100-YEAR-OLD NAZI DEATH CAMP GUARD GOES ON TRIAL

The centenarian refused to make a statement as he became the oldest man to go on trial

A100-year-old concentration camp guard refused to make a statement as he became the oldest man to go on trial for Nazi-era crimes today.

The centenarian, identified only as Josef S, also hid his face from cameras as he appeared in court in Germany charged with complicity in 3,518 murders at the Sachsenhausen death camp between 1942 and 1954.

Charges against Josef, who was an SS paramilitary and a camp watchman, include aiding and abetting the 'execution by firing squad of Soviet prisoners of war in 1942' and the murder of prisoners 'using the poisonous gas Zyklon B'.

Josef's refusal to speak is significant because trials of former guards provide a chance to amass new evidence about what happened at Nazi death camps and enter in into historical record.

Other guards - including 'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz'

Oskar Groening - have spoken about their activities at the camps during their trials.

The bespectacled man answered the judge with a clear voice when asked about his name, age and home address.

A widower since 1986, he was visibly proud when he replied that he will 'celebrate my 101st birthday, on November 16.'

The executive vice president

of the Auschwitz Committee expressed disappointment at the lawyer's announcement that the suspect would not comment on the allegations.

'I found him surprisingly robust and present. He would have the strength to make an apology and he would also have the strength to remember,' Christoph Heubner told reporters outside the building.

Josef's refusal to speak is significant because trials of former guards provide a chance to amass new evidence about what happened at Nazi death camps and enter in into historical record.