West German State Prosecutor Adalbert Ruckerl now believes it is almost impossible to get a Nazi war criminal convicted for crimes committed nearly a half century ago.
The federal investigation offices in Ludwigsburg continue to amass evidence and prepare charges against individuals, he said.
But very few Nazis are expected to be charged this year, and it is highly improbable that war crimes charges will be filed in future years, the prosecutor said.
He spoke Tuesday after the screening here of a Paramount newsreel on Nazi war criminals and death camps, first released to theaters on May 5, 1945, at the end of World War II.
The documentary appeared in a section of the Berlin Film Festival devoted to conditions in Europe immediately after the war, with emphasis on war crimes and the fate of millions of Jews who perished.
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