Is It Still Worth It? Or Just A Witchhunt?

[paraffin]

il.co.uk/news/article-1199359/Nazi-death-camp-guard-stand-trial-Germany-helping-kill-28-000-Jews-WWII.html

Is it justifiable for World War II Nazis still to be hunted down and brought to trial, as in this case?

Or, 60 odd years on, should the albeit few remaining be allowed to see out their lives in peace?

[Beauj]

Sorry, that was Aunt!

[andy-hughes]

I think that war criminals have to be pursued to the end of their days.

The alternative is a 'statute of limitations' scenario, and where do we draw the line? Sixty years? Seventy? Fifty?

If someone is alive, they are in a position to answer for their crimes, age simply does not enter into it.

[daffy654]

Very well put Andy!

[sqad617]

Andy/daffy....of course age matters..........just tell me how justice is served by putting old man of 90+ in jail for the rest of his "life"

Conditions of war are quite different from conditions of peace.

[Clanad]

It would seem to me that "the conditions of war" are immaterial to this discussion since the prisoners in the various death camps were never given the chance to be at war. Men, women and children were not only shot, gassed or otherwise murdered, they were used for horrible experiments (twin children were especially of interest to the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele (among others). Here's a brief outtake from one survivor's testimony:

"One day, my twin brother, Tibi, was taken away for some special experiments. Dr. Mengele had always been more interested in Tibi. I am not sure why - perhaps because he was the older twin.
Mengele made several operations on Tibi. One surgery on his spine left my brother paralyzed. He could not walk anymore. Then they took out his sexual organs. After the fourth operation, I did not see Tibi anymore.

I cannot tell you how I felt. It is impossible to put into words how I felt. They had taken away my father, my mother, my two older brothers - and now, my twin. (The surgery was done without anathesia).

So, just as the Jewish Nazi hunters like Simon Wiesenthal and Mossad never ceased efforts in locating the criminals, civilized mankind must never relent... Here in the U.S. as well as other locations it's only one small step from complacency to Holocaust denial...

I also think vengence should be a part of the process as long as the letter of the law is observed...

[rov1200]

One of the bad traits of humanity is that we are all capable of torture especially if it is praised by your peers or a higher authority.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6727-eve ryone-is-a-potential-torturer.html

[sqad617]

rov......quite an interesting statement and quite true, proved scientifically that we are ALL capable of killing and inflicting pain on others.

[birdie1971]

The passage of time should not factor in the application of the law.

Just because these remaining murderers (for that is what they are) are old and decrepit should not mean that they escape justice.

There have been a number of cases of late that have put people behind bars who have abused their kids decades ago. Should these people not be pursued because their crimes happened in the dim and distant past? I think not.

And saying that they'll get their just deserts in the 'afterlife' assumes that there is an 'afterlife' within which you can be punished. Since the existence of this 'afterlife' cannot be confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt, I would suggest that it's prudent, whenever possible, to punish these people for their crimes while they are still on this mortal plane.

Age is irrelevant.

[joko]

redhelen- these people are not being hunted in revenge!
your statement makes it sound as though there is a vigilante mob with pitch forks going on the rampage.

they are being hunted by the relevant authorities for the crimes they committed. that is their job. revenge doesnt come into it.

thats like saying the police catch burgulars as 'revenge'!

I agree that to some extent that many of them were 'just doing their job' and were somehwhat brainwashed and in great fear - they saw what was being done to the prisoners so could only imagine what would be done to them if they disobeyed...however, many 'got stuck in' and appeared to revel in their role...reports that some even laughed an inflicted their own more minor tortures on the prisoners are common....the fact still remains - they committed these crimes...an shoudl be punished

myra hindley is a famous example of the claims of the power of brainwashing and commiting extreme violence under duress - should she have been forgiven too? - after all - she was 'only following orders' ....i do not believe brady would have killed her had she refused.

rose west just did as fred ordered ...didnt she...?
who knows...but where is the line drawn?