Demjanjuk Deemed "Fit to Stay in Jail'

John Demjanjuk, the retired US autoworker and accused Nazi guard was deported to Germany to stand trial. (A previous post is here.) Germany doctors determined that he is fit to remain in custody until trial.

He is being kept under medical observation to allow experts to determine whether he is fit to go to trial - an assessment which may take weeks.

But deputy prison director Jochen Menzel said Mr Demjanjuk was in strikingly good condition.

"He is not typical for his age... he is in better shape than usual for an 89-year-old," he told German news channel N24.

Demjanjuk Arrives in Munich

John Demjanjuk, the retired autoworker/accused Nazi guard, arrived in Germany after being deported by the United States. He is 89 years old and in poor health; if he lives long enough and is deemed fit to stand trial, his guilt will be decided by a court in Munich.

Ultimately Mr. Demjanjuk’s advanced age and poor health serve as reminders, regardless of the outcome in court, of how the living memory of the crimes committed during World War II is on the verge of disappearing. Mr. Demjanjuk’s case might well be the last major war crimes trial in Germany, marking the end of an era that began in Nuremberg in 1945.

Thomas Blatt, 82, who was a prisoner at Sobibor at the same time Mr. Demjanjuk has been accused of having worked there as a guard, said the trial itself was more important than meting out any punishment. “I don’t care if he is released; I do care about his testimony,” said Mr. Blatt, who now lives in California and has written two books about his experiences. “There’s many people right now who say the Holocaust never happened.”

Reuters has collected some reactions here. (A previous post.)

6th Circuit Panel Denies Stay of Deportation to Alleged Nazi Guard

A 3-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a stay of deportation to John Demjanjuk, an alleged Nazi death camp guard. An arrest warrant was issued in Munich and he faces 29,000 counts of accessory to murder.

The Demjanjuk saga spans decades and continents. The Wikipedia article provides a good overview of the chronology. The most recent issue was Demjanjuk's argument that because he is old and ill, deportation would constitute torture and would therefore be forbidden under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.