Your tip
RadarOnlineRadarOnline
or
Sign in with lockrMail
BREAKING NEWS

Justice Finally on Way for 100-Year-Old Nazi After Bombshell Legal Ruling Over Former SS Guard Accused of Slaughtering 3,322 WW2 Prisoners at Horror Auschwitz-Style Camp

Gregor Formanek
Source: Bundesarchiv

Gregor Formanek is accused of murdering 3,322 people at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Dec. 3 2024, Published 3:58 p.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to FlipboardShare to Email

A 100-year-old former Nazi could soon finally face trial after a court in Germany cleared the way, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Gregor Formanek was charged with aiding and abetting in more than 3,000 murders while working at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin between July 1943 and February 1945.

Article continues below advertisement
Hitler
Source: MEGA

Formanek is now 100 years old.

Article continues below advertisement

His day of reckoning was initially halted in February, when an expert determined Formanek was not fit to stand trial due to his mental and physical condition. A local court then decided not to press the charges.

However, on Tuesday, a higher court in Frankfurt overturned that decision, arguing the expert’s decision had not been based on "sufficient facts."

The court said: "The expert himself stated that it was not possible to interview the defendant and that the opportunity for extensive psychiatric testing was not available."

Article continues below advertisement

The case has been referred back to Hanau Regional Court in the German Hesse state for a new decision on Formanek. The local public prosecutor's office plans to appeal the ruling that he is unfit to stand trial, with a final decision to be made by the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt.

Formanek could face trial as early as next year.

Article continues below advertisement
Gregor Formanek
Source: Bundesarchiv

After the war, Formanek lived in Germany

Article continues below advertisement

First established in 1936, the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was used as a would-be training ground for Hitler's mass extermination of Jews.

More than 200,000 prisoners passed through Sachsenhausen, which was feared for its gas chambers and chilling medical experiments.

Article continues below advertisement

According to reports, Formanek was living quietly for decades in a modest flat near Frankfurt before his capture. Last year, a group of reporters tracked him down.

However, the former camp guard refused to address the allegations against him.

MORE ON:
Adolph Hitler

DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.

Article continues below advertisement

Born in Romania to a German-speaking tailor, Formanek joined the SS on July 4, 1943, and became part of the Sachsenhausen guard battalion in Brandenburg.

One East German police report described how Formanek would "continually killed prisoners."

Other pieces of evidence revealed the alleged Nazi "supported the cruel and insidious killing of thousands of prisoners."

Article continues below advertisement
Concentration camp
Source: MEGA

More than 200,000 people were detained at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1936 and 1945.

Article continues below advertisement

One Holocaust survivor, Jurek Szarf, now 90, recounted the harsh treatment prisoners at Sachsenhausen faced.

He told a German newspaper: "I was in the hospital block in Sachsenhausen with my father and my uncle and was supposed to be shot. We waited for hours for the execution, then we were freed."

That was in 1945, when Szarf was just 12-years-old.

Article continues below advertisement

Szarf reflected: "The SS drove the prisoners from Sachsenhausen on a long march to escape the approaching Red Army. My father, my uncle and I were too weak to march.

"Two other uncles went with us. One was shot by SS guards, the other was beaten to death."

Article continues below advertisement

More than 200,000 people, including Jewish and gay people, were detained at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1936 and 1945.

Tens of thousands died there from forced labor, murder, medical experiments, hunger or disease before the camp was liberated by Soviet troops.

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.

More From Radar Online

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 RADAR ONLINE™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. RADAR ONLINE is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.