Ex-Stutthof Concentration Camp Guard Bruno Dey Sentenced for WW II Crimes

BERLIN, KOMPAS.com - A 93-year-old former SS private as the Stutthof concentration camp has been handed a two-year suspended sentence in Germany.

The former officer, Bruno Dey, was convicted of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder by the Hamburg State Court, according to reports by agency DPA.

Bruno served as a guard in the final months of World War II.

His conviction of 5,232 counts is equal to the number of people believed to have been murdered at Stuffhof concentration camp during Bruno Dey’s service in 1944-1945.

The then-SS private was additionally convicted of one count of accessory to attempted murder.

“How could you get used to the horror?” presiding judge Anne Meier-Goering asked as she announced the verdict.

Bruno Dey was 17 and later 18 years of age at the time of his alleged crimes, hence his case was heard in juvenile court.

The defense demanded acquittal while prosecutors demanded a three-year sentence.

The trial opened in October, and in deference to Dey’s age, court sessions were limited to two, two-hour sessions a week.

Additional precautions also were taken to keep the case going through the height of the coronavirus pandemic.