Jail for ‘bookkeeper’ of Auschwitz who took money from 300,000 about to die

A former SS officer known as the “bookkeeper of Auschwitz” has been found guilty over the murder of 300,000 people and jailed for four years. Oskar Groening, who served at the death camp during the Second Wold War, was convicted by a court in Germany. At his trial, attended by Holocaust survivors and victims’ relatives, Groening admitted he knew about the killings, asked for forgiveness but said it was up to court to decide his “legal culpability”. The 94-year-old’s case could be the last major Holocaust trial as few Nazis suspected of committing crimes are still alive.

For me there’s no question that I share moral guilt … I ask for forgiveness.

Former SS officer Oskar Groening

Groening was 21 and by his own admission an enthusiastic Nazi when he was sent to work at Auschwitz in 1942. He was responsible for collecting deportees’ belongings after they arrived at the concentration camp. His job involved inspecting the luggage and removing any bank notes. He then sent the stolen money to the SS offices in Berlin to help the war effort. Prosecutors argued this amounted to helping the death camp function.

I saw the gas chambers. I saw the crematoria. I was on the ramp when the selections [for the gas chambers] took place.

Former SS officer Oskar Groening

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