Auschwitz Medic Was Indicted In 2013, But Has Not Stood Trial
Hubert Zafke was born in 1920 in Pomerania, Germany. He joined the Schutztaffel — more commonly known as “SS” — and in 1942 and 1943 served medic at the Sachsenhausen and Neuengamme concentration camps. Both were in the north of Germany, and had been around for a while by the time of his arrival. Sachenhausen was built in 1936. Initially it was meant to be an execution camp, its primary function was as an SS training camp. Neuengamme was created two years later in 1938 and was used primarily as holding camp. It was like a port city; prisoners would be shipped to Neuengamme and then transported to sub camps spattered around Europe. Nonetheless, when Zarke arrived in 1942, the Nauengamme was already using hydrogen cyanide as a means of mass slaughter.
Many held captive in Sachsenhausen were eventually sent to Auschwitz and meanwhile Auschwitz was shipping prisoners to Neuengamme. Give nthe triangulation momentum between the three facilities, it is not surprising that Hubert Zafke was sent to Auschwitz. He arrived there in the summer of 1944, the year after the notorious camp installed the ovens where droves of people being held in one of the largest concentration camps every built would be erased from existence. After Zafke arrived, 3,861 prisoners are thought to have been murdered in the gas chambers or otherwise at the camp between August 14 and September 15, 1944 while he was there. In addition, it has recently been denoted one of the arrivals while Zafke was working Auschwitz was Anne Frank.
Zafke eventually left Auschwitz and was arrested by the British and sent to Poland to stand trail for his participation in the deaths of innocent people at the concentration camp. Like Sommer, Zafke was sentenced to prison in the country where his crimes took place. Amazingly, he was only sentenced to 3 years. When he was subsequently released and returned to Germany, it took until 2013 for an investigation to bear enough fruit to charge him with helping to carry out the systematic murder of over 3,000 people. Since then, a number of trials have been suspended due to Zafke’s poor health.
In 2013, German federal prosecutors began the investigation of Germans that served at concentration camps, including Hubert Zafke. He was arrested and indicted as an alleged accomplice to the killing of 3,861 persons at Auschwitz. The accused denied the charges against him. Hubert Zafke was scheduled to stand trial in February 2016. However, the presiding judge determined that he was unfit to stand trial, owing to his alleged dementia and depression, among other health concerns. The Court of Appeal annulled this decision, deciding that the accused was fit to stand trial. Another potential trial began in October 2016. The prosecutor, as well as the civil parties, have requested the refusal of the first instance judges for their lack of impartiality. This request was denied in December 2016.