Ex-SS Soldier, 88, Charged Over Nazi Massacre
The charge comes nearly 70 years after one of the most infamous Nazi atrocities in which 642 villagers were killed.
新聞背景：
德國科隆法院發言人阿希姆·亨斯滕貝格說，“這位88歲的退休老人來自科隆，檢察官指控他參加了法國奧拉杜爾村的毀滅行動。據信他和另一位槍手用機槍在谷倉打死了25人，他還協助燒毀了村里的教堂。”
被告的辯護律師賴納·波倫說，被告否認了這些指控，并表示他在沒在奧拉杜爾開過一槍，自己甚至曾試圖拯救一些生命。
波倫說，“他本有可能去開槍。但是，他說，‘我非常幸運地被安排去干別的事了。’他還說，‘我聽到槍聲，看到人們大喊大叫，看到村子著火。太可怕了，真的太可怕了。但是，我自己沒有卷入任何行動。’”
此案由科隆法院的青少年犯罪辦公室負責，因為嫌犯在案發時只有19歲。聲明中沒有提到他的名字，青少年犯罪辦公室將決定是否公開對被告的訴訟過程。
1944年6月，一輛載著黨衛軍醫生的車在通往奧拉杜爾村的路上遭到伏擊，車上的人遭到綁架。黨衛軍隨即決定血腥清洗奧拉杜爾村，幾個小時內他們屠戮了642人，其中有207個孩童，最小的才8周大。只有5名男子和1名婦女幸存下來。幸存者之一的羅伯特·埃布拉告訴法國媒體：“盡管已經70年過去了，我們還是找到了一個劊子手，這太重要了。”

92 year old sir Broun leaves the court a free man, the former SS officer showed little emotion after the case against him was dismissed because much of the evidence was lost in the 70 years since the killing of a Dutch resistance fighter. Broun was cleared of shooting the Dutch citizen 4 times in the back after he attempted to flee the farm in the Netherlands where he had been taken prisoner. The victim’s sister says she was shocked at the court’s decision.
I am outraged about this verdict for several reasons. First, my client has waited 70 years for the murder of her brother to be atoned for. This really is a slap in the face for the German justice system; because it took 70 years to get this far and now we are at a point where the proof is insufficient. And the case has to be stopped.
However, the fight to bring Nazi war criminals to justice continues. Yesterday, an 88 year old German man was charged with involvement in one of the most infamous WWII massacres. 642 people were murdered by SS troops in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944. Many were herded into a local church in which hand grenades were thrown before it was eventually set on fire.
We know that a horrible crime was committed there, without a doubt horrible. But I did not think that it was possible to prove based on the argument of the prosecution, that he was involved in a crime that lead to the death of so many people. As far as I am concerned, much of that is against the case, rather than to prove he was involved.
The ruins of the village have been preserved just as they were after the massacre as a permanent memorial, a reminder to all of the cruelty of Nazi occupation. The investigation into the massacre was reopened by the German prosecutors last year, but as nearly 70 years has passed, the likelihood of bringing those responsible to justice is very slim.
Samantha Gregson, Sky News.