德国88岁前纳粹党卫军成员被控参与二战大屠杀

92 year old Siert Bruins leaves the court a free man. The former S.S. officer showed little emotion after the case against him was dismissed because much of the evidence was lost in the 70 years since the killing of a Dutch resistance fighter. Bruins was cleared of shooting the Dutch citizen four times in the back after he attempted to flee the farm in the Netherlands where he had been taken prisoner. The victim’s sister says she was shocked at the court’s decision.

"I am outraged about this verdict for several reasons. First, my client has waited 70 years for the murder of her brother to be atoned for. This really is a slap in the face for the German justice system because it took 70 years to get this far and now we are at a point where the proof is insufficient and the case has to be stopped."

However, the fight to bring Nazi war criminals to justice continues.

Yesterday, an 88-year-old German man was charged with involvement in one of the most infamous World War II Massacres. 642 people were murdered by S.S. troops in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944. Many were herded into a local church in which hand grenades were thrown before it was eventually set on fire.

"We know that a horrible crime was committed there, without a doubt horrible. But I did not think that it was possible to prove, based on the argument of the prosecution, that he was involved in a crime that lead to the deaths of so many people. As far as I am concerned, much of that is against the case, rather than to prove that he was involved. "

The ruins of the village have been preserved just as they were after the Massacre as a permanent memorial, a reminder to all of the cruelty of Nazi occupation. The investigation into the Massacre was reopened by German prosecutors last year, but as nearly 70 years have passed, the likelihood of bringing those responsible to justice is very slim.

Samantha Gregson, Sky News.

新闻背景：

德国科隆法院发言人阿希姆·亨斯滕贝格说，“这位88岁的退休老人来自科隆，检察官指控他参加了法国奥拉杜尔村的毁灭行动。据信他和另一位枪手用机枪在谷仓打死了25人，他还协助烧毁了村里的教堂。”

被告的辩护律师赖纳·波伦说，被告否认了这些指控，并表示他在没在奥拉杜尔开过一枪，自己甚至曾试图拯救一些生命。

波伦说，“他本有可能去开枪。但是，他说，‘我非常幸运地被安排去干别的事了。’他还说，‘我听到枪声，看到人们大喊大叫，看到村子着火。太可怕了，真的太可怕了。但是，我自己没有卷入任何行动。’”

此案由科隆法院的青少年犯罪办公室负责，因为嫌犯在案发时只有19岁。声明中没有提到他的名字，青少年犯罪办公室将决定是否公开对被告的诉讼过程。

1944年6月，一辆载着党卫军医生的车在通往奥拉杜尔村的路上遭到伏击，车上的人遭到绑架。党卫军随即决定血腥清洗奥拉杜尔村，几个小时内他们屠戮了642人，其中有207个孩童，最小的才8周大。只有5名男子和1名妇女幸存下来。幸存者之一的罗伯特·埃布拉告诉法国媒体：“尽管已经70年过去了，我们还是找到了一个刽子手，这太重要了。”