Charged with Aiding the Murder of Thousands, Irmgard Furchner Faces Justice

A 96-year-old woman who once served as secretary to a Nazi concentration camp commandant was apprehended hours after fleeing her care home, avoiding the start of her trial in northern Germany.

Irmgard Furchner began working at the Stutthof concentration camp on the Baltic coast, in the Nazi-occupied Free City of Danzig, at the age of 18. She was set to face trial on Thursday, charged with complicity in the murders of thousands of prisoners.

When she failed to appear in court, spokesperson Frederike Milhoffer revealed that an arrest warrant was issued. “She left her care home early in the morning, taking a taxi toward a metro station,” Milhoffer reported.

Her escape was short-lived. By Thursday afternoon, Furchner had been detained, and a medical evaluation was underway to determine if her health permitted her detention.