Germany Upholds Conviction of Former Nazi Secretary
Germany Upholds Conviction of Former Nazi Secretary
The Facts
A German court rejected the appeal of 99-year-old Irmgard Furchner for her role in the deaths of over 10,000 people as a secretary at the Nazi Stutthof concentration camp during World War II.
Furchner was originally tried in a juvenile court because she was eighteen and nineteen years old during the time that the alleged crimes took place. Last month, her lawyers cast doubt on whether Furchner could really be considered an accessory to the murders that took place at the camp, and on whether she was truly aware what was going on.
The Spin
While administrative employees like Furchner are less close to the crimes than high ranking officials, they still helped to aid and abet. Providing administrative assistance to mass murder counts as serving as an accessory to mass murder. In her role Furchner participated in work that led to the deaths of thousands of people. She should be held legally accountable for this.
It is ridiculous that someone who worked small administrative tasks at a desk like reading, writing, and sorting correspondence should be charged with the murder of thousands of prisoners. Furchner has long maintained that she was unaware of the murders that took place at the camp and had no contact with the prisoners. This elderly woman should not be punished for crimes she did not commit, just because she was a secretary as a teenager.
