Nazi guard Demjanjuk fails to stop trial - Germany

John Demjanjuk, accused of assisting in the murder of 27,900 Jews in a Nazi death camp, failed on Wednesday in an attempt to have his trial starting November 30 blocked.

Germany's Constitutional Court said it had thrown out an appeal by the 89-year-old's lawyers on grounds of his ailing health and because he had already spent time in Israeli jails.

In what is likely to be one of the last major Nazi war-crimes trials in Germany, Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk, is now due to stand trial in Munich.

Prosecutors have charged Demjanjuk with being a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943 where hundreds of thousands of Jews were herded to the gas chambers.

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Go justice, go!

Brilliant news! Imagine, how horrifying it was, to the Jewish victims, to have suffered such brutal and savage crime! Being hacked with swords, and murdered and tortured with all kinds of unspeakable ways, just because they are Jews?! I hope this man will languished his last years in prison. And his family, why can't they feel remorse for what this man, Demjanjuk, has done to other human beings and so savagely, instead of defending him? Love has a boundary when it comes to injustice. Further, I was visting an old Jewish cemetery in Wacchenheim, and feel so sad to see some graves from that part of brutal history. And some of the graves also looked as if they had no more relatives to visit and care for them - maybe due to the relatives also were dead or murdered or migrated elsewhere, and never came back........The Jewish exile descendents should be encouraged to come back and reclaim their right here, and rebuilt many of the synagogues that were destroyed.

I agree that there should be no statute of limitations on crimes such as this. Nevertheless this man is innocent until proven guilty!

The trials not even started and you have convicted him already nooraza. Why not take him out back and just shoot him, save a whole lot of money and time.
All rather odd when he was found not guilty after a trial by an Israeli court when another man was identified as Ivan. Also, what has rejection of an appeal on grounds he had already spent time in an Israeli jail got to do with anything.

You Germans really need to get over it with respect to prosecuting old men. This is true however for much of the Western world. Looking at the state of the world today, one must ask how lucky was the West for winning the war? Get over yourselves!

Demjanjuk was born in Ukraine in 1920 and was conscripted into the Soviet army during WWII. He was eventually taken prisoner by the Germans and joined their anti-Soviet army only a couple of months before the end of the war. What could he possibly have done in a month or two as a private? Any one who has been in the military knows privates don't do anything important and are at the bottom of everything and responsible for nothing. The Israelis aquitted him in 1988 of being Ivan the Terrible. Case closed, you evil bastards. Don't torment an old man for the guilt that devours your own souls.

One of the things I notice in life is, who what where when how and why. The note at the top of this page states, 27.000 thousand against perhaps a half million jews put to death at this camp. How do they come up with this figure. On top of that he was born where, and he was not identified in a previous arguement by a complaint. Why not just put him on train and send him back to the Ukrainian.

Misdirected energies is what this whole thing smacks of if you ask me - Japan has no qualms in letting its criminals live out their days, and we accept that and do very little, whereas because of Germany's policy of bringing criminals to justice we continue to exploit it 60 years since the war ended. Let the old man go home and die in peace, or prosecute him, but demand that Japan does something to even admit guilt for the mistreatment of thousands of POWs.

Didn't the Scotland let go of the Libyan who killed 250+ ppl on a Pan Am flight? Let me add that that man was proven guilty! He was let go on compassionate grounds considering his inevitable death.
So, what's the use giving this 89 yr old such a hard time? Can't the law let go of this man who will inevitably die soon?
I'm surprised what the law want out of this guy? Moreover, I'm surprise he has still survived after undergoing all the trouble he has!
Ridiculous.

This man was extridited to Israel years ago and tried and convicted. However, on appeal it was determined that he did not receive a fair trial and witnesses testified that he was not "Ivan the Terrible". I believe that he spent 6 years in an Israeli prison which was the sentence for just being a guard at a prison camp, and then released.In my opinion, Israel did not even have jurisdiction over this case because the alleged crimes were not committed in Israel. Now, years later, the Germans want to put him on trial. What I'd like to know is, who is behind all of this in the German government. These alleged crimes took place 70 years ago but it is only now when this man can die any day that you want to put him on trial?

He was found innocent at the supreme court level in Israel.....He lived a good respected life in America....This trial is just abusive and inhuman. Hasn't Germany learned it lesson? I think it has and this is only a political 'typoe' trying improve its career.

Those prisoners that helped the Third Reich have not been brought to Justice....Lets see that happen.

Uh, crunchy, he's on trial for being one of those prisoners that helped the third reich.