'Bookkeeper Of Auschwitz' Goes On Trial

05:42

April 21, 2015

Oskar Groening, 93, arrives for the first day of his trial to face charges of being accomplice to the murder of 300,000 people at the Auschwitz concentration camp, April 21, 2015, in Lueneburg, Germany. Groening was an accountant with the Waffen SS and has been open about his role, claiming in interviews with media that he accepts his moral responsibility. Groening has also written an account of his experience, in what he claims is an effort to counter Holocaust revisionists. State prosecutors accuse Groening of accomplice in the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews who arrived at Auschwitz in 1944. (Andreas Tamme/Getty Images)

A former Auschwitz guard acknowledged Tuesday that he bears a share of the moral guilt for atrocities at the concentration camp, but told judges at the opening of his trial that it is up to them to decide whether he deserves to be convicted as an accessory to murder.

Oskar Groening, 93, acknowledged having helped collect and tally money as part of his job dealing with the belongings stolen from people arriving at Auschwitz. That earned him the moniker "bookkeeper of Auschwitz."

The BBC's Jenny Hill is covering the trial in Lunenburg, Germany, and joins Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson with details.

Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

Reporter

Jenny Hill, Berlin correspondent for the BBC. She tweets @jennyhillBBC.

This segment aired on April 21, 2015.

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