This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/ss-dutch-resistance-nazi-siert-bruins
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ex-SS man on trial charged with killing Dutch resistance fighter | Ex-SS man on trial charged with killing Dutch resistance fighter |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A 92-year-old who served in the Waffen-SS is due to go on trial in Germany on charges of killing a Dutch resistance fighter at the end of the second world war. | A 92-year-old who served in the Waffen-SS is due to go on trial in Germany on charges of killing a Dutch resistance fighter at the end of the second world war. |
| Dutch-born Siert Bruins will appear in court in the western city of Hagen charged with murder after being found medically fit for the proceedings. He is accused of shooting the resistance fighter Aldert Klaas Dijkema in the back in September 1944. | Dutch-born Siert Bruins will appear in court in the western city of Hagen charged with murder after being found medically fit for the proceedings. He is accused of shooting the resistance fighter Aldert Klaas Dijkema in the back in September 1944. |
| Bruins, who volunteered for the SS after Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1941, served time in prison in Germany in the 1980s after being found guilty of the murder of two Jewish brothers in April 1945. His lawyer declined to comment on the new charge. | Bruins, who volunteered for the SS after Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1941, served time in prison in Germany in the 1980s after being found guilty of the murder of two Jewish brothers in April 1945. His lawyer declined to comment on the new charge. |
| In an televised interview with the broadcaster Das Erste, Bruins said he had been present at the murder of Dijkema but claimed another soldier, now dead, had shot him. | In an televised interview with the broadcaster Das Erste, Bruins said he had been present at the murder of Dijkema but claimed another soldier, now dead, had shot him. |
| "I walked on the right [of Dijkema]," he said. "He was on the left. Then suddenly I heard the shots, and someone fell." | "I walked on the right [of Dijkema]," he said. "He was on the left. Then suddenly I heard the shots, and someone fell." |
| The court wrote in a statement: "The accused is alleged to have taken Mr Dijkema on the orders of his superior … in a car near to a factory. There, the accused and his accomplice are alleged to have shot Mr Dijkema four times. | |
| "He was hit in the back of his head, among other places, and died immediately. Later on, the accused and his accomplice admitted that Mr Dijkema was shot as he tried to flee." | "He was hit in the back of his head, among other places, and died immediately. Later on, the accused and his accomplice admitted that Mr Dijkema was shot as he tried to flee." |
| The trial is expected to extend over 11 hearings until the end of September. | The trial is expected to extend over 11 hearings until the end of September. |
| In the last few years, German prosecutors have actively sought out the last surviving Nazi war criminals to bring them to justice. | |
| The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in July launched its Operation Last Chance II, a campaign to root out surviving Nazi war criminals and bring them to justice before they die.The hunt is no longer for high-level perpetrators of the Holocaust, in which some 6 million Jews were murdered, but for thousands of accomplices in the crime. | The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in July launched its Operation Last Chance II, a campaign to root out surviving Nazi war criminals and bring them to justice before they die.The hunt is no longer for high-level perpetrators of the Holocaust, in which some 6 million Jews were murdered, but for thousands of accomplices in the crime. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday. |