War criminals in Germany: a safe haven for criminals?

War criminals in Germany: a safe haven for criminals?

In Germany, the question is currently being discussed whether the country is a safe port for war criminals. In the new podcast series "Amnestie Germany", which will be broadcast on WDR 5 from July 12, 2025, Host Azadê Peşmen illuminates the stories of affected people, relatives and experts and confronts the listeners: Inside with reality that some criminals live in the country without being held responsible. This podcast series consists of five revealing consequences that examine different cases of war criminals in this country. According to WDR, not only prominent cases are presented, but also the challenges that the judiciary faces.

The first episode revolves around Colonel Anwar Raslan, whose identity in Berlin is recognized by a refugee. The process in Koblenz is a prime example of the complex questions of justice in relation to the victims. The second episode illuminates Luis Kyburg, a former military commander from Argentina who lives undisturbed in Berlin and is sought against humanity for crimes.

The importance of genocide

But why is the topic of genocide so important? The term that the Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin shaped in 1944 has both legal and political dimensions. The Bundestag recently recognized the Holodomor, in which up to seven million Ukrainians starved in the 1930s, recognized as "murder through hunger" and genocide. Such recognitions contribute to memorizing the exact circumstances of these tragedies in the collective memory. Deutschlandfunk points out that the legal definition of genocide encompasses the targeted killing of members of a protected group, as well as other serious acts.

The UN Genozid Convention of 1948, on the [Völkermord Convention] (https://www.voelkermordkonvention.de/ueber-ueber-die-ver- and-trefung-des-voelkermordes-9217/) Contracting parties for contraception and punishment of such crimes. General murder is considered a crime against international law, which obliges all states to ensure that perpetrators are brought to court.

hidden shelters for criminals

The third episode of "Amnestie Germany", on the other hand, deals with the case of an IS terrorist who was convicted of the death of a five-year-old girl in Germany. The harrowing judgment is the first legally binding to the genocide in the Yazidis. The fourth episode Talât Pascha, a central figure in the genocide of the Armenians, who was shot by an Armenian in Berlin in 1921. However, the German judiciary freed the perpetrator at the time and the question arises to what extent Germany was involved in this historical genocide.

In the last episode, the Sivas attack is considered, in which Islamist extremists set fire to the Hotel Madımak in Sivas in 1993 while an Alevi festival took place. Here, too, some of the perpetrators still live in Germany with impunity. These stories illustrate how Germany looks at the gruesome chapters of his past and what challenges the legal processing brings with it.

Overall, the Podcast series not only offers an insight into the life stories of criminals, but also into the ongoing debates about justice, responsibility and the processing of atrocities-topics that are more current than ever.