A former SS officer called as a prosecution witness in the trial of alleged Nazi war criminal Josef Schwammberger collapsed and died shortly after taking the stand Tuesday in the Stuttgart courtroom.
Erich Scharf, 79, encountered breathing difficulties while answering questions to establish his identity and was soon thereafter pronounced dead.
Scharf was to have given testimony about SS activities during the war in Krakow, Poland where he served with Schwammberger, who was also commandant of concentration camps in Poland.
Schwammberger, also 79, was extradited from Argentina two years ago. He has been charged with personally killing 52 Jews and complicity in the murders of some 3,200 others.
Throughout his trial, which began last summer, Schwammberger has pleaded loss of memory in reply to most questions.
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