Seems hard to believe that someone today could stand trial for the atrocities that happened to the Jews at Auschwitz. Oskar Groening is an exception to the rule.

Oskar Groening, a former SS Sgt who was stationed at the Auschwitz death camp is on trial facing 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. The charges stem from a time period between May and July of 1944. The actual number of Jews who were put to death in that time frame is upwards of 425,000. 

Let that sink in for a moment.

300,000, mostly gassed, in 3 months...90 days! Groening said it was common to see 5000 human beings put to death in a 24-hour time span. The kicker though is Oskar Groening really didn't have any part in the death camp other than watching guard over the luggage and personal belongings that were dumped at the Auschwitz-Birkenau facility.

Part of what he was assigned to do was count the money from those personal belongings and then send that on to Berlin. He was given the nickname "Accountant of Auschiwitz."

So why now?

Though he was investigated twice before and no charges were brought, Groening was indicted under a new line of German legal reasoning that anyone who helped a death camp function can be accused of being an accessory to murder without evidence of participation in a specific crime.

Groening has been on record many times saying that he wanted no part of the death camps and pleaded to be sent to a combat unit not once, but three times and was turned down. Many Germans of the era have said that turning down an assignment meant execution so what were they supposed to do?  On the other side of the coin, there are also German soldiers who have said they turned down assignments and their punishment was to be sent to the front lines the same day. I suppose it depended on who the commanding officer was for these soldiers deciding if the punishment would be a bullet to the head or being sent to the front lines.

I guess my point is that I do believe not every German soldier was a monster. I'm sure there were many of them who did have hearts and a conscience and just like our soldiers of today, they honor their commanders by following orders. I also know though many of our soldiers, Vietnam especially, would NOT take part of a war atrocity they knew was wrong just because they were ordered to do so.

Oskar Groening, who is now 93-years-old, faces between three and 15 years in prison.

More From K99