SWC Welcomes Conviction and Maximum Jail Sentence for Sachsenhausen Guard Josef Schütze

June 28, 2022

Brandenburg, Germany - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today welcomed the conviction and maximum jail sentence issued by a German court here in the case of former Sachsenhausen guard Josef Schütze (pictured), who served in the SS contingent in the notorious concentration camp for more than three years. Schütze denied serving in Sachsenhausen, but the prosecution was able to prove his lengthy service as an SS guard.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center Jerusalem office assisted the prosecution by finding Holocaust survivors from the camp, as well as first-degree relatives of the victims who can join the prosecution in accordance with German law.

The Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, praised the verdict as an unequivocal rejection of Schütze's attempts to deny his service in the SS as a guard at Sachsenhausen. He also praised the continued efforts of German lawyers, such as Thomas Walther, who represented the survivors as well as the relatives of the victims, several of whom were located by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, follow the Center on Facebook, or @simonwiesenthal and @EZuroff for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).