A US court has ordered the deportation of a German man who served as a Nazi prison guard, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.

Friedrich Karl B., a resident of Tennessee now in his 90s, admitted to serving voluntarily as an armed prison guard at the Neuengamme concentration camp in the German state of Hamburg. Prisoners there were held in inhumane conditions and were worked "to the point of exhaustion and death," immigration judge Rebecca Holt said in her ruling at the conclusion of the two-day hearing.

Read more: The ratlines: What did the Vatican know about Nazi escape routes?

According to the court, the former-guard escorted prisoners from a nearby camp in Meppen, a city in Lower Saxony, to the main camp in Neuengamme in March 1945. About 70 prisoners died "under inhumane conditions" as part of the journey.

The guard "was part of the SS machinery of oppression that kept concentration camp prisoners in atrocious conditions of confinement," said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

From 1938 to 1945, Neuengamme was the largest concentration camp in northwestern Germany. More than 100,000 people from all over Europe in the main camp and 85 satellite camps. About 43,000 people died in Neuengamme by the end of World War II.

B. had been living in the United States since 1959. It was not clear whether he would appeal or whether his deportation was imminent. An appeal would prolong his case by years and at his advanced age mean he may die before being deported or facing trial in Germany.

Since 1979, the US Justice Department has won 109 similar cases involving former supporters of the Nazi Regime. The last such deportation occurred in August 2018, when 95-year-old former SS guard´Jakiw Palij was expelled after living in New York since 1949.

dv/sms (AFP, dpa)

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement Famous post-WWII courtroom Courtroom 600 in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice was the site of the famous Nuremberg trials, a series of military tribunals that took place between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946. The trials, held by Allied officials, prosecuted high-ranking Nazis and collaborators responsible for the Holocaust and other war crimes.

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement City of Nazi rallies Allied powers chose the site because it was within the US occupation zone, it had not sustained too much damage during the war and it had an adjacent prison to hold inmates. But it was also chosen for Nuremberg's symbolic role as the "City of Nazi Party Rallies" and as the place where the Nazis' race laws persecuting German Jews were announced.

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement Top Nazis face justice Several members of the Nazi leadership were tried in the famous hall. Among them were Air Force Commander Hermann Göring, deputy party leader Rudolf Hess and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. All three were convicted for their crimes. Göring committed suicide in his jail cell, von Ribbentrop was executed by hanging, while Hess spent the rest of his life in jail.

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement The Doctors' trial Following the end of the trials in October, 1946, the courtroom was used for a separate war-crimes trial held before US officials. Known as the Doctors' trials, the cases prosecuted 23 individuals, mostly medics, for horrific medical experiments on, and murders of, concentration camp prisoners, among other crimes. Those convicted were hanged.

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement Justice continues In June, 1960, the courtroom was officially given back to justice officials in the southern state of Bavaria and continued to be used for trials. In 2000, the City Museum of Nuremberg began offering weekend guided tours of the hall. The visits drew a large number of tourists, but they were stopped in 2008 due to construction of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials.

Nuremberg trials courtroom witnesses last ever judgement Courtroom 600 retires On February 20, courtroom 600 held its last trial. A man was sentenced to over two years in prison for trying to strangle his wife. Now, the historic room will become part of the permanent exhibition of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials museum. The courtroom leaves a lasting legacy as the start of international criminal law and the first step towards the creation of the International Criminal Court. Author: Cristina Burack, Jenipher Camino Gonzalez



DW sends out a daily selection of hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up here.