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Nazi Hunters Tirelessly Pursue 50 Auschwitz War Criminals
(NBC News) Ian Johnston and Andy Eckardt - On Monday, German state police arrested Hans Lipschis, 93, accused of being a guard at the Auschwitz concentration camp. He is the first suspect to be facing charges as part of a drive launched earlier this year to track down 50 suspected Auschwitz guards believed to be living in Germany. Germany's Central Investigation Center for Nazi Crimes employs 20 people, including seven focusing on the Auschwitz cases. Its director, Kurt Schrimm, said, "Someday there will be no more Nazi criminals to go after and then our organization will shut down. But until then, we will exhaust all investigation possibilities." A landmark German court ruling in the Demjanjuk case has made it simpler to prosecute cases by opening the door to charges of "accessory to murder." "Demjanjuk was convicted solely for his service as an armed SS guard at a death camp," said Efraim Zuroff, Israel director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem. "As a result, this opened up a whole new potential number of people to bring to justice." "Now in Germany, all of a sudden, all you have...to do is find people, because you can prove service with documents." Schrimm added, "Today, any job in a concentration camp can be sufficient evidence towards a conviction as accessory to murder."