Georg Heuser, the chief defendant in the trial of 12 former Nazis charged with the mass murder of more than 35, 000 Jews in Minsk during the Second World War, told the court here today that he did not hate Jews but killed them to advance his career. “It was a sort of political schizophrenia, ” he declared.
Asserting that he had never discussed the killings with other members of the execution squad, Heuser, who was a Rhineland-Palatinate police chief until his arrest, said that he “saw family men line up at the mass graves and shoot Jews. They behaved as all others did. “
The court admitted as prosecution exhibits, a number of historic documents, including a 1939 speech by Adolf Hitler in which, the prosecution pointed out, Hitler had “passed the death sentence” on all European Jews.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
