Demjanjuk, 89, accused of herding Jews to their deaths in Holocaust

PROSECUTORS accused 89-year-old John Demjanjuk yesterday of knowingly herding thousands of Jews to their deaths in the Holocaust and standing by as victims of Nazi death camp Sobibor screamed in fear.

Propped up under a white sheet on a mobile bed, the former US car worker closed his eyes or stared into space as prosecuting lawyers charged him with helping to kill 27,900 Jews in what may be Germany’s last major Nazi-era war crimes trial.

Demjanjuk denies he was involved in the Holocaust and his family insists he is too frail to stand trial.

State prosecutor Hans-Joachim Lutz told the court that shortly after he arrived in Sobibor “at the latest”, Demjanjuk knew the purpose of the camp was to exterminate Jews.

“At the same time, he did not escape from the camp, although he had the chance to do so when he was off duty, or on duty outside the camp. He possessed a gun which would have made escape possible,” said Lutz.

Lutz said that Demjanjuk had been involved in the “process of extermination” because he had stood by with his gun as Jews were taken off trains, were made to undress and pushed into gas chambers.

“In the time between March 1943 to mid- September 1943, he, along with others, therefore knowingly ensured that the victims named had no possibility of escape, but were instead put to death in gas chambers or were shot,” he added.

“He therefore willingly participated in the murders of at least 27,900 people who were brought to Sobibor in the 15 trains from the Netherlands, as well as in other transports.”

Shortly after the day’s hearing began, Demjanjuk, wearing a black leather jacket, grey top and a baseball cap, began waving his hand in what appeared to be an attempt to form the sign of the cross over his head and shoulders.

The court adjourned briefly after about 80 minutes while Demjanjuk was laid on his side, facing the presiding judge with his head turned away from the rest of the court.

Not long after the break, the judge gave Demjanjuk an opportunity to respond to the charges, but the defendant gave no obvious sign of response. His lawyer, Ulrich Busch, told the court that they had agreed he would not speak at this point.

Although he has acknowledged being at other camps, Demjanjuk has denied he was in Sobibor, which prosecutors say was run by 20-30 Nazi SS members and up to 150 former Soviet war prisoners.

In the Sobibor gas chambers Jews died within 20 to 30 minutes after inhaling a toxic mix of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, prosecutors said. Groups of about 80 were forced into gas chambers measuring about 4 by 4 meters.

Screams, cries and banging could be heard from outside as panic gripped the victims, the prosecutors added.

David van Huiden, 78, a Dutch Jew whose family was killed in Sobibor, said anyone working at the camp was responsible.

“It is a shame,” he said of Demjanjuk.

“We here consider him to be doing a bit of theatre. On top of that, he isn’t facing anybody, his eyes are mostly closed. It is my feeling that the German court is so eager to have him here they will accept him in any shape,” he added.