Life imprisonment for one of the defendants, and imprisonment for 12 years for two others, was demanded by the prosecution today as the second trial of Auschwitz personnel was coming to a close here.
The life sentence was sought for Joseph Erber, formerly an officer in the SS, who was accused of participation in the mass murder of Jews in the Auschwitz concentration camp and of personally “carrying out some especially horrible killings.” The state prosecutor charged that Erber was not merely carrying out orders but “knew exactly what he was doing.”
The 12-year sentences were requested for Wilhelm Burger and for Gerhard Neubert. In Burger’s case, the prosecution charged him in general with murder. In the case of Neubert, it was specified that he had selected 1,440 Auschwitz inmates for death in the gas chambers. The prosecution asked the court that the sentences for all three men be implemented “at hard labor.”
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.
