German prosecutors have launched a war crimes investigation into an 87-year-old former SS guard who now lives in the United States, after years of failed American efforts to deport him and strip him of his US citizenship.
Johann "Hans" Breyer is accused of being a guard at the infamous Auschiwtz camp, with the German office that investigates Nazi war crimes urging prosecutors to charge him with accessory to murder and extradite him to Germany where he may face trial for involvement in the death of at least 344,000 Jews.
Associated Press have also obtained documents that they claim show some doubts about Brayer’s claimed departure from Auschiwtz.
Prosecutors hope to use the same legal theory that was used against John Demjanjuk who was charged with guarding Sobibor death camp in Nazi occupied Poland and was living in the US. He died appealing against the charges in March this year.
Breyer meanwhile protested his innocence, stating,
Johann "Hans" Breyer is accused of being a guard at the infamous Auschiwtz camp, with the German office that investigates Nazi war crimes urging prosecutors to charge him with accessory to murder and extradite him to Germany where he may face trial for involvement in the death of at least 344,000 Jews.
Associated Press have also obtained documents that they claim show some doubts about Brayer’s claimed departure from Auschiwtz.
Prosecutors hope to use the same legal theory that was used against John Demjanjuk who was charged with guarding Sobibor death camp in Nazi occupied Poland and was living in the US. He died appealing against the charges in March this year.
Breyer meanwhile protested his innocence, stating,
"I didn't kill anybody, I didn't rape anybody – and I don't even have a traffic ticket here…. I didn't do anything wrong... We could only see the outside, the gates."