Auschwitz guard dies before going on trial in Germany
April 7, 2016
Ernst T., as he was known in the media, died of what appeared to be natural causes in his home in Langenselbold on Thursday, police said.
Police said there was nothing to suggest suicide or foul play had been the cause of his death.
The 93-year-old was a member of the SS-Totenkopfsturmbann (SS-Death's Head Unit) and had worked as a guard in Auschwitz from 1942 to 1943. Ernst T. was preparing to go on trial next Wednesday for his role in the deportation of people from transit camps in Germany, France and the Netherlands. He was charged with accessory to murder.
Over the years, Germany has been putting on trial the last living men and women to have allegedly played a part in the Holocaust, which led to the deaths of some six million Jews, as well as five million other non-Jews.
Two other men and one woman, all in their 90s, have also been accused of playing a role in the Nazi death machine. The trials for the two men have already started, while the trial date for the woman has yet to be announced.
blc/jil (DPA, Reuters, AP)