Sobibor victim's niece 'relieved' at Demjanjuk verdict

CNNWorld: Sobibor victim's niece 'relieved' at Demjanjuk verdict
(CNN) -- The niece of one of tens of thousands of Jews killed in the extermination camp where John Demjanjuk worked as a guard has spoken of her relief at his conviction for war crimes.

Helen Hyde's aunt, Helen Neuhaus, died alongside her young son and her husband at Sobibor in Poland in May 1943.

"I've spent most of my life, my thinking life, being haunted by my aunt. My name is Helen, her name was Helen; her nickname was Hel, my nickname is Hel.

"Everything about me is associated with her, but nobody would talk to me about it at home, my father certainly wouldn't, so over the years I've had to glean all this information for myself."

Hyde, 63, head teacher at Watford Grammar School for Girls, near London, England, was in court in Munich, southern Germany, on Thursday to see Demjanjuk, 91, found guilty of aiding and abetting the murder of almost 30,000 Jews.



Demjanjuk guilty of Nazi war crimes

2009: Demjanjuk's son speaks out "All my life I've been haunted by this, so I needed to be there: For myself, for her, for those that couldn't be there, for my father," she told CNN.

Demjanjuk, who moved to the U.S. after World War II, raised a family and worked in the auto industry in Ohio, had denied the charges. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but released pending an appeal.

Hyde said the the length of the jail term handed down by the court was irrelevant.

"The maximum he could have received was 15 years, because of age and sickness, but actually for me it's not the number of years he was given -- that wasn't important -- for me it was the fact he was found guilty of aiding and abetting mass murder at Sobibor.

"It's the principle: If you commit a crime or are involved in a crime, it doesn't matter how old you are, you must accept responsibility and the consequences of your actions. That was really the most important thing for me."

Hyde said Demjanjuk refused to comment when asked if he wanted to speak, and did not show any emotion as the verdict was delivered.

"He didn't react, I was watching him, he didn't react at all," she told CNN.

"I suppose I would have liked him to say 'I was in Sobibor' and explain he was following orders or whatever his solicitors have been saying, but it doesn't make any difference to me now. He's been found guilty."

Her aunt, Helen Neuhaus, uncle Justin Neuhaus and cousin Peter, aged just four -- all originally from Germany -- were seized by the Nazis in Amsterdam and transported to Sobibor, where they were killed within weeks of each other.

A second child, Judith, who was born while the family was in hiding, was smuggled to safety by the Dutch underground. She survived the war, grew up in Switzerland and now lives in Israel.

Hyde attended several days of hearings at the beginning and conclusion of the case, and praised the work of the court, which has been outlining the evidence against Demjanjuk for the past 18 months.

"They did it in such great detail and ensured that there were no mistakes, and that nobody was victimised, care was taken, both for Demjanjuk and for the plaintiffs."

But she said details of the horrors committed at Sobibor had been difficult to listen to.

"It saddens me so much that any human being could do that to anybody -- to women, children, old people. They knew they were doing wrong, they knew they were committing crimes, but I suppose they thought they would get away with it.

"It's been awful. When you hear in German something like 'Vernichtungslager' [extermination camp], and then very soon after you hear the name of your family it is a shock to the system, but I am glad I was there, I am very, very glad I was there."