Wiesenthal Center Expresses Concern Regarding Trial of Stutthof Concentration Camp Secretary Scheduled to Open Tomorrow

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its concern that the trial of Irmgard Furchner, the secretary of Stutthof commander Paul-Werner Hoppe from June 1943 toApril 1945, which is scheduled to commence in Itzehoe, Germany tomorrow, may not proceed as planned.

The Center has learned that Furchner has informed the court that she does not intend to appear due to ill health. The Center urges the German authorities to ensure that the proceedings will underno circumstances be canceled and that, if necessary, Ms. Furchner's health will be periodically assessed by geriatric experts to prevent any attempt by the defendant to elude justice.

According to the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff:

"The trial of Stutthof secretary Furchner is of unique importance due to the identity and gender of the defendant. The important role played by female Nazi war criminals in the implementation ofthe Final Solution is often overlooked or forgotten. Irmgard Furchner assisted those responsible for the mass murder of Jewish inmates, Polish resistance fighters and Soviet prisoners of war, allof whom were marked for annihilation in Stutthof."

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, follow the Center on Facebook, or @simonwiesenthal and @EZuroff for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the UnitedStates. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).