Germany convicts 97-year-old former secretary at Nazi concentration camp

A German court on Tuesday convicted a 97-year-old woman of being an accessory to murder in over 10,000 cases for her role as a secretary to the SS commander of the Nazis' Stutthof concentration camp during World War II.

Irmgard Furchner was accused of being part of the apparatus that helped the camp function.

The Itzehoe state court in northern Germany gave her a two-year suspended sentence, German news agency dpa reported.

She was alleged to have “aided and abetted those in charge of the camp in the systematic killing of those imprisoned there between June 1943 and April 1945 in her function as a stenographer and typist in the camp commandant’s office.”

The verdict and sentence were in line with prosecutors' demands.

Defense lawyers had asked for their client to be acquitted, arguing that the evidence hadn’t shown beyond doubt that Furchner knew about the systematic killings at the camp, meaning there was no proof of intent as required for criminal liability.

In her closing statement, Furchner said she was sorry for what had happened and regretted that she had been at Stutthof at the time.

Furchner was tried in juvenile court because she was 18 and 19 at the time of the alleged crimes and the court couldn't establish beyond doubt her “maturity of mind” at the time of the alleged offenses.

Presiding Judge Dominik Gross nonetheless noted that she could have resigned from her position at any time.

Also watch: Taliban release 2 Americans from captivity; USA says no prisoner swap or money exchange