A spokesperson for the Schleswig-Holstein state court in northern Germany stated that authorities arrested a 96-year-old German woman who did not appear before the court on Thursday at the start of her trial on charges of participating in mass killings at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Irmgard Fritschner, who lives in the town of Itzehoe in northern Germany, is accused of being involved, at the age of 18, in the killing of 11,412 people while working as a typist at the Stutthof camp from 1943 to 1945, according to German broadcaster DW.
Court President Dominik Groß had mentioned that the main hearing could only begin after verifying the elderly woman’s ability to appear in court. The suspect’s flight led to the postponement of the trial to October 19 and the issuance of an arrest warrant against her.
Frederike Milhofer, the court's spokesperson, stated, "The suspect has fled... She left her home early in the morning in a taxi that took her to the subway station." The spokesperson added that an arrest warrant had been issued against her. Itzehoe is located in the extreme north of Germany, about 100 kilometers from the Danish border.
Later, Milhofer confirmed that the suspect had been apprehended and that a doctor is currently determining whether her health condition allows for her imprisonment. She mentioned that the next hearing is scheduled for October 19. According to the Central Agency for the Clarification of Nazi Crimes in Ludwigsburg, around 65,000 people died at the Stutthof concentration camp and its sub-camps, as well as during the so-called death marches at the end of the war.
The Auschwitz International Committee expressed its outrage over the suspect's flight, with Executive Deputy Christoph Heubner stating on Thursday, "This shows an incredible disdain for the rule of law and for survivors."
