A Frankfurt jury court sentenced one of the three defendants in the second trial of Auschwitz death camp personnel to a life term in prison and the other two to prison terms. The verdict was issued on the second day of Rosh Hashana.
Joseph Erber, 68, charged with taking part in the murder of thousands of Jews in the camp, received the life sentence. Wilhelm Burger, 61, received an eight-year term. Gerhard Neubert, 56, was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment. Erber was convicted of murder in 70 cases. The other two defendants were convicted of complicity in murder. Scores of Auschwitz survivors testified during the nine-month trial.
Burger left the court a free man, despite the sentence, because time spent in custody was deducted from his sentence. He served an eight-year term in Poland after conviction by the Polish Supreme Court. He was then arrested again by West German authorities for the Frankfurt trial. The three defendants showed no emotion during their sentencing. They contended throughout the trial they had simply carried out orders.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
