The district court sitting in this Bavarian city has finally opened the case of Martin Sommer, former concentration camp overseer at Buchenwald. The case had been postponed for years because Sommer was suffering from the after-effects of wounds.
Though the prosecution has evidence intended to prove the murder of some 200 Jewish and other victims, the court will hear evidence on 53 so as to spare the defendant the strain of a lengthy trial. Witnesses will testify that he personally beat or throttled to death dozens of prisoners and introduced at the camp a “thrashing block” designed for more efficient beating of prisoners.
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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.
