Watched this 5 part series on the legal trials of John Demjanjuck, the Ukrainian naturalized American who was accused of being the infamous Ivan the Terrible at the Treblinka extermination camp during WWII. I was vaguely familiar with the case when it was in the news (late 80s), but I didn't really follow it.

I thought the series did a good job of dealing with the case. Great participation from many of the original players. The Israeli prosecutor and defense attorneys from the original trial, the Israeli judges that heard the case, the US Office of Special Investigations head and several members of Demjanjuck's family (John died in Germany in 2012 while awaiting the appeal of his German conviction for taking part in the murder of Jews at the Sobibor concentration camp.

Worth a watch if you're interested in the subject matter.

Like you, I remember hearing about the arrest on the news back in the day. I remembered thinking "They're down to guards now?" That's how the American news media was describing him. I wasn't watching much TV or news in those days so I lost track quickly.

My wife and I watched all of it this weekend. WAY more interesting than I gave it credit for. Just too much information to fit in just one program segment. I never would have thought that.

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I just finished the series and thought it was well done. I was impressed with the shows ability to get so many key figures with the case to actually comment on it years after the fact.

Spoiler Alert:

I was particularly impressed with the legal prowess of the Israeli defense attorney. To get a man who may or may not have been Ivan the terrible, but almost certainly was a participant in the holocaust, released on the grounds of reasonable doubt in a trail that took place in a Jewish nation is quite the legal achievement.

The commentary of the Ford employee who worked with many naturalized Ukrainian immigrants after the war was very much needed balance and perspective. History is written by the victors and the U.S. Government was perfectly fine looking the other way with regard to the unsavory pasts of certain ex-nazis who proved useful in the cold war.

Need to watch this.

I read a fantastic book about why so many (virtually all) really evil, mass murdering scumbags got released super early in West Germany starting in the mid-1950s. And why the search for and prosecution of mass murderers from the mid-50s to the mid-70s dropped like a stone.

With the Red Menace and resumed leverage on the US and allies to cooperate, and due to war fatigue, collective, guilt, and a burning desire to move forward and forget the past, the W. German legal system was overhauled. They raised the bar to try, let alone convict, a Nazi unless he or she was the worst of the worst. That is, shown to be personally involved in many deaths...beyond "just" fully participating in helping commit mass murder. That was not nearly enough, they got a collective pass unless mounds of evidence could be found that showed they committed individual murders. This persisted into the 1970s. The US TV series Holocaust (of all things) increased interest and shook loose national apathy and some round ups and prosecutions began. By then of course, many had died of natural causes or were so buried in new lives that finding them was near impossible. And collecting reliable and sufficient evidence for convictions was just as near-impossible.

Changes in administration and the still super high legal bar still resulted mostly in acquitals over long, long trials. Many of the old phucks got off due to failing health.

Shockingly, there were a ton of suicides of the accused when they were jailed again and actually looked like they were going to get convicted.

Real interest to get those that remained surged in the late 90s and since, but it was decades too late...