Elderly Philadelphia man may be extradited to Germany to face Nazi death camp charges

Elderly Philadelphia man may be extradited to Germany to face Nazi death camp charges
(Image credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

An 89-year-old Philadelphia man might be extradited to Germany to stand trial for aiding and abetting the murder of thousands of Jews during World War II. If a judge approves, he will be the oldest person sent back from the U.S. for Nazi-related crimes.

Johann Breyer, who came to the United States in 1952, was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday, and this isn't his first brush with extradition; as The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, the Justice Department tried to deport Breyer 10 years ago for his role in the war, but found that because he joined the SS while underage, he could not be held legally responsible.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.