Citation

Andreadis-Papadimitriou P. J. Int. Crim. Justice 2017; 15(1): 157-174.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/jicj/mqw070

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the legal aspects of the decision by the Regional Court of Lüneburg, Germany, in the trial of Oskar Gröning. The accused, a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS), provided guard and bookkeeping duties at Auschwitz concentration camp during the Second World War. This case holds particular interest flowing from the nature of Gröning's duties, which were not directed at guarding the victims but rather involved securing and then cataloguing their property. The legal assessment of Gröning's conduct touches on sensitive issues of criminal law theory, such as causal contribution to and the threshold of participation in a crime, as well as matters of multiplicity and fair sentencing. This article seeks to assess the Court's Judgment under German criminal law and showcase some of the potential issues should an analogous case arise under current international criminal law.

Language: en