Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk dies a free man

The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk always claimed he was a victim of the Nazis, but a judge found that he agreed to serve as a guard.

Demjanjuk avoided justice for years, emigrating to Ohio and building a family and a career as a mechanic. In 1988 he was deported and sentenced to death in Israel, but the sentence was later overturned on the grounds of mistaken identity. It took another two decades for a Munich court to file charges against him.

Demjanjuk’s son, who said Demjanjuk died of natural causes, maintained today that his father was innocent.

The president of Germany's Central Council of Jews said that he believed it had been the right decision to put Demjanjuk on trial.

"A death is always tragic,” said Dieter Graumann. But he added: “Justice does not know a statute of limitation, and age does not protect from punishment. This was never about revenge, but about justice.”