Auschwitz guard goes on trial, says he shares moral guilt

Defendant Oskar Groening sits in the dock of the court in Lueneburg, northern Germany, Tuesday, April 21, 2015. The 93-year-old former Auschwitz guard faces trial on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder, in a case that will test the argument that anyone who served at a Nazi death camp was complicit in what happened there. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP) Defendant Oskar Groening sits in the dock of the court in Lueneburg, northern Germany, Tuesday, April 21, 2015. The 93-year-old former Auschwitz guard faces trial on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder, in a case that will test the argument that anyone who served at a Nazi death camp was complicit in what happened there. (Julian Stratenschulte/Pool Photo via AP)

By Associated Press April 21, 2015 1 min read

LUENEBURG, Germany (AP) – A former Auschwitz guard has testified at his trial that he bears a moral share of the blame for atrocities at the camp, but it’s up to judges to decide whether he deserves to be convicted as an accessory to murder.

As his trial opened Tuesday, 93-year-old Oskar Groening acknowledged having helped collect and tally money as part of his job dealing with the belongings stolen from people arriving at Auschwitz.

Groening told reporters as he arrived at the court in Lueneburg, south of Hamburg, that he expects an acquittal. In his statement to judges, he didn’t detail direct participation in any atrocities.

He concluded by saying to judges: “I share morally in the guilt but whether I am guilty under criminal law, you will have to decide.”