Nazi concentration camps such as Auschwitz sent millions of people to their deaths during World War II. But after the war, thousands of Nazi prison guards walked free afterward, claiming innocence or ignorance of the atrocities. Concentration camps were enormous, and many former Nazis maintain that while they prepared the meals or guarded the gates, they never knew about the gas chambers.

Seventy years later, German prosecutors are ready to disprove some of those claims, thanks to advanced 3D modeling. These recreations of Auschwitz, complete with simulated 360-degree views from any point in the camp, could help officials determine which guards had a clear view of the slaughter, while archival information— compiled into an electronic database—could place specific ex-Nazis at their posts.

"Many former guards say that they didn't know anything because they couldn't see from where they were serving," Karl Dietrich, a German prosecutor who helped build the digital model, told The New York Times earlier today. "This allows us to go in and look at whether that is true. What could one see from a watchtower? Could you see the chimneys of the crematoria? Could you see smoke?"

But will it stand up in court? Convicting war criminals based on a computer simulation is new legal ground. "I have never heard of a three-dimensional virtual model being introduced in a trial," says James B. Jacobs, a professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at New York University.

There is, however, legal precedent for using visual aids and even three-dimensional models in the courtroom. "The creator of the digital model would be cross-examined by the defense, just as any drawing, photo or three-dimensional construct would be cross-examined," Jacobs says.

If the German prosecutors brought their model to trial, a clever defense attorney might suggest that the computer simulation is not a perfect rendition, or that there is a lot of subjectivity in the modeling. Essentially, Jacobs says, the legal system would analyze and poke holes in a digital model in very much the same way that a cross examiner would critique any other type of evidence. It falls to the jurors to determine whether a model—digital or otherwise—is an accurate representation of what happened. "That's for the jury to decide, based on the credibility of the model and the witnesses who built it." Jacobs says.

Whether German prosecutors could actually land a conviction based on these digital models is a good question. Even the youngest Nazi war criminals are pushing 90 years old, and those fit for trial are often infirm and likely to avoid harsh sentencing. Nonetheless, digital models and computer simulations could be the future of crime scene re-creation, and may help bring other criminals to justice.

"In court, we use photographs and drawings of crime scenes all the time," Jacobs says. "I can see how 3D virtual models could be very useful."

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