Irmgard Furchner
{{Short description|Stutthof concentration camp personnel (1925–2025)}}
{{Expand German|topic=bio|Irmgard F.|date=December 2022}}
{{use dmy dates |date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox criminal
| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|5|29|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Kalthof, Free City of Danzig
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|1|14|1925|5|29|df=yes}}
| death_place = Quickborn, Germany
| nationality = German
| known_for = Working at the Stutthof concentration camp
| occupation = {{hlist|Secretary|stenographer}}
| conviction = Accessory to murder (11,412 counts)
Accessory to attempted murder (18 counts)
| criminal_penalty = Two-year suspended jail term
| trial_start = {{Start date|2021|12|19|df=yes}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Heinz Gerhard Furchner||1972|end=d.}}
| image = Irmgard Furchner-1.jpg
| caption = Furchner in 1944
}}
Irmgard Magdalene Furchner ({{née}} Dirksen; 29 May 1925 – 14 January 2025) was a German war criminal. She was a concentration camp secretary and stenographer at the Stutthof concentration camp, where she worked for camp commandant Paul-Werner Hoppe.{{cite news |title=Nazi Stutthof camp secretary flees as German trial starts |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58747082 |access-date=June 28, 2022 |publisher=BBC |date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110100058/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58747082 |url-status=live }} In 2021, at the age of 96, she was charged with 11,412 counts of accessory to murder and 18 additional counts of accessory to attempted murder,{{Cite web|date=2021-10-19|title=Former Nazi camp secretary goes on trial over murders of 11,000 people|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/19/former-nazi-camp-secretary-trial-murders-11000-people-irmgard-furchner|first=Kate|last=Connolly|access-date=2021-11-07|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=4 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104065539/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/19/former-nazi-camp-secretary-trial-murders-11000-people-irmgard-furchner|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=2021-09-30|title=Nazi Stutthof camp secretary flees as German trial starts|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58747082|access-date=2021-11-07|archive-date=10 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110100058/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58747082|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Jüttner|first=Julia|date=2021-09-30|title=Itzehoe: Ehemalige KZ-Sekretärin vor Prozessbeginn geflohen|language=de|work=Der Spiegel|url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/itzehoe-ehemalige-kz-sekretaerin-vor-prozessbeginn-geflohen-a-6c4e3e70-4d54-4e33-b27c-610d1cc03346|access-date=2021-11-07|issn=2195-1349|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027210919/https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/itzehoe-ehemalige-kz-sekretaerin-vor-prozessbeginn-geflohen-a-6c4e3e70-4d54-4e33-b27c-610d1cc03346|url-status=live}} and in December 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to a suspended jail term of two years.{{Cite news |date=2022-12-20 |title=Imrgard Furchner: Nazi typist guilty of complicity in 10,505 murders |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64036465 |access-date=2022-12-20}}{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/20/europe/irmgard-furchner-nazi-crimes-trial-verdict-intl/index.html|title=97-year-old former Nazi secretary sentenced for involvement in more than 10,000 murders|date=20 December 2022 |publisher=CNN}} Her conviction was upheld by the German Federal Court of Justice in August 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-upholds-sentence-of-former-nazi-camp-secretary/a-69986542|title=German court upholds ex-Nazi camp secretary conviction|first=Luisa|last=von Richtfofen|publisher=Duetsche Welle|date=20 August 2024|accessdate=20 August 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/court-upholds-99-year-old-nazi-camp-workers-murder-conviction-2024-08-20/|title=Court upholds 99-year-old Nazi camp worker's murder conviction|publisher=Reuters|date=20 August 2024|accessdate=20 August 2024}} She is likely to be the last person ever to be tried for Holocaust related crimes.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/germanys-likely-last-holocaust-convict-irmgard-furchner-dies-at-99/|title=Germany’s likely last Holocaust convict Irmgard Furchner dies at 99|publisher=Times of Israel|date=8 April 2025|accessdate=10 April 2025}}
Trial
Furchner's trial was held in a juvenile court in Itzehoe, as Furchner was only 18 years old at the time of the alleged offenses. She had worked at the camp between June 1943 and April 1945.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-20 |title=German court convicts ex-Nazi camp secretary |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-court-convicts-ex-nazi-camp-secretary/a-64159732 |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}} She had announced in advance that she did not wish to appear in court and asked the judge not to expect her to do so; indicating in a letter that she would boycott her trial as "degrading". In a criminal trial, however, the presence of the accused is essential.
In February 2021, German prosecutors charged Furchner with at least 10,000 counts of accessory to murder. Upon being charged, Furchner acknowledged that she had worked as the secretary to SS officer Paul Werner Hoppe in Stutthof, though she still denied ever setting foot in the camp or knowing of the murders which took place there.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/trials-germany-europe-crime-80e34d6016b8138f8b5fa1b6aed5e5cb|title=German prosecutors charge secretary to Nazi camp commandant|first=David|last=Rising|publisher=Associated Press|date=5 February 2021|access-date=20 August 2024}} At the end of September 2021, a few hours before the start of her trial, she left the Quickborn retirement home where she resided and took a cab to the Norderstedt Mitte subway station. The president of the criminal chamber subsequently issued a warrant for her arrest; Furchner was quickly captured and arrested.{{Cite web |last=Connolly |first=Kate |date=2021-09-30 |title=Ex-Nazi concentration camp secretary, 96, caught after fleeing before trial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30/former-nazi-concentration-camp-secretary-96-faces-trial |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107130358/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30/former-nazi-concentration-camp-secretary-96-faces-trial |archive-date=7 November 2021 |access-date=2021-11-07 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Bronst|first=Sebastian|title=Prosecution at trial of Nazi camp secretary: Gas chamber cries 'clearly audible'|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/prosecution-at-trial-of-nazi-camp-secretary-gas-chamber-cries-clearly-audible/|date=19 October 2021|access-date=2021-11-07|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107130405/https://www.timesofisrael.com/prosecution-at-trial-of-nazi-camp-secretary-gas-chamber-cries-clearly-audible/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Schuetze|first=Christopher F.|date=2021-09-30|title=German Police Arrest 96-Year-Old Nazi Suspect Who Tried to Skip Court|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/world/europe/irmgard-furchner-germany-nazi.html|access-date=2021-11-07|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107045134/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/world/europe/irmgard-furchner-germany-nazi.html|url-status=live}} Five days later, she was released from pretrial detention under conditions. The trial was postponed until 19 October 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-27|title=The 96-year-old alleged Nazi war criminal on trial in Germany|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irmgard-furchner-murder-trial-nazi-camp-b1946441.html|first=Joe|last=Sommerlad|access-date=2021-11-07|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107130405/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irmgard-furchner-murder-trial-nazi-camp-b1946441.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Connolly|first=Kate|title=Former Nazi camp secretary who fled trial appears in court|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/former-nazi-camp-secretary-who-fled-trial-appears-in-court-1.4705127|date=19 October 2021|access-date=2021-11-07|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019210917/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/former-nazi-camp-secretary-who-fled-trial-appears-in-court-1.4705127|url-status=live}} Towards the end of the trial, Furchner stated "I'm sorry for everything that happened. I regret that I was in Stutthof at the time. I can't say anything else."
On 20 December 2022, Furchner was found guilty of complicity in the murders of more than 10,500 people and sentenced to a two-year suspended jail term.{{cite news |last1=Kirby |first1=Paul |last2=Greenall |first2=Robert |title=Irmgard Furchner: Nazi typist guilty of complicity in 10,500 murders.|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64036465 |access-date=20 December 2022 |work=BBC News |date=20 December 2022}} On 20 August 2024, the German Federal Court of Justice upheld Furchner's conviction.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/germany-nazi-trial-stutthof-secretary-appeal-99-8dd7525a3c1b1f0cb8daca0518939f06|title=A German court upholds the conviction of a former secretary at a Nazi concentration camp, age 99|first=Geir|last=Moulson|publisher=Associated Press|date=20 August 2024|accessdate=20 August 2024}}
When news of Furchner's death was made public in April 2025, The Times of Israel reported that she would likely be the last person to be convicted for a Holocaust crime. The Washington Post further noted that her trial was "one of the final efforts to bring legal justice to victims of the Holocaust." However, a Frankfurt based court had ruled in December 2024 that a former guard at Sachsenhausen could also face trial.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/former-nazi-camp-guard-now-100-can-face-trial-german-court-rules-rcna183145|title=Former Nazi camp guard, now 100, can face trial, German court rules|first=Hannah|last=Peart|publisher=NBC News|date=December 6, 2024|accessdate=April 10, 2025}} This former Sachsenhausen guard, identified as Gregor Formanek, later died in April 2025.{{cite news|title=Un ancien gardien de camp nazi décède avant son procès|url=https://www.7sur7.be/monde/un-ancien-gardien-de-camp-nazi-decede-avant-son-proces~a6e38bb9/|date=30 April 2025|work=7 sur 7|access-date=3 May 2025|language=fr}}{{cite news|url=https://www.stern.de/news/in-hessen-angeklagter-frueherer-wachmann-von-ns-konzentrationslager-gestorben-35681728.html|title=In Hessen angeklagter früherer Wachmann von NS-Konzentrationslager gestorben|publisher=Stern|date=30 April 2025|accessdate=3 May 2025|language=de}}
Personal life and death
Following the end of World War II, Furchner married Heinz Gerhard Furchner (a former SS squad leader who died in 1972). She was later employed as an administrative worker in northern Germany.
Furchner died in Quickborn on 14 January 2025, at the age of 99. Her death was not made public until April 2025.{{Cite news |date=2025-04-07 |title=Irmgard Furchner: Ehemalige KZ-Sekretärin ist tot |url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/irmgard-furchner-ehemalige-kz-sekretaerin-ist-tot-a-98271830-f21d-4aaf-87ab-5d899efd34bc |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}{{Cite news |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=10 April 2025 |title=Irmgard Furchner, German secretary convicted of Nazi crimes, dies at 99 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2025/04/10/irmgard-furchner-nazi-secretary-dead/ |access-date=11 April 2025 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
References
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Category:Stutthof concentration camp personnel
Category:People convicted of murder by Germany
Category:German people convicted of murder
Category:20th-century German women