97-year-old German woman convicted for role as secretary under Nazi commander

A German court has convicted a 97-year-old woman of being an accessory to more than 10,000 murders for her role as a secretary to the SS commander of the Nazis’ Stutthof concentration camp during World War II.

According to the court, Irmgard Furchner “knew and, through her work as a stenographer in the commandant’s office of the Stutthof concentration camp from June 1, 1943, to April 1, 1945, deliberately supported the fact that 10,505 prisoners were cruelly killed by gassings, by hostile conditions in the camp,” located near Danzig, now the Polish city of Gdansk.

“The promotion of these acts by the accused took place through the completion of paperwork” the court said. “This activity was necessary for the organization of the camp and the execution of the cruel, systematic acts of killing.”

Furchner’s lawyers argued that the court hadn’t shown beyond doubt that Furchner knew about the systematic killings at the camp. She was 18 when she started working at the camp.

Furchner, who wore large sunglasses, face mask, and a head scarf covering her face, apologized for her role but didn’t admit any fault.

Presiding Judge Dominik Gross dismissed the defense’s argument, saying it was “simply beyond all imagination” that Furchner didn’t know about the killings.

Stutthof survivor Manfred Goldberg agreed telling Sky News: “It was impossible not to know what happened. There were bodies being carted openly through the camp.”