Sobibor

John Demjanjuk will stand trial in what is being described as probably the last Nazi war crimes trial to be held in Germany.

Personally, I am of two minds. The atrocities committed by Nazi Germany against its population, especially its Jewish population are well documented and should not ever be forgotten. There have been a number of trial over the years in an attempt to bring closure and justice, and I understand that.

On the other hand, Mr. Demjanjuk is 90 years old and while there is no statue of limitations on murder, much less genocide, I cannot help but wonder what will be achieved. From the position of incontrovertible proof, the government is going to have to come up with hard evidence. Documentation, photographs, hand written evidence, and it is going to have to be cross referenced and double checked because that is about all that is left that is credible. Any eye-witnesses that might still be alive will be either equally as old or have been almost too young to remember what happened that long ago and are still not young themselves.

I am neither Jewish, nor of Jewish or German decent. So I would like to think I can look at this as an objective observer. The BBC was interviewing a man who is going to Germany for the trial because he lost some 40 members of his family. Clearly, he suffered a great loss. But if Mr. Demjanjuk is guilty, what sentence could the German court impose that karma has not already imposed upon him. If he is guilty, he has had to live all this time with the memory of knowing he was guilty. In all reality, what is there left to achieve?