A 93-year-old former member of the Nazi SS and guard at the Stutthof concentration camp testified Monday that he regretted his role in the Holocaust, which has earned him thousands of charges of accessory to murder.
Bruno Dey joined the SS and began serving at the camp when he was 17, allowing him to be tried in juvenile court despite his current age, the Associated Press reported. He apologized to the victims of the camp and told the court “the images of misery and horror have haunted me my entire life.” He also claimed to be posted there against his will after failing a combat test.
Photographs are displayed at the Birkenau Museum of the many faces of the men, women and children at the Auschwitz II – Birkenau which was built in March 1942 in the village of Brzezinka, Poland. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Dey admitted to investigators that he was aware of the death camp’s purpose, being able to hear the screams of victims in gas chambers and see their bodies carted off to be burned, according to the AP. (RELATED: Holocaust Survivor Accuses AOC Of Spreading ‘Anti-Semitism, Hatred, And Stupidity)
Presiding Judge Anne Meier-Goering has limited the court sessions to just two hours a day and twice a week in deference to Dey’s age. (RELATED: Largest US Holocaust Museum Condemns Holocaust Analogies After AOC’s Concentration Camp Comparison)
Dey, who covered his face with a red folder while in the courtroom, is charged with 5,230 counts of accessory to murder, having served at Stutthof between 1944-1945. He faces six months to 10 years in prison if convicted.
