Georg Heuser, 50-year-old principal defendant in the trial of 12 formen Nazis in the wartime mass murders of Jews and Russians in Nazi-occupied Minsk, accepted full responsibility for his guilt this weekend in his final statement to the jury court here trying the case. A verdict is expected May 21.
“I shall have to be made responsible in the execution of innocent people, ” he said. “I am fully aware of the guilt with which I am charged. My regrets belong to the victims.” The 12 defendants are charged with the murder of 35, 000 Jews in the Minsk Ghetto.
Most of the other defendants expressed similar views as the seven-month trial neared its close. The prosecutor has demanded a life sentence for Heuser, who was chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Rhineland Palatinate until his Nazi role was uncovered and he was arrested.
The jury court previously approved a request from one of the defense attorneys that two other former SS men be called to testify. The request was approved despite the fact that summations by the prosecution and defense had been completed. The two additional witnesses reportedly were to present evidence that two SS members who refused to obey orders to kill Jews in the ghetto were executed.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
