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| Auschwitz trial: Ex-guard Reinhold Hanning in German court | Auschwitz trial: Ex-guard Reinhold Hanning in German court |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A 94-year-old former Nazi SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp has gone on trial in Germany over the murder of at least 170,000 people. | A 94-year-old former Nazi SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp has gone on trial in Germany over the murder of at least 170,000 people. |
| Prosecutors say Reinhold Hanning met Jewish prisoners as they arrived at the camp in occupied Poland and may have escorted some to the gas chambers. | Prosecutors say Reinhold Hanning met Jewish prisoners as they arrived at the camp in occupied Poland and may have escorted some to the gas chambers. |
| Mr Hanning has admitted being a guard but denies involvement in mass murder. | Mr Hanning has admitted being a guard but denies involvement in mass murder. |
| He is being tried in the city of Detmold, in what is likely to be one of the last cases of its kind. | He is being tried in the city of Detmold, in what is likely to be one of the last cases of its kind. |
| Mr Hanning is one of four elderly former Nazi guards - three men and a woman - who are due to go on trial in the coming months. | Mr Hanning is one of four elderly former Nazi guards - three men and a woman - who are due to go on trial in the coming months. |
| The Nazis killed about 1.1m people at Auschwitz, most of them Jews. | The Nazis killed about 1.1m people at Auschwitz, most of them Jews. |
| Mr Hanning was an SS guard at Auschwitz from 1943-44, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were murdered there. | Mr Hanning was an SS guard at Auschwitz from 1943-44, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were murdered there. |
| His trial is being held in the west German city's chamber of commerce, in order to accommodate more people. | His trial is being held in the west German city's chamber of commerce, in order to accommodate more people. |
| Each trial session will last just two hours, due to the defendant's age. | Each trial session will last just two hours, due to the defendant's age. |
| In the courtroom: Jenny Hill, BBC News, Detmold | In the courtroom: Jenny Hill, BBC News, Detmold |
| There was a rush of excitement as the thin old man in a brown jacket stepped into the courtroom. | There was a rush of excitement as the thin old man in a brown jacket stepped into the courtroom. |
| Reinhold Hanning stared at the floor as, flanked by his lawyers, he limped to his chair. Cameras circled, the light from their flashbulbs reflecting on his spectacles. | Reinhold Hanning stared at the floor as, flanked by his lawyers, he limped to his chair. Cameras circled, the light from their flashbulbs reflecting on his spectacles. |
| I saw his jaw tense. But he did not look up. | I saw his jaw tense. But he did not look up. |
| Only once did that change. Leon Schwarzbaum - an Auschwitz survivor who is 10 months older than the man in the dock - was giving evidence, telling the court about his memories, which he said still torment him to this day. | |
| He looked straight across the courtroom and addressed Mr Hanning, who looked up, briefly startled, at the sound of his name. | He looked straight across the courtroom and addressed Mr Hanning, who looked up, briefly startled, at the sound of his name. |
| The courtroom was absolutely still as the two men looked at each other for just a moment. | The courtroom was absolutely still as the two men looked at each other for just a moment. |
| "Mr Hanning," Mr Schwarzbaum continued. "We're about the same age. And we will soon face our final judge. I want you to tell the truth about what you and your comrades did." | |
| Survivors of the World War II death camp are due to testify against Mr Hanning. | Survivors of the World War II death camp are due to testify against Mr Hanning. |
| "The chimneys were spewing fire... the smell of burning human flesh was so unbelievable that one could hardly bear it," 94-year-old Leon Schwarzbaum was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. | "The chimneys were spewing fire... the smell of burning human flesh was so unbelievable that one could hardly bear it," 94-year-old Leon Schwarzbaum was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. |
| Until recently, prosecutors were required to provide evidence that defendants were directly involved in the killings. | Until recently, prosecutors were required to provide evidence that defendants were directly involved in the killings. |
| But that changed with the 2011 conviction of John Demjanjuk, when a judge concluded that his activities as a camp worker in Nazi-occupied Poland amounted to complicity in mass murder. | But that changed with the 2011 conviction of John Demjanjuk, when a judge concluded that his activities as a camp worker in Nazi-occupied Poland amounted to complicity in mass murder. |
| Last year a German court sentenced Oskar Groening, 94, to four years in jail as an accessory to the murder of at least 300,000 people at Auschwitz. | Last year a German court sentenced Oskar Groening, 94, to four years in jail as an accessory to the murder of at least 300,000 people at Auschwitz. |
| Known as the SS "book-keeper of Auschwitz", he was allegedly responsible for counting banknotes confiscated from prisoners. | Known as the SS "book-keeper of Auschwitz", he was allegedly responsible for counting banknotes confiscated from prisoners. |
| Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp | Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp |
| How the Holocaust unfolded, year by year | How the Holocaust unfolded, year by year |
| Why did ordinary people commit atrocities in the Holocaust? | Why did ordinary people commit atrocities in the Holocaust? |