Court of Justice (BGH) upheld the conviction of a former concentration camp secretary for facilitating mass killings. The 5th Criminal Division of the BGH in Leipzig rejected an appeal against a verdict by the Itzehoe Regional Court. The court had given the 99-year-old Irmgard F. a probation sentence of two years for aiding and abetting 10,505 murders and 5 attempted murders. This decision is now final.
The case is believed to be one of the last criminal proceedings related to the Nazi regime's mass killings. Irmgard F. served as a typist in the command office of the Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig from June 1943 to April 1945, at the age of 18 or 19. The regional court concluded that her work had helped the camp leaders carry out the systematic killing of inmates. Even supporting roles could be considered as facilitating murder.
Irmgard F.'s legal team submitted an appeal. The BGH held a hearing on this matter at the end of July. The lawyers argued, among other things, that there was no evidence of her intent to commit the crimes, as it was unclear whether she understood what was happening in the camp. They also claimed that her job as a typist was not significantly different from her previous job at a bank, and that she had only performed "neutral actions." However, the federal judges did not agree with these arguments.
The BGH supported the assessment of the Itzehoe Regional Court that Irmgard F. had provided psychological support for the murderous acts through her willingness to serve. Almost all the camp's correspondence passed through her desk.
Over 60,000 people died in Stutthof
According to the Arolsen Archives, approximately 110,000 people from 28 countries were imprisoned in the Stutthof concentration camp and its 39 subcamps between 1939 and 1945. Nearly 65,000 did not survive.
Defense blog announcement regarding the appealBGH announcement dated February 1, 2024BGH announcement dated March 13, 2024
Despite the defense's argument that Irmgard F.'s role as a typist was not significant in facilitating Nazi crimes, the BGH upheld the Itzehoe Regional Court's decision, deeming even supporting roles as aiding and abetting murder. This robust judgment serves as a stark reminder of the accountability for the atrocities committed during the Nazi regime's mass killings.
