DETMOLD, Germany — A 94-year-old former SS sergeant was found guilty Friday of 170,000 counts of accessory to murder and sentenced to five years in prison for serving as an Auschwitz guard, in a verdict that survivors from the Nazi death camp hailed as a long overdue victory.
Hanning’s attorney, Andreas Scharmer, suggested an appeal was likely, and Hanning won’t have to serve any prison time until his appeals are exhausted.
Though there was no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp operate, and thus could be tried for accessory to murder.
